A New Methodology for Hybrid Simulation of Pantograph-Catenary Interaction Based on Hybrid System Response Convergence: Proposal and First Numerical and Experimental Tests

A new methodology is proposed for the hybrid simulation of pantograph-catenary interaction, which is based on the Hybrid System Response Convergence. Thanks to its open-loop nature, the methodology allows overcoming the simplification that are usually needed in the schematisation of virtual catenaries in HIL pantograph tests. The main characteristics of the methodology are introduced together with some numerical experiments aimed at its development and first verification. Finally, an example of laboratory application is addressed, to show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.