WEAR OF CONTACT STRIPS AND OF THE OVERHEAD EQUIPMENT WHEN USING METALLIC OR COMPOSITE CONTACT-STRIPS. LINE TESTS PART 1

This report contains the results of the line tests carried out from 1965 until 1968, i.e. the first part of the programme of tests aimed at determining the most economic contact-strip material under all normal service conditions for each traction current system. After having defined the decisive wear parameters and having established the measuring method to be applied so as to obtain comparable results, each administration taking part in the tests first determined the wear produced by the standard contact strips for subsequent comparison with the wear obtained with other, 'foreign' contact strip materials. In this report the contact-strip wear is expressed in mm per pantograph- megametre (mm/Mm). The MAV tests were performed on an examining the performance of metal-impregnated carbon contact-strips. The measurements dealt with the interaction between contact strips and contact wire and with the different service parameters exerting an influence on the wear. Additional tests intended for studying the influence of the electric load and the phenomena appearing during the re-conversion from aluminum to metallised carbon contact strips, have shown that the latter have a longer life than the aluminum contact-strips, when used in mixed working. The NS has carried out three series of tests, the first of which was intended to determine the wear of standard metallised carbon contact-strips with 15% Cu, 7% Pb, 2% Sb, the second to determine the wear of sintered contact-strips which are used in Japan (composed of copper, tin, iron, powdered graphite), and the third series to test the metallic (copper-steel) contact-strips. During two winters the OBB has tested copper-coated carbon contact-strips, while the SNCB has carried out comparative tests on standard SNCB wear strips (non-metallised carbon) and carbon contact-strips coated with carbon-bearing copper. These tests have not yet been completed. The SNCF carried out comparative tests with contact strips of sintered material. They have especially followed, both for ac and dc systems, a large number of pantographs in service normally equipped with copper-steel and steel contact-strips, while the CFF, who have already decided to adopt the copper-coated carbon instead of aluminum, have been able to make some useful observations during the general re-conversion. Bearing in mind that the present report relates merely to the first part of the test-programme, the conclusions which may be drawn from the results are of a provisional nature.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Not available to third parties. Availably only to the member administration of ORE.
• Corporate Authors:

  International Union of Railways

  Office of Research and Experiments
  Utrecht,   Netherlands 
• Publication Date: 1969-4

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 27 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Catenaries (Railroads); Contact wire; Pantographs; Railroad electrification
• Identifier Terms: Magyar Allamvasutak; Nederlandse Spoorwegen; Schweizerische Bundesbahnen; Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Belges; Societe nationale des chemins de fer francais
• Old TRIS Terms: Question a69
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00052700
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: International Union of Railways
• Report/Paper Numbers: A69/RP 3/E
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 14 1976 12:00AM