Dynamic Characteristics of

Pantograph-Catenary System in
High Speed Railway
An annual report submitted to
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
in completion of first year for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy
by

Soumyajit Roy
13ME91R02

Under the supervision of

Dr. Goutam Chakraborty
&
Prof. Anirvan DasGupta

Department of Mechanical Engineering

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KHARAGPUR

Kharagpur-721302
June 18, 2015

Contents
List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Introduction
1.1 Basic Current Collection System in Railways .
1.2 The Catenary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3 The Pantograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4 Interaction between Catenary and Pantograph

ii
ii

.
.
.
.

1
1
2
4
5

2 Literature Review
2.1 Modelling of Catenary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Modelling of Pantograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3 Catenary-Pantograph Interaction Modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6
6
7
8

3 Motivation and Work Done

3.1 Motivation of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2 Work Done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9
9
9

References

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

10

List of Figures
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5

Block diagram of modern AC electric locomotive

A stitched catenary [2] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Different kinds of catenary systems [3] . . . . .
Pantograph and its kinematics . . . . . . . . . .
Different modern pantographs . . . . . . . . . .

[1]
. .
. .
. .
. .

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

2
2
3
4
5

2.1
2.2

Model of catenary system [13] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A low order model of pantograph: (a) linear mass-spring-damper, (bi )
model with rotational movement of panhead and elasticity of upper frame
[(b1 ): Side view & (b2 ): Front view] [9] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

List of Tables
3.1

Details of course work done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ii

Chapter 1
Introduction
Railway systems are presently experiencing rapid technological advances, and as a result
of it, the high speed railway system has emerged as the next generation transportation
system. It is characterized by high stability, high speed and passenger comfort. Various
nations have put an emphasis on developing the technology.
One of the accompanying problems to the high speed railway system is to ensure constant and stable current collection. For the stable operation of a railway, the locomotive
must be supplied with constant and stable electrical power through solid contact between
the catenary and the pantograph. If the velocity of the railway increases, the range of
the catenarys dynamical variation will increase and then contact loss between the pantograph and the catenary might occur. This results in generation of electric arc which
causes increased wear on the pantograph and damages the catenary as well. Therefore,
it becomes obvious to study and analyse the dynamic behaviour of pantograph-catenary
system to minimise the contact loss and to increase the efficiency in current collection
during high speed operation.

1.1

Basic Current Collection System in Railways

The electric railway needs a power supply that the train can access at all times. It
must be safe, economical and easy to maintain. It can use either direct current (DC) or
alternating current (AC). It is easier to boost the voltage of AC than that of DC, so it
is easier to send more power over long distances through the transmission line in case
of AC. DC, on the other hand, is preferred for shorter lines. Moreover, AC systems are
cheaper to install.
Transmission of power is always performed along the track by means of an overhead
wire system or at ground level, using an extra third rail laid close to the running rails.
AC systems always use overhead wires known as catenary, DC can use either a catenary
or a third rail, both are common. Both overhead systems require at least one collector
attached to the train so that it can always be in contact with the power cable. This is
accomplished by using a pantograph. The return circuit is via the wheel and the running
rails back to the substation as shown in figure 1.1. The running rails are at earth potential
and are connected to the substations.

Figure 1.1: Block diagram of modern AC electric locomotive [1]

1.2

The Catenary

A catenary is a periodic structure of overhead contact wires to provide electric power to

locomotives which are equipped with a suitable current collecting apparatus known as
pantograph.
The most basic components of any catenary system (figure 1.2) are a messenger wire
or catenary wire (called so, because of its resemblance to the catenary curves) and a
contact wire. The later is attached to the former by means of equally spaced and varying
length of droppers. The contact wire is grooved to allow a clip to be fixed on the top

Figure 1.2: A stitched catenary [2]

side. The clip is used to attach the dropper. Droppers are stiff is tension but not so
resistant to compression. It also ensures the required hight of the overhead contact wire
from the ground throughout the track. Both the messenger and the contact wire are
tensioned with high axial load by suspending weights to minimise the sag. The whole
system is periodically supported by masts. Every mast has a mechanism to hold the
2

catenary and to provide necessary allowance for lateral oscillations. However, the type
of mechanism varies with the type of catenary which it supports. As shown in figure
1.2, the stay (sometimes called a bracket) and the console which collectively support the
messenger wire are hinged to the mast by means of insulators. The steady arm attached
to the registration arm holds the contact wire. It provides the necessary stagger to the
contact wire which runs in a zigzag fashion over the centreline of the track to ensure an
even wear of the carbon contact strip on the pan head of the pantograph while the loco
is running. The registration arm is further linked to the console.
There are in general three types of catenary systems 1) Simple catenary, 2) Compound catenary and 3) Stitched catenary. A simple catenary system has only one messenger and one contact wire as shown in figure 1.3(a). A coupled catenary has a second

