Automatic monitoring of the angular displacement of catenary cantilevers: improving the reliability of railway traction power supply based on electromagnetic transducers

Abstract

Background: the continuity of traction power supply on electrified railways depends directly on the technical condition of overhead contact line components. Deviation of a supporting cantilever from its prescribed angular position degrades pantograph–contact wire interaction and increases the risk of component damage and unplanned supply interruptions. Because such changes remain unobserved between periodic inspections, primary transducers for automatic monitoring of cantilever angular displacement are required.

Aim: to develop electromagnetic transducers for automatic monitoring of catenary cantilever angular displacement, to compare their technical and metrological characteristics with those of an existing transducer, and to estimate the economic effect of their application on an operating catenary section.

Methods: the theory of electromagnetic induction and mutual inductive coupling, experimental determination and comparative analysis of static conversion characteristics, evaluation of metrological parameters (sensitivity, full-scale error, non-linearity), and an economic-effect calculation based on operating costs were applied.

Results: the proposed ET-1 and ET-2 transducers provide a sensitivity of 0.020 V/degree, four times that of the existing transducer (0.005 V/degree). The measurement error was reduced from 2.0% to 1.5% and 1.0%, respectively. In ET-2, with the 0–90° measuring range retained, the non-linearity of the static characteristic decreased from 2.5% to 0.1% and the mass from 1.2 to 0.6 kg. The transducer was installed on an operating catenary section; under the adopted operating data, the estimated economic effect for the first year of implementation amounts to UZS 107,548,000.