Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds

Hanlei Wang; Dingyang Zheng; Wenyi Yan

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2_33

Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds

Hanlei Wang
, Dingyang Zheng
, Wenyi Yan

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Other

Abstract

A mixed train, where trains with different speeds run on the same railway, is a common practice. This paper focuses on optimising a catenary system for mixed trains with varying speeds. The objective function used to achieve this optimisation is the total standard deviation of the contact force. The goal is to enhance the current collection quality and minimise contact wear. To optimise the catenary system, the particle swarm-simulated annealing (PSSA) algorithm was applied. Several improvements were made to the algorithm. Firstly, it avoided redundant finite element method (FEM) simulations by eliminating duplicated input parameters. Additionally, before lowering the simulated annealing temperature, the model with the worst performance was removed, allowing for greater chances of discovering the global optimal solution. To evaluate the effectiveness of the structurally optimised design, a comparison was conducted between the contact force standard deviation of the optimised system and that of the original unoptimised system. The results of the optimisation showed a significant reduction of 69.8% in the standard deviation of the contact force compared to the benchmark system.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Advances in Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks III - Proceedings of the 28th Symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics, IAVSD 2023, Rail Vehicles
Editors	Wei Huang, Mehdi Ahmadian
Publisher	Springer
Pages	307-313
Number of pages	7
ISBN (Print)	9783031669705
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2_33
Publication status	Published - 2025
Event	IAVSD Symposium on Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks 2023 - Ottawa, Canada Duration: 21 Aug 2023 → 25 Aug 2023 Conference number: 28th https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2 (Proceedings) https://iavsd2023.ca/ (Website)

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering
Publisher	Springer
ISSN (Print)	2195-4356
ISSN (Electronic)	2195-4364

Conference

Conference	IAVSD Symposium on Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks 2023
Abbreviated title	IAVSD 2023
Country/Territory	Canada
City	Ottawa
Period	21/08/23 → 25/08/23
Internet address	https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2 (Proceedings) https://iavsd2023.ca/ (Website)

Keywords

optimization
pantograph–catenary interaction
particle swarm - simulated annealing algorithm
Railway catenary

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2_33

Cite this

Wang, H., Zheng, D., & Yan, W. (2025). Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds. In W. Huang, & M. Ahmadian (Eds.), Advances in Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks III - Proceedings of the 28th Symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics, IAVSD 2023, Rail Vehicles (pp. 307-313). (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2_33

Wang, Hanlei ; Zheng, Dingyang ; Yan, Wenyi. / Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds. Advances in Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks III - Proceedings of the 28th Symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics, IAVSD 2023, Rail Vehicles. editor / Wei Huang ; Mehdi Ahmadian. Springer, 2025. pp. 307-313 (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering).

@inproceedings{bc099e5abf0d4839bdaec828542c6940,

title = "Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds",

abstract = "A mixed train, where trains with different speeds run on the same railway, is a common practice. This paper focuses on optimising a catenary system for mixed trains with varying speeds. The objective function used to achieve this optimisation is the total standard deviation of the contact force. The goal is to enhance the current collection quality and minimise contact wear. To optimise the catenary system, the particle swarm-simulated annealing (PSSA) algorithm was applied. Several improvements were made to the algorithm. Firstly, it avoided redundant finite element method (FEM) simulations by eliminating duplicated input parameters. Additionally, before lowering the simulated annealing temperature, the model with the worst performance was removed, allowing for greater chances of discovering the global optimal solution. To evaluate the effectiveness of the structurally optimised design, a comparison was conducted between the contact force standard deviation of the optimised system and that of the original unoptimised system. The results of the optimisation showed a significant reduction of 69.8\% in the standard deviation of the contact force compared to the benchmark system.",

keywords = "optimization, pantograph–catenary interaction, particle swarm - simulated annealing algorithm, Railway catenary",

author = "Hanlei Wang and Dingyang Zheng and Wenyi Yan",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.; IAVSD Symposium on Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks 2023, IAVSD 2023 ; Conference date: 21-08-2023 Through 25-08-2023",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2\_33",

language = "English",

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series = "Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering",