(a) Simple catenary

(b) Compound catenary

(c) Stitched Catenary

Figure 1.3: Different kinds of catenary systems [3]

support wire known as auxiliary wire (figure 1.3(b)). Droppers support the auxiliary
from the messenger wire and additional droppers support the contact wire from the auxiliary wire. On the other hand, a stitched catenary uses an additional wire at each pole
structure as shown in figure 1.3(c). However, the compound catenary has less stiffness
variation over a span compared to that of simple and stitched catenary [4]. This is more
desirable for the high speed trains. Unfortunately, high price is the only disadvantage of
this type of overhead system.

1.3

The Pantograph

A pantograph is a mechanism mounted on the roof of a locomotive to collect power

through contact with the overhead catenary. It is called so because, in early stages, the
mechanism resembled with mechanical pantographs used for copying hand writings and
drawings. Todays pantographs are asymmetric and Z-shaped unlike the symmetric and
delta shaped used in early days. These are more compact and the modern single arm
light weight design suits them more effectively for high speed running.
The kinematics and the design of pantographs vary a lot from country to country.
They largely depend upon various matters like the speed of the train, the catenary system
used as overhead, the track on which the train will run, tunnels and bridges on the route,
aerodynamic effects etc. However, here, more commonly used asymmetric pantographs
are discussed briefly. The GSE-100 Light Rail Pantograph of G&Z Enterprises Ltd.
is presented in figure 1.4(a) for illustration purpose. The lower part of the pantograph

(a) GSE-100 Light Rail Pantograph [5]

(b) Kinematic diagram [2]

Figure 1.4: Pantograph and its kinematics

as shown in kinematic diagram in figure 1.4(b) is basically a four-bar mechanism and
responsible for raising and lowering it. The upper part controls the pan head. The
pantograph base is placed over insulators on the roof of the train. The lower link and the
lower arm are connected to the base by spherical and revolute joint respectively. The
extended top arm completes the lower four-bar linkage and is attached to the lower link
and lower arm. The pan head is linked to the top arm and to the top link by means of
stabilization arm. The contact strips which are in continuous contact with the overhead
line are mounted over isolators on the top of the pan head, so that the effect of base
excitation does not affect the current collection. Actuations are done by both pneumatic
and spring devices. Generally, piston of the pneumatic device attached to one of the two
lower links actuates it to raise the system, and, on the other hand, springs lower the
pantograph. The vice versa is also seen. However a complete pneumatic actuation is
always preferred due to its better controllability.
There are various types of modern pantographs which are suitably developed for high
4

speed running. The most favourable one is the two-link design as as shown in figure
1.5(a). These types of pantographs use stabilization fin to use the aerodynamic lift in a
favourable way to control the contact force. Single link pantographs are also seen (figure
1.5(b)). In Japan, a simple pneumatic device is seen to be used as pantograph (figure
1.5(c)) in high speed rails. In only goes up straight to make the contact and goes down
when required.

(a) Two-link pantograph [6]

(b) Single-link pantograph [7]

(c) Pantograph in Japan [7]

Figure 1.5: Different modern pantographs

1.4

Interaction between Catenary and Pantograph

The carbon contact strips placed on the top of panhead make contact with the contact
wire of the catenary system to collect required power for the locomotive. The contact
point moves side wise on the contact strips due to the stagger provided to the catenany
to ensure an even wear of the strips. The ideal interaction between the contact wire and
the pantograph should be the steady and controlled contact to get maximum efficiency in
current collection. However, in actual condition, this is not possible and the rate of loss
of contact increases with the increase in train speed. The loss of contact is determined
by contact force at the interface. If the contact force is too low, increased separation will
result in excessive arc which causes erosion in contact strips as well as damage to the
contact wire due to excessive heat generation. On the other hand, if the contact force is
too high, the pantograph will always maintain the contact with the contact wire, but at
the cost of increased wear in the carbon strips. Therefore, the contact force needs to be
maintain within a specified range [8] and this leads to the necessity of dynamic analysis
of both the systems as well as the interface.

