Pantograph-catenary offline hardware-in-the-loop hybrid testing

Hybrid testing boosts the development and analysis of complex mechanical systems by combining physical testing with a computer-modelled environment. In railway dynamics, Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) simulation is a hybrid testing method sought after to study complex interactions, particularly between the pantograph and the catenary. Existing pantograph-catenary HiL approaches require real-time catenary models which restrict fidelity and spatial resolution. This paper proposes an iterative offline HiL method that removes this constraint while maintaining hybrid testing capability. The proposed methodology is established through a set of test experiments, considering different pantograph uplift forces and the stagger of the overhead contact wire. The feasibility and convergence of the proposed method is demonstrated for a set of test cases. Advantages and disadvantages of the online and offline approaches are discussed, together with further developments that may be considered to improve them.