Experimental analysis of the influence of the electrical arc on the wear rate of contact strip and contact wire in a.c. system

The transfer of electrical power from the overhead line to the train is carried out through the sliding contact between the pantograph’s contact strip and the overhead line’s contact wire. The state of the contact is defined by the current collection quality, where electrical arcs play a predominant role. Indeed, electrical arcs are generated when, during current collection, contact losses occur due to the dynamics of pantograph-catenary interaction. The main effects of the electrical arcs are electromagnetic disturbances and high values of local temperature on the strip and on the wire, which in turn cause an increase of wear rate on contact strip and contact wire. The aim of this paper is to analyze, by means of laboratory tests, the effect of electrical arc occurrence on the wear of strip and wire. Two different kinds of carbon based strip are considered: plain carbon strip and copper impregnated carbon strip. The contact wire considered in this work is a pure copper wire.