Effects of train pantograph operating height on aerodynamic performance

To study the effects of operating height on the aerodynamic performance of a high-speed train pantograph, an aerodynamic model of the pantograph was developed. The aerodynamic characteristics of a high-speed train pantograph under different operating conditions were studied using the detached eddy simulation. The results show the aerodynamic drag of the pantograph to be less than 5% compared with that of the wind tunnel test data, verifying the numerical simulation model and method. The results show that the pantograph height, and knuckle-upstream and downstream orientations have a major influence on the flow field structure around the pantograph, and affect its aerodynamic performance. When the height of the pantograph is fixed and the running speed is 400 km/h, there is an increase of 2%‒4.07% of aerodynamic drag in the knuckle-downstream position compared with the knuckle-upstream position. When the pantograph is operated in a knuckle-downstream or upstream orientation, the aerodynamic drag experienced by the pantograph is approximately linear with the operating height. At an operating height in the range from 0 to 1.4 m, the pantograph’s aerodynamic drag increases by 9.2%. The pantograph height has a significant effect on the aerodynamic characteristics of the frame system, but has less effect on the base, the insulator, and the panhead. As the height of the pantograph increases, the pulsation of the flow field around the pantograph frame system is aggravated, the aerodynamic drag becomes larger, and the flow field around the panhead and the slider changes slightly. The pulsating lift of the slider surface has obvious main frequency characteristics, and the height of the panhead increases with little effect on the main frequency. The frequency distribution in the knuckle-upstream position is more dispersed than when operating in the knuckle-downstream position.