Applicability of Active Control Algorithms for Pantographs of High-Speed Railway

In order to seek the best active control algorithms for different pantographs, an efficient pantograph-catenary model was established, based on which an optimal controller, a variable structure controller, and a fuzzy controller were designed. A simulation was then conducted by applying the control algorithms to the widely used pantographs SBS81, DSA250, DSA380 and SSS400+ in high-speed railway, and the control algorithms were compared in terms of the maximum, minimum, mean and standard deviation of the contact force before and after controllers applied to the pantographs. The results show that, when the locomotive speed is operated with a simple stitched catenary at 250 km/h, the contact force standard deviation is reduced by 34.4% and 18.6% respectively for the SBS81 and DSA380 equipped with variable structure control. However, the standard deviation is just reduced by 12.7% and 10.0% if the optimal control is applied to them. For DSA250, the standard deviation of contact force is reduced by 25.7% under the optimal control, but only 14.8% under the variable structure control. For SSS400+, the contact force standard deviation is reduced by 38.1% when it is equipped with fuzzy control. Therefore, the variable structure control is more suitable for SBS81and DSA380, the optimal control is more suitable for DSA250, and the fuzzy control is more suitable for SSS400+.