Development of a mechatronic pantograph for improved contact with railway catenaries in conventional networks

The pantograph-catenary system is crucial for transferring electrical traction power in railway networks. A current challenge in enhancing the competitiveness of railway systems is to increase their operational speed, which is limited by strict contact quality requirements. As their designs become optimised, the potential for dynamic improvements narrows for passive pantographs. An alternative approach is to introduce active control on the pantograph, upgrading it into a mechatronic system. In this work, control strategies are developed for the pantograph, with the goal of improving the contact quality and, consequently, the operational speed. To this effect, a realistic numerical environment is achieved by combining a three-dimensional multibody pantograph model, based on a physical prototype, with a finite element model of a Portuguese catenary designed for normal and elevated speeds. Since the pantograph and catenary models require different time integration formulations, they are simulated in separate programs and synchronised through a co-simulation procedure. An optimal controller is implemented, based on an identification process which assesses how variations in actuation affect the contact force. The dynamic simulations demonstrate that, for scenarios involving single or double pantographs, the contact quality parameters are improved with the mechatronic pantograph, with the operation speed increasing 10–15%.