Design and construction of the KS‑400 overhead contact line for Russian high‑speed railways

Introduction. The article examines the key scientific and technical problems arising at design and construction of the KS-400 overhead contact line for Russian high-speed railways and presents their solutions based on the results of numerical simulations and stage-by-stage tests. At high train speed, electric current loads increase and dynamic interaction between pantographs and catenary becomes more complex. To provide a required quality of current collection, an extensive study of the parameters affecting mechanical, electrical and thermal processes in the pantograph-catenary interaction system must be carried out. The aim of the presented study is to ensure reliable operation of the overhead contact line assemblies and components in the wide range of operational conditions.

Materials and methods. Numerical simulation methods have been employed in the design of the KS-400 overhead contact line. The contact line is simulated with a detailed finite element model and the pantographs are modeled using multibody dynamics approach. Numerical models employ a three-dimensional nonlinear formulation. Dynamic problems are directly solved in the time domain by numerical integration of the system of finite element equations over time. Contact interaction between catenary and pantographs is modeled using the penalty method. The compliance of the overhead contact line parameters and the individual hardware components with regulatory requirements is confirmed by mechanical, electrical, thermal and other types of tests.

Results. The KS-400 overhead contact line assemblies and components have been designed based on the results of numerical simulation. It has been shown that the obtained indicators of current collection quality are within the allowable margins. The main technical solutions for the KS-400 overhead contact line and the key stages of its design and construction are presented in the article.

Discussion and conclusion. To date, large amount of design, research and development work on implementing the KS-400 overhead contact line for Russian high-speed railways have been carried out. The prototype hardware components have been manufactured. A pilot overhead contact line section has been built at the Experimental Loop of the Railway Research Institute. The tests due are currently underway. In order to confirm operational compatibility of the KS-400 with other railway subsystems and to check the quality of current collection at high train speed, further field tests are scheduled at the Kryukovo – Novaya Tver experimental site which is a part of the designed Moscow – St. Petersburg high-speed railway.

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