Chapter 2
Literature Review
The interaction between pantograph and catenary is the present problematic of current
collection in electric railways. Current collection enhancement is a key requirement for
rail speed-up in railway industry. Several models have been proposed in this sense in
various literatures to investigate the dynamic response of pantograph-overhead contact
line. Kia et al. [9] and Poetsch et al. [10] have presented excellent review of various
literatures and compared the results. A brief review of literatures has been provided in
this chapter.
To study the dynamics of the whole system, a suitable mathematical model is necessary and it should essentially include three main aspects of the system 1) Modelling of
catenary, 2) Modelling of pantograph and 3) Interaction between catenary and pantograph
i.e. Contact modelling. Apart from these, other aspects like active control of pantograph,
aerodynamic effects, etc. are also studied.

2.1

Modelling of Catenary

The catenary and the pantograph together form a dynamically coupled vibrating system
affecting each other by contact force. The quality of current collection is assessed through
loss of contact which is determined by measuring the contact force. The major source of
vibration is the spatial stiffness variation of the catenary along the span [9].

Figure 2.1: Model of catenary system [13]

A simplified overhead system is modelled by Wu et al. [4] where only the static stiffness
variation along the span is considered, thus neglecting the vertical stiffness variation of
droppers with a constant train travelling speed. It is shown that compound catenary
has smaller stiffness variation compared to simple catenary. The contact force is greatly
affected by stiffness variation along the span as well as wave propagation in the catenary
wire. The static stiffness variation has been also proposed by Wu et al. [11] using finite
element method (FEM) and by Park et al. [12] using beam method.
As speed of the train increases, wave reflection plays the major role and the simplified
model becomes insufficient to predict the variation in contact force. Moreover, the effect
of brackets, registration arms, droppers should be taken into account as shown in figure
2.1. Therefore, a suitable beam model like Euler-Bernoulli-Timoshenko beam model is
proposed by Cho [13] and Schaub et al. [14]. The Euler-Bernoulli beam model takes the
bending stiffness of the wire into account and, in addition, the Timoshenko beam model
considers the effects of shear deformation and rotary inertia.
The modal analysis method is more convenient for real time simulation of pantographcatenary interaction as discussed by Zhang et al. [15], Resta et al. [16] and Facchinetti
et al [17]. This method decomposes the catenary wire displacement in the sum of infinite
derivable stationary sinusoidal functions to represent wave propagation phenomena. It
is also capable of describing very fine displacements of catenary. The mass and stiffness
matrix of each element such as messenger wire, contact wire, bracket, registration arm,
support, steady arm, etc. in the catenary system are evaluated by means of kinetic and
potential energy in the Lagrange form.
The results of all these there models are reviewed and compared by Kia et al. [9]
and it is concluded that the FEM model based on Euler-Bernoulli-Timoshenko beam
fits almost perfectly with real systems. However, it consumes highest computational
time with higher degrees of freedom compared to modal analysis technique having lesser
degrees of freedom still consuming lesser computational time and providing satisfactory
results for the real systems. On the other hand, simple models are only capable to model
the first resonance frequency of the system with one degree of freedom. But the results
are far from the actual scenario.

2.2

Modelling of Pantograph

The pantograph is the counter part of catenary system in electrified railways. So, improvement of dynamic behaviour of pantograph leads to better current collection quality.
Low order models are commonly used by many researchers. However, real pantograph
contains non linear force element as well as non linear kinematics. Therefore, models with
linear degree of freedom are only valid for one pantograph layout and for one operational
point [9].
Low order pantograph model varies from one mass to three mass system with linear
force laws to model joint friction. In addition to that, the rotational motion of the pan
head as well as the approximate elasticity of the upper frame is modelled by Schaub et al.
[14] as shown in figure 2.2. The source of non-linearities like pneumatic bellows, effects
of friction can also be included the model.
Another type of recent development is multibody model (figure 1.4(b)). A pantograph,
generally, consists of rigid links connected by kinematic pairs which ensures the relative
motion between the links. Relevant internal forces which represent interaction between

Figure 2.2: A low order model of pantograph: (a) linear mass-spring-damper, (bi ) model
with rotational movement of panhead and elasticity of upper frame [(b1 ): Side view &
(b2 ): Front view] [9]
rigid bodies are modelled as deformable elements like springs and dampers. The equation
of motion of pantograph forms a coupled system of partial differential equations (PDEs)
for the catenary and differential algebraic equations (DAEs) for the pantograph which is
a challenging problem from mathematical and mechanical point of view as analyzed by
Simeoni et al. [18] and Arnold et al. [19]. A multibody model provides more realistic
results as shown by many researchers like Rauter et al. [20] and Ambrosio et al. [21].

