Trains operating with several pantographs are used in Sweden and other countries. The more complex operational conditions, however, cause additional difficulties, i.e. low quality of current collection, increased mechanical wear and electromagnetic interference, due to the poor dynamic behaviour of the system. In order to address these problems, a three-dimensional model for the computational analysis of the interaction between catenary and pantograph is presented and validated in this paper, and the dynamic behaviour of the multi-pantograph system, based on Swedish soft pantograph/catenary systems, is analysed. Parametric studies are performed to investigate cases with different distances between pantographs and with up to three pantographs in use. The relationship between dynamic performance and other parameters, i.e. the number of pantographs in use, running speed and the position of the pantographs, is studied. The results show that an appropriate distance between pantographs and a given type of catenary allow operation on the existing infrastructure with up to three pantographs while maintaining an acceptable dynamic performance at the desired speed.

Stiffness variations and wave propagation in the catenary system cause high dynamic variations in the contact force between pantograph and catenary at high operating speeds. In order to increase the operational speed on an existing catenary system, especially on soft catenary systems, technical upgrading is usually required to keep the current collection quality within an acceptable range. Therefore, it is desirable to explore a more practical and costsaving method to achieve higher operational speed. With the help of a 3D pantograph-catenary finite element (FE) model, a parametric study on two-pantograph operation at short spacing distances is carried out. Results show that although the leading pantograph suffers from deterioration of dynamic performance, the trailing pantograph achieves a better dynamic behaviour by using a proper spacing distance between pantographs. To avoid the additional wear caused by poor dynamic performance on the leading pantograph, it is suggested to use the leading pantograph as an auxiliary pantograph, which does not conduct any electric current. In this way, the operational speed of the existing system can be increased while still sustaining a good dynamic performance without large modifications on the existing catenary system.

The contact between pantograph and catenary at high speeds suffers from high dynamic contact force variation due to stiffness variations and wave propagation. To increase operational speed on an existing catenary system, especially for soft catenary systems, technical upgrading is usually necessary. Therefore, it is desirable to explore a more practical and cost-saving method to increase the operational speed. Based on a 3D pantograph–catenary finite element model, a parametric study on two-pantograph operation with short spacing distances at high speeds shows that, although the performance of the leading pantograph gets deteriorated, the trailing pantograph feels an improvement if pantographs are spaced at a proper distance. Then, two main positive effects, which can cause the improvement, are addressed. Based on a discussion on wear mechanisms, this paper suggests to use the leading pantograph as an auxiliary pantograph, which does not conduct any electric current, to minimise additional wear caused by the leading pantograph. To help implementation and achieve further improvement under this working condition, this paper investigates cases with optimised uplift force on the leading pantograph and with system parameter deviations. The results show that the two positive effects still remain even with some system parameter deviations. About 30% of speed increase should be possibly achieved still sustaining a good dynamic performance with help of the optimised uplift force.

Multi-pantograph operation is a convenient and efficient way to operate railway rolling stock, but the influence between the pantographs makes the system more sensitive and vulnerable than a single-pantograph system. When a train passes through special sections or in an emergency condition, it is necessary to lower one or all of the pantographs and then raise them up again. In these circumstances, the motion of the pantographs can introduce a sudden impact to the catenary that may change the pantograph configuration, then disrupting the dynamic stability. To address the dynamic performance during pantograph raising and lowering, a numerical study on multi-pantograph operation is carried out with help of a 3D pantograph-catenary finite element (FE) model under the conditions: up to three pantographs, various pantograph raising/lowering orders and different operating positions in a span. The results show that the leading pantograph is little influenced by the raising and lowering movement of any pantograph behind it. However, any trailing pantograph is significantly affected by any operation taking place ahead of it. The dynamic performance of the system depends on the pantograph spacing distance and the operational speed, but is little affected by the operating position in a span. To study auxiliary-pantograph operation where the leading pantograph works as an auxiliary pantograph, this paper shows how an optimal setting of the leading pantograph benefits the trailing pantograph and suggests specifying the speed where the leading pantograph gets into or out of service to avoid disruption.

The dynamic behaviour in the contact between pantograph and catenary decides the quality of power transmission, the component service life and the maximum operational speed. The catenary system is desired to be built smooth and uniform in geometry and elasticity along the train-running direction, but due to electric concerns and tensile force retention, the entire catenary is made up by many tensioning sections. To make a pantograph smoothly shift between the neighbouring sections, an overlap of several spans is introduced to work as a transition zone. However, when the pantograph is passing through the overlap section, its dynamic behaviour can be heavily changed and cannot sustain as good contact as in the middle spans of each tensioning section. To clarify the dynamic behaviour in this special section and to ensure a stable contact between pantograph and catenary, a numerical study on catenary section overlap is performed based on a 3D pantograph-catenary finite element (FE) model. The following issues are discussed in this paper: operational speed, wire gradient, damping ratio, and spacing distance in multi-pantograph operation. The results show that the gradient of wires in overlap sections and the damping ratio have great influence on the dynamic performance, especially at high speed and in multi-pantograph operation. In practice, in the overlap section the gradient should be properly designed and some additional damping is beneficial to ensure good dynamic performance for higher speed.  

The railway catenary is suspended to its supports with droppers, clamps and oth-er fittings. These lumped-masses are made light and small to minimize disturbances. The mass-es cannot be completely removed but can be adjusted during maintenance. In other technical systems, artificial mass is used to improve the dynamic behaviour. Therefore, in this study the relationship between the lumped-mass distribution and its dynamic behaviour is investigated. Based on a 3D pantograph-catenary finite element (FE) model, a parametric study on the lumped-mass distribution on the Swedish soft catenary system is performed by applying addi-tional lumped-mass to different positions. It is shown that the mass distribution affects the dy-namic performance and in some cases, can improve the dynamic performance. The influence becomes stronger in multi-pantograph operation. Installing these masses on the messenger wire can avoid hard-point effects. In this way, the artificial mass can be used to improve the dynamic performance or correct some structural defects.

Finding a simple and practical method to improve the dynamic behaviour of a specific structure is always desirable in civil and mechanical engineering. The railway catenary system is the overhead power line above the track, interacting with the train-based pantograph to transfer electric power. Due to vertical stiffness variation and a propagating wave along the catenary, the fluctuation of the contact force becomes significant with operational speed increasing. Therefore, this has become one of the key factors which limits the operational speed and service life of key components. Wire misalignment, structural errors and uneven mass distribution of the catenary can further deteriorate the contact stability. In order to achieve a higher speed on existing lines, the catenary needs large-scale modification implying long out-off-service time. From the designing aspect, all components directly fixed to the catenary, like clamps, steady arms and other fittings, are made as light and small as possible to minimize disturbances. However, in other engineering applications, some well-designed additional mass systems are adopted aiming to improve their dynamic performance. In order to take advantage of these unavoidable masses on the catenary, an investigation on lumped-mass distribution in single-pantograph and multi-pantograph operations is performed with help of a 3D pantograph-catenary finite element (FE) model. The results show that a rightly-tuned mass, here the implementing location and the elasticity of its connection, can positively change the dynamic performance without implementing large-scale modification to the existing system. Through a brief discussion on the mechanism of this positive effect, this paper proposes that applying some artificial tuned-mass system can be a possible method to overcome unfavourable working conditions or even allow speed increase on existing lines.