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pages = "307--313",

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Wang, H, Zheng, D & Yan, W 2025, Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds. in W Huang & M Ahmadian (eds), Advances in Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks III - Proceedings of the 28th Symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics, IAVSD 2023, Rail Vehicles. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, Springer, pp. 307-313, IAVSD Symposium on Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks 2023, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 21/08/23. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2_33

Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds. / Wang, Hanlei; Zheng, Dingyang; Yan, Wenyi.
Advances in Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks III - Proceedings of the 28th Symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics, IAVSD 2023, Rail Vehicles. ed. / Wei Huang; Mehdi Ahmadian. Springer, 2025. p. 307-313 (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Other

TY - GEN

T1 - Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds

AU - Wang, Hanlei

AU - Zheng, Dingyang

AU - Yan, Wenyi

N1 - Conference code: 28th

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - A mixed train, where trains with different speeds run on the same railway, is a common practice. This paper focuses on optimising a catenary system for mixed trains with varying speeds. The objective function used to achieve this optimisation is the total standard deviation of the contact force. The goal is to enhance the current collection quality and minimise contact wear. To optimise the catenary system, the particle swarm-simulated annealing (PSSA) algorithm was applied. Several improvements were made to the algorithm. Firstly, it avoided redundant finite element method (FEM) simulations by eliminating duplicated input parameters. Additionally, before lowering the simulated annealing temperature, the model with the worst performance was removed, allowing for greater chances of discovering the global optimal solution. To evaluate the effectiveness of the structurally optimised design, a comparison was conducted between the contact force standard deviation of the optimised system and that of the original unoptimised system. The results of the optimisation showed a significant reduction of 69.8% in the standard deviation of the contact force compared to the benchmark system.

AB - A mixed train, where trains with different speeds run on the same railway, is a common practice. This paper focuses on optimising a catenary system for mixed trains with varying speeds. The objective function used to achieve this optimisation is the total standard deviation of the contact force. The goal is to enhance the current collection quality and minimise contact wear. To optimise the catenary system, the particle swarm-simulated annealing (PSSA) algorithm was applied. Several improvements were made to the algorithm. Firstly, it avoided redundant finite element method (FEM) simulations by eliminating duplicated input parameters. Additionally, before lowering the simulated annealing temperature, the model with the worst performance was removed, allowing for greater chances of discovering the global optimal solution. To evaluate the effectiveness of the structurally optimised design, a comparison was conducted between the contact force standard deviation of the optimised system and that of the original unoptimised system. The results of the optimisation showed a significant reduction of 69.8% in the standard deviation of the contact force compared to the benchmark system.

KW - optimization

KW - pantograph–catenary interaction

KW - particle swarm - simulated annealing algorithm

KW - Railway catenary

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85209637073

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2_33

DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2_33

M3 - Conference Paper

AN - SCOPUS:85209637073

SN - 9783031669705

T3 - Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering

SP - 307

EP - 313

BT - Advances in Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks III - Proceedings of the 28th Symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics, IAVSD 2023, Rail Vehicles

A2 - Huang, Wei

A2 - Ahmadian, Mehdi

PB - Springer

T2 - IAVSD Symposium on Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks 2023

Y2 - 21 August 2023 through 25 August 2023

ER -

Wang H, Zheng D, Yan W. Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds. In Huang W, Ahmadian M, editors, Advances in Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks III - Proceedings of the 28th Symposium of the International Association of Vehicle System Dynamics, IAVSD 2023, Rail Vehicles. Springer. 2025. p. 307-313. (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering). doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-66971-2_33

Design Optimisation of Mixed Trains Catenary Systems at Different Speeds

Abstract

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Keywords

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