Dynamic Performance of High-Speed Rail Overhead Contact Systems with Double Pantographs: Impact of Measured Contact Line Irregularities

The quality of contact between a high-speed train’s pantograph and the overhead contact system (OCS) is crucial for reliable current collection. One common disturbance, contact line irregularity, can degrade this contact quality. Whereas previous studies considered only single-pantograph operation, this work investigates the dynamic performance of a double-pantograph setup under realistic contact line irregularities. Irregularities in contact wire height were measured from a newly built high-speed line (350[Formula: see text]km/h design speed) and incorporated into a finite-element model via a shape-finding procedure. Unlike a single-pantograph scenario, the double-pantograph configuration exhibits unique dynamic interactions: the leading pantograph’s motion induces oscillations in the contact wire that affect the trailing pantograph. Quantitatively, the presence of measured contact line irregularities increases the contact force variation (standard deviation) of the leading pantograph by approximately 20% on average, about twice the increase observed for the trailing pantograph (10%). At the maximum operating speed of 350[Formula: see text]km/h, for example, the leading pantograph’s contact force standard deviation rises by 35% due to irregularities, whereas the trailing pantograph’s rises by 14%. Moreover, the trailing pantograph experiences a notable rise in contact loss occurrences under irregularities (e.g. its contact loss rate grows from 1.35% to 2.05% at 350[Formula: see text]km/h), a phenomenon absent in single-pantograph operation. These results highlight that even small, inevitable contact line irregularities can significantly impact double-pantograph systems — in ways differing from a single-pantograph case — underscoring the importance of accounting for such irregularities in the design and analysis of high-speed OCS.