2.3

Catenary-Pantograph Interaction Modelling

The interaction between pantograph and catenary is through the contact between the
contact wire and contact strip of pantograph which is affected by several important factors such as contact wire wear and irregularities (discussed by Bruni et al. [22] and Rauter
et al. [23]), aerodynamic disturbance (discussed by Bocciolone et al. [24]), locomotive vibration (shown by Zhai et al. [25]), presence of multiple pantographs (analyzed by Hareir
et al. [26]) and electrical arc (discussed by Midya et al. [27], [28]). Studying of catenary
and pantograph interaction without contact model, limit the frequency bandwidth to
30Hz. It is shown by Bruni et al. [22] that the model including the contact wire irregularities, contact loss and aerodynamic disturbance improves the frequency bandwidth up
to 100Hz.

Chapter 3
Motivation and Work Done
3.1

Motivation of Research

The catenary-pantograph system is fairly complex. Making modification of current systems is also very difficult. On the other hand, owing to great difficulty in planning and
implementation of full-scale measurement, full-scale test runs have become quite challenging. The design as well as control of the system varies significantly in different countries
to suit best the condition there. However, India lacks in high-speed railway. Not only
current infrastructure is unsuitable for high speed running but, maintaining increased
speed on it is also very challenging. Installation of new system is considerably expensive
and this makes the situation more tough for India. The high speed trains should be
economic and must be within the reach of general people.
Therefore, before going to install a new system, it is much desirable to study, analyse
and predict the dynamic behaviour of the existing catenary-pantograph system beforehand with proper mathematical modelling and numerical simulation. Understanding of
this complex interaction of moving pantograph beneath the stationary overhead line with
keeping a steady contact all the time between them also needs proper analytical study.
This will help to change the design and control strategy for the existing system if possible
or to implement a new one which is within the reach of all.

3.2

Work Done

All the requisite courses have been completed with satisfactory grades. The result of comprehensive examination held in Mechanical Engineering Department is also satisfactory.
The details are tabulated in table 3.1
Subject No.

