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

The limitation on the top velocity of high-speed trains concerns the ability to supply the proper amount of energy, required to run the engines, through the pantograph-catenary interface. The deterioration of the pantograph-catenary interaction can lead to the loss of contact, which interrupts the energy supply and originates arcing between the pantograph and the catenary, or to excessive contact forces that promote the wear between the contacting elements. Another important factor in the study of the overhead contact system is assessing on how the front pantograph influences the dynamic performance of the rear one in trainsets assembled with two pantographs. In this work, not only the multiple pantograph operations are studied, but also the influence of the track and environmental conditions on the pantograph-catenary interaction are addressed. These studies are performed for high speed trains running at 300 km/h and for different distances between pantographs. Such studies contribute to identify the operational conditions and the external factors influencing the contact quality on the overhead system.