Dynamics of a Current Collector for a High-Speed Railway

In this paper, a mathematical model of a collecting rail and collector system with sliding contactors is proposed for a current collector system of a very-high-speed railway. Its dynamic characteristics, especially the variation of contact force and the probability of contact break, are investigated by means of linear analysis. In order to prove the appropriateness of the linear model, the computer simulation and theoretical analysis are performed using a nonlinear model. Experimental investigations are also performed in order to examine the dynamic characteristics of the model. From these results, it is concluded that the probability of contact break can be kept to less than about 10 percent for a train speed of 500 km/hr by choosing the proper values of natural frequencies and damping ratios under constraints.