Improving the mathematical model of wear of contact elements of pantograph during very high-speed movement

The long-term development program of the Russian Railways holding provides for a comprehensive modernization of the railway infrastructure by The least expensive of these measures is the use of contact elements with an extended service life, providing reliable, economical and environmentally friendly transmission of electricity to rolling stock. In accordance with the program developed and successfully tested at OSTU, the methodology for conducting experimental studies of contact pairs of current collector devices for conducting a test cycle requires specialized experimental complexes, as well as significant time and resources. To reduce the volume of experimental studies, a combined method is used - a combination of the required minimum of experimental studies of real objects (or their analogues) and calculation methods based on mathematical modeling of processes occurring in contact pairs of current collector devices. However, the use of existing mathematical models for predicting wear under conditions of very high-speed movement is not accurate enough due to the lack of consideration of the aerodynamic effects and the speed of the rolling stock on current collection processes. This article discusses the improvement of the electrical component of the wear model of the elements of contact pairs of current collector devices under conditions of very high-speed movement. The histograms of the electrical wear of contact elements obtained by calculation using the existing and improved mathematical models are presented.