Simulation and Design of a High Speed Railway Pantograph for Trenitalia S.p.A.

The paper deals with the design process undertaken for a proposed high speed pantograph oriented to the interoperability, developed in cooperation among Trenitalia SpA (Italian railway stock holder and manager) and three Italian universities. Aim of the work is the development of an optimized passive pantograph, in which the control of the contact force in the low frequency range can be also implemented. Several aspects have been taken into consideration in the design process, undertaken as a team work. Trenitalia leaded the overall coordination and the technical specification drawing, while Florence and Milan universities cooperated for the design and optimization respectively of the articulated frame and the collector head. Naples university studied the acoustical impact, in cooperation with Politecnico di Milano, where wind tunnel investigation have been performed on an existing pantograph. As a result, a complete pantograph has been designed and a first prototype has been made, to be tested in laboratory on a dynamic test bench. Subsequently it will be tested on line, with a proper measurement set-up, so that its performance can be assessed.