Thermal Modeling of Temperature Gradients in Railway Contact Wires During Arcing Process

The contact wire and pantograph interference plays a significant role in determining the reliability and safety of overhead line equipment (OLE). Particularly, with the increase in train speeds, the contact wire and the pantograph pair has been subjected to arc events more frequently as a result of a loss of contact. Arcs could lead catastrophic faults, ablation on the contact wire surface and severe deterioration of the contact wire equipment due to the high energy dissipation and elevated temperatures. In this study, a new thermal finite element (FE) model of the contact wire is developed using experimental findings. The temperature distributions in the contact wire section and the cooling process of the contact wire are investigated from the beginning of the arc event until the model is thermodynamically stable. Microstructural modifications and the thermal gradients in the contact wire's metallurgy are revealed using a technique overlapping FE solutions and optical microstructural images. The present research could provide substantial remarks for the characteristic of the damage in the contact wire metallurgy due to the arc events with AC and DC feeding types.