Keywords: pantograph-catenary interaction, multi-pantograph operation, raising and lowering, operating sequence, emergency condition.

Multi-pantograph operation is widely used in many countries. Although it is a convenient and efficient way to operate railway rolling stock and infrastructure, the multi-pantograph system becomes more sensitive and vulnerable than the single-pantograph system. When trains pass through special sections or in emergency conditions, it is necessary to lower one or all of the pantographs intentionally or unintentionally. In these circumstances, the motion of the pantographs introduces a sudden impact to the catenary and the dynamic stability is therefore disrupted. To address the dynamic performance during pantograph raising and lowering, a parametric study on multi-pantograph operation with various pantograph raising/lowering orders and different positions in span has been carried out using a 3D pantograph-catenary finite element (FE) model. The results show that the leading pantograph is little influenced by the raising and lowering movement of any pantograph behind it. For every trailing pantograph, the motion of any pantograph ahead of it not only introduces an impact into the system but also significantly changes the dynamic behaviour by the new configuration of the pantograph combination. The dynamic performance is only to a small extent determined by the position where the motion takes places. This paper shows that it is necessary to define the speed range where an auxiliary pantograph can join or leave the operating system to avoid disrupting the operation of the trailing pantograph.

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