Using of aluminum matrix composite materials in the parts of electric rolling stock current collectors

The work is devoted to the review of the possibility of the use of aluminum matrix composites in the parts of electric rolling stock current collectors. The possibility of using composite materials in the parts and the units of current collectors operating in conditions of high current loads and at high speed is analyzed. The static analysis using a finite element method in SolidWorks Simulation is performed. The strength performance of the parts of the conventional pantograph head suspension and composite pantograph head suspension is compared. The multibody modeling using SolidWorks Motion has been performed to analyze the dynamic characteristics of the composite head suspension with an aluminum matrix and its effort on the dynamic characteristics of the pantograph. The obtained results evidence an improvement of the dynamic characteristics of the composite head suspension and its positive effect on the dynamic characteristics of the pantograph.