Influence of Low Air Pressure on Pantograph–Catenary Arc Model

The pantograph-catenary arc is a crucial factor that significantly impacts the effective current collection of high-speed railway pantograph-catenary systems. Investigating the electrical properties of this arc has engineering applications for enhancing the reliability and operational lifespan of such systems. The electrical characteristics of the pantograph-catenary arc in high-altitude areas with low gas pressure differ from those in low-altitude areas with atmospheric pressure across various aspects. In this article, we model the pantograph-catenary arc based on both Mayr arc and Schwarz arc mathematical models. By adjusting the dissipation power value, we investigate the arc voltage-time, arc conductance-time, and arc power-time characteristic curves under different altitudes, and establish the mechanism of low gas pressure on pantograph-catenary arc. A comparison between simulation results obtained using these two models reveals that Schwarz’s model is more suitable for modeling high-altitude pantograph-catenary arcs. The results indicate that, throughout the arcing process, the arc conductance of the pantograph-catenary system significantly decreases with increasing altitude, while the arc quenching capability of the pantograph-catenary system synchronously increases with altitude. This finding provides valuable insights for designing parameters related to pantograph-catenary systems in high-altitude regions worldwide.