A catenary system analysis for studying the dynamic characteristics of a high speed rail pantograph

In this study, the dynamic response of a catenary system that supplies electrical power to high-speed trains is investigated. One of the important problems which is accompanied by increasing the speed of a high-speed rail, is the performance of stable current collection. Another problem which has been encountered, is maintaining continuous contact force between the catenary and the pantograph without loss of panhead. The dynamic analyses of the catenary based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) are performed to develop a pantograph suitable for high speed operation. The static deflection of the catenary, the stiffness variation in contact lines, the dynamic response of the catenary undergoing the force of a constantly moving load and the contact force were calculated. It was confirmed that a catenary model is necessary to study the dynamic characteristics of the pantograph system.