Pantograph-catenary wear modelling using dynamic simulation

Sammanfattning: Wear condition modelling is a research topic which lately has increased in popularitydue to its significance to the railway industry. Large sums are spent on maintenanceof the network every year, which has generated a demand for understanding and predictingwear mechanisms in a multitude of components within both railway vehiclesand infrastructure. To acquire this knowledge, using a simulation software to predictwear and maintenance needs, is a cheap and dependable option. This thesis sets outto create a wear modelling software for the catenary-pantograph interaction, which intheory could enlighten railway operators of the condition of their infrastructure. This research contains an extensive literature review on the subject of wear modelling,analysing different strategies and theories of the wear mechanism and desired modelproperties. Thereafter, an attempt to recreate a model for a representative Swedishcase was conducted; implementing parameters of a typical Swedish rail vehicle to awear rate formula, recreating a passage of a pantograph sliding along the catenary.The output was a wear rate as a function of time, a determination of life expectancyfor the infrastructure and a worn profile of the catenary wire after one year of operation. The model, named AWEAR, was deemed functional for determining wear mechanismtendencies and behaviour for a few cases of alternating parameters. However, sinceno validation could be performed due to a lack of resources, the validity of the outputvalues could not be confirmed - thus leaving calibration of the model to future work.In conclusion, AWEAR needs to be calibrated for future research but does contain amultitude of enhancement opportunities proposed in this thesis. While not completelyfunctional, the software was deemed a useful foundation for future projects and mightresult in a product that aids operators maintaining their infrastructure.Keywords: Wear modelling, catenary pantograph interaction, mechanism,