Active control in pantographs for high speed trains

In the ambit of the high speed line projects, the analysis of the problem of the collection of current and the study of the dynamics of the 'pantograph-catenary' system are of utmost importance because of the arising of serious problems of wearing and of the phenomenon of the detachment of the slipper, which are particularly emphasized in the case of two coupled pantographs. Among the possible different ways of improving the performance of the collection of current, the traditional ones aim at an optimization of the dynamic behaviour by operating on the parameters of the entire pantograph-catenary system. The present article proposes as an alternative a self-adapting pantograph control structure, based on the optimum control in parallel with the Extended Kalman Filter for the identification on line of the system. For a future application on line in conditions of normal train operation, the authors have assumed some available measurements regarding the state of the pantograph alone.