Active pantograph in high-speed railway: Review, challenges, and applications

The pantograph–catenary system (PCS) vibration causes the pantograph–catenary contact force (PCCF) to fluctuate, deteriorating current collection quality and damaging the electrical equipment. The active pantograph is one of the most promising methods for suppressing PCS coupling vibration and improving the current collection quality of high-speed trains. This paper first summarizes the research progress of five critical links in the active pantograph, including PCS modeling, control algorithm, hardware support, and HIL test verification. Then, the impact of the PCS model on numerical simulation accuracy and calculation time, the pros and cons of different control algorithms, and the execution mechanism selection are discussed. Finally, the active pantograph's future development trend and research direction are prospected, such as model optimization, algorithm design, and signal correction. The analysis results show that establishing the PCS model should consider the representation of system dynamics and calculation efficiency. Control targets need to reflect the current collection quality comprehensively, and the measurement system needs to minimize the effect of locomotive disturbances on the observation results. The actuator structure needs to execute the control commands efficiently and quickly without affecting the operation of the raising mechanism. These factors, together with the real-time control algorithm, determine the practical effectiveness of the active pantograph.