<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>In this article, the computational methodology of the catenary–train–track system vibration analysis is presented and used to estimate the influence of vehicle body vibrations on the pantograph–catenary dynamic interaction. This issue is rarely referred in the literature, although any perturbations appearing at the pantograph–catenary interface are of great importance for high-speed railways. Vehicle body vibrations considered in this article are induced by the passage of train through the track stiffness discontinuity, being a frequent cause of significant dynamic effects. First, the most important assumptions of the computational model are presented, including the general idea of decomposing catenary–train–track dynamic system into two main subsystems and the concept of one-way coupling between them. Then, the pantograph base vibrations calculated for two train speeds (60 m/s, 100 m/s) and two cases of track discontinuity (a sudden increase and a sudden decrease in the stiffness of track substrate) are analyzed. Two cases of the railway vehicle suspension are considered – a typical two-stage suspension and a primary suspension alone. To evaluate catenary–pantograph dynamic interaction, the dynamic uplift of the contact wire at steady arm and the pantograph contact force is computed. It is demonstrated that an efficiency of the two-stage suspension grows with the train speed; hence, such vehicle suspension effectively suppresses strong sudden shocks of vehicle body, appearing while the train passes through the track stiffness discontinuity at a high speed. In a hypothetical case when the one-stage vehicle suspension is used, the pantograph base vibrations may increase the number of contact loss events at the catenary–pantograph interface.</p></abstract>

In this article, the computational methodology of the catenary–train–track system vibration analysis is presented and used to estimate the influence of vehicle body vibrations on the pantograph–catenary dynamic interaction. This issue is rarely referred in the literature, although any perturbations appearing at the pantograph–catenary interface are of great importance for high-speed railways. Vehicle body vibrations considered in this article are induced by the passage of train through the track stiffness discontinuity, being a frequent cause of significant dynamic effects. First, the most important assumptions of the computational model are presented, including the general idea of decomposing catenary–train–track dynamic system into two main subsystems and the concept of one-way coupling between them. Then, the pantograph base vibrations calculated for two train speeds (60 m/s, 100 m/s) and two cases of track discontinuity (a sudden increase and a sudden decrease in the stiffness of track substrate) are analyzed. Two cases of the railway vehicle suspension are considered – a typical two-stage suspension and a primary suspension alone. To evaluate catenary–pantograph dynamic interaction, the dynamic uplift of the contact wire at steady arm and the pantograph contact force is computed. It is demonstrated that an efficiency of the two-stage suspension grows with the train speed; hence, such vehicle suspension effectively suppresses strong sudden shocks of vehicle body, appearing while the train passes through the track stiffness discontinuity at a high speed. In a hypothetical case when the one-stage vehicle suspension is used, the pantograph base vibrations may increase the number of contact loss events at the catenary–pantograph interface.

An influence of track stiffness discontinuity on pantograph base vibrations and catenary–pantograph dynamic interaction

Department of Bridges and Railways, Faculty of Civil Engineering

Wrocław University of Science and Technology

Studia Geotechnica et Mechanica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

In this article, the computational methodology of the catenary–train–track system vibration analysis is presented and used to estimate the influence of vehicle...

An influence of track stiffness discontinuity on pantograph base vibrations and catenary–pantograph dynamic interaction

Article Category: Research Article

Published Online: Jun 30, 2020

Page range: 111 - 124

Received: Aug 20, 2019

Accepted: Nov 03, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sgem-2019-0035

Keywords
catenary–train–track system, track stiffness discontinuity, railway vehicle suspension, vibration simulations, catenary–pantograph dynamic interaction

© 2020 Danuta Bryja et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

An influence of track stiffness discontinuity on pantograph base vibrations and catenary–pantograph dynamic interaction

Article Category: Research Article

Published Online: Jun 30, 2020

Page range: 111 - 124

Received: Aug 20, 2019

Accepted: Nov 03, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sgem-2019-0035

Keywordscatenary–train–track system, track stiffness discontinuity, railway vehicle suspension, vibration simulations, catenary–pantograph dynamic interaction

© 2020 Danuta Bryja et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
catenary–train–track system, track stiffness discontinuity, railway vehicle suspension, vibration simulations, catenary–pantograph dynamic interaction