Pantograph Arc's Energy Characters under Various Load

Sliding electrical contact is the main process for locomotive to carry current in electrical railways. The relative sliding velocity between pantograph and cantenary increases with the speeding up of locomotive, However, the adhesiveness between pantograph and cantenary decreases. Meanwhile, the contact status of pantograph and catenary get worse. Pantograph arc occurred frequently under these conditions. Pantograph arcing eroded pantograph slider and contact wire seriously. That affected the contacting morphology between pantograph and contact wire severely. The erosion degree is mainly determined by arcing energy. In this paper, the pantograph arc's electrical parameters such as voltage, current and energy were tested under different load by Pantograph-Catenary Arcing Experiment System (PCAES). Relationship between arc's average duration and traction current was analyzed. Influence of load power factor was studied too. Relationship between arc energy and load character was studied at last. It is demonstrated that arc's average duration becomes longer with the increasing of traction current. Arc duration under inductive load is longer than resistive load. Arc energy decreases when load power factor increase.