Environmental and Track Perturbations on Multiple Pantograph Interactions with Catenaries in High-Speed Trains

摘要

The limitation on the top velocity of high-speed trains concerns the ability to supplyrnthe proper amount of energy, required to run the engines, through the pantographcatenaryrninterface. The deterioration of the pantograph-catenary interaction can leadrnto the loss of contact, which interrupts the energy supply and originates arcingrnbetween the pantograph and the catenary, or to excessive contact forces that promoternthe wear between the contacting elements. Another important factor in the study ofrnthe overhead contact system is assessing on how the front pantograph influences therndynamic performance of the rear one in trainsets assembled with two pantographs.rnIn this work, not only the multiple pantograph operations are studied, but also therninfluence of the track and environmental conditions on the pantograph-catenaryrninteraction are addressed. These studies are performed for high speed trains runningrnat 300 km/h and for different distances between pantographs. Such studiesrncontribute to identify the operational conditions and the external factors influencingrnthe contact quality on the overhead system.