The contact performance of multi-segmented pantograph head on test bench and current collection testing equipment

Toward an advanced high-speed railway system, there are ongoing extensive studies on both of railway vehicles and infrastructures. Reducing the aerodynamic noise emitted from the pantograph heads is one of the most important subjects for high-speed railways from the environmental point of view. In order to reduce such aerodynamic noise, several shapes of cross-sectional profile have been investigated. A suitable configuration of the pantograph head with a smooth cross-sectional profile has been proposed. Furthermore, not only aerodynamic noise characteristics but also high contact performance is desired in pantographs. To improve the contact performance, it is important to reduce the mass of the parts that touch the contact wire. Consequently, the contact strips are often supported by springs. However, the pantograph head with a smooth cross-sectional profile and the conventional suspension system of the contact strip sometimes cause undesirable lift force characteristics as a result of the variations in the cross-sectional shape due to the operation of the suspension system. For this reason, authors have developed the multi-segmented pantograph head, which employ novel suspension systems that prevent the abnormality of the lift force characteristic. This paper describes the configuration and mechanism of a multi-segmented pantograph head with offset support, the dynamic characteristics and the validation results of the suspension system by bench test equipment in detail, comparing with the test result of the conventional pantograph head. Finally, the contact performance of a multi-segmented pantograph head is validated in current collection testing equipment with actual catenary system. The test results show that the multi-segmented pantograph head has high contact performance up to high-speed region.