Modeling of the Pantograph-Catenary Wire Contact Interaction

One of the problems appearing at creating of new pantographs designs is associated with the geometric parameters selection for the minimum wear of the coal insertion and the catenary wire. To determine the dynamic loads in the contact between the pantograph and the wire, there was performed the simulation analysis using MSC.ADAMS software. According to the computations the contact force-time dependence for the case of connected pantograph and wire was obtained. The simulation results were later used to analyze the stress-strain state of the coal insert. The finite element modeling of the pantograph-catenary wire contact interaction was performed in ANSYS. The created model included parts of wire, coal insert and steel lining. Taking into account the symmetry of the construction it was created the half-model of real construction. The total number of model finite elements was equal to 401 717. Longitudinal and vertical forces were applied to the wire part end points. These forces correspond to the interaction forces between the pantograph and a contact wire. The computational results demonstrate that the highest values of equivalent stresses appear at the lining corners, and, if for the case of the rectangular cross-section there is a phenomenon of graphite crumbling.