A comparative study on pantograph-catenary models and effect of parameters on pantograph-catenary dynamics under crosswind

This paper is aimed at selecting a suitable pantograph-catenary model for investigations under crosswind and investigating parameter influences on pantograph-catenary dynamics, including the friction, the rising angle, the value of zigzag and the sliding plate irregularity. One spatial-beam pantograph model is proposed and its governing equations are obtained. Combining with the catenary, the 3-D pantograph-catenary model is established. Comparing with the other models, the 3-D pantograph-catenary model is more probable to obtain accurate results in the standard deviation (STD) of the contact force and the rate of contact loss (RCL) under crosswind. Based on it, the effects of parameters mentioned above are discussed. The calculation results indicate that the friction affects little on mean contact force and STD of the contact force but greatly on RCL when the crosswind attack angles are large. This great effect on RCL depends on the directions of crosswind and the rising angle. The larger value of zigzag means smaller STD of the contact force and larger RCL. There is a critical cycle length corresponding to a certain wear depth. Less than it, the pantograph-catenary interaction may well be tremendous. Severe wear and crosswind can lengthen the critical cycle length.