Influence of Overhead Line Equipment Irregularities on Pantograph-Catenary Interaction

Achieving good contact quality between the pantograph and overhead line equipment (OLE) is fundamental to ensure reliable electric railway operation. Contact wire irregularities may affect the pantograph-OLE interaction and stability of current collection. Therefore, the maintenance of the OLE and the study of the impact of such geometric deviations is a field of interest. In the present paper, the influence of OLE irregularities, in both its vertical and lateral directions, on pantograph-catenary interaction is studied. OLE finite element models are built, from a nominal baseline scenario to increasing levels of irregularities, and are subsequently used to perform dynamic analyses and assessment of contact forces. The results demonstrate that, at conventional speeds (up to 100 mph) and in single pantograph operation, the presence of irregularities within the maintenance thresholds does not adversely impact contact quality. Increasing the irregularities by 100% leads to a dynamic performance still within the applicable thresholds, which may indicate that the current maintenance limits are overly conservative.