Subject Name

Type

Credit

Session

HS63002

English for Technical Writing

Compulsory Course

2013-2014-Autumn

TS70003

Wave Propagation in Continuous Media

Interdisciplinary Course

2013-2014-Spring

EX

ME60401

Applied Elasticity

Recommended Course

2013-2014-Autumn

ME60417

Vibration Control and Isolation

Recommended Course

2013-2014-Autumn

EX

N/A

Engineering Mechanics

Comprehensive Examination

N/A

2013-2014-Spring

Successful

N/A

Mechanics of Solids

Comprehensive Examination

N/A

2013-2014-Spring

Successful

Table 3.1: Details of course work done

Grade/Remarks

References
[1] The physics of electric locomotives, 03 July, 2014,
http://www2.hesston.edu/Physics/electricloco/eleclocop.html
[2] J. Pombo, J. Ambrosio, Environmental and track perturbations on multiple pantograph interaction with catenaries in high-speed trains, Computers and Structures,
vol. 124, pp. 88-101, 2013.
[3] J. Ambrosio et al., A computational procedure for the dynamic analysis of the
catenary-pantograph interaction in high-speed trains, Journal of Theoretical and
Applied Mechanics, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 681-699, 2012.
[4] T. Wu, M.J. Brennan, Basic analytical study of pantograph-catenary system dynamics, Journal of Vehicle System Dynamics, vol. 30, pp. 443-456, Dec. 1998.
[5] G&Z Enterprises Ltd, 03 July, 2014, http://gzcanada.com/gse100.html
[6] Pantograph(rail) in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, 03 July, 2014,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantograph (rail)
[7] Train of the week: A little bit on pantographs (May 3, 2013), 03 July, 2014,
http://trainoftheweek.blogspot.in/2013/05/a-little-bit-on-pantographs.html
[8] J. S. Kim, An experimental study of the dynamic characteristics of the catenarypantograph interface in high speed trains, Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 21, pp. 2108-2116, 2007.
[9] S. H. Kia et al., Pantograph-catenary interaction model comparison, IEEE, pp.
1584-1589, 2010.
[10] G. Poetsch et al., Pantograph-Catenary dynamics and control, Journal of Vehicle
System Dynamics, vol. 28, no. 2-3, pp. 159-195, Aug. 1997.
[11] T. X. Wu, M. J. Brennan, Dynamic stiffness of railway overhead wire system and its
effect on pantograph-catenary system dynamics, Journal of Sound and Vibration,
vol. 219, no. 3, pp. 483-502, Jan. 1999.
[12] T. J. Park, C. S. Han, J. H. Jang, Dynamic sensitivity analysis for the pantograph
of a high speed rail vehicle, Journal of Sound and Vibration, vol. 266, no. 2, pp.
235-260, Sep. 2003.
[13] Y.H. Cho, Numerical simulation of the dynamic responses of railway overhead contact lines to a moving pantograph, considering a nonlinear dropper, Journal of
Sound and Vibration, vol. 315, no. 3, pp. 433-454, Aug. 2008.
10

[14] M. Schaub, B. Simeon, Pantograph-catenary dynamics: an analysis of models and

simulation techniques, Journal of Mathematical and Computer Modelling of Dynamical Systems, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 225-238, Jun. 2001.
[15] W. Zhang et al., Hybrid simulation of dynamics for the pantographcatenary system, Journal of Vehicle System Dynamics, vol. 38, no.6, pp. 393-414, Oct. 2002.
[16] F. Resta et al., On the use of the hardware in the loop set-up for pantograph
dynamics evaluation, Journal of Vehicle System Dynamics, vol. 46, no. S1, pp.
1039-1052, 2008.
[17] A. Facchinetti, M. Mauri, Hardware in the loop overhead line emulator for active
pantograph testing, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 56, no. 10,
pp. 4071-4078, Oct. 2009.
[18] B. Simeoni, A. Arnold, Coupling DAEs and PDEs for simulating the interaction
of pantograph and catenary, Journal of Mathematical and Computer Modelling of
Dynamical Systems, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 129-144, Jun. 2000.
[19] M. Arnold, B. Simeon, Pantograph and catenary dynamics: a benchmark problem
and its numerical solution, Journal of Applied numerical mathematics, vol. 34, no.
4, pp. 345-362, 2000.
[20] F. G. Rauter et al., Multibody modeling of pantographs for pantograph-catenary
interaction, in Proc. of IUTAM Symposium on Multiscale Problems in Multibody
System Contacts, Nuremberg (Germany), 13-15 Mar. 2007, vol. 1, pp. 205-226.
[21] J. Ambrosio et al., A memory based communication in the cosimulation of multibody and finite element codes for pantographcatenary interaction simulation, Book
chapter Multibody Dynamics: Computational Methods and Applications, vol. 12, pp.
231-252, 2008.
[22] S. Bruni et al., Pantograph-catenary dynamic interaction in the medium-high frequency range, in Proc. of 18th IAVSD, Atsugi (Japan), 24-30 Aug. 2003, pp. 1-10.
[23] F. G. Rauter et al., Contact model for the pantograph-catenary interaction, Journal of System Design and Dynamics, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 447-457, 2007.
[24] M. Bocciolone et al., Pantograph aerodynamic effects on the pantograph-catenary
interaction, Journal of Vehicle System Dynamics, vol. 44, no. S1, pp. 560-570, 2006.
[25] W. M. Zhai, C. B. Cai, Effect of locomotive vibration on pantograph-catenary
system dynamics, Journal of Vehicle Dynamics, vol. 28, no. S1, pp. 47-58, 1998.
[26] P. Hareir, L. Drugge, M. Reijm, Multiple pantograph operation effects of section
overlaps, Journal of Vehicle System Dynamics, vol. 41, pp. 687-696, 2004.
[27] S. Midya et al., Pantograph arcing in electrified railways mechanism and influence
of various parameters part I: with dc traction power supply, IEEE Transactions on
Power Delivery, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 1931-1939, 2009.
[28] S. Midya et al., Pantograph arcing in electrified railways mechanism and influence
of various parameters part II: with ac traction power supply, IEEE Transactions
on Power Delivery, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 1940-1950, 2009.
11