Pantograph-Catenary Dynamics: An Analysis of Models and Simulation Techniques

In this paper we analyze models and simulation techniques for the interaction of pantograph and catenary. Detailed models for catenary and pantograph and the propagation of waves are first investigated. Next, the semi discretization by the finite element method and the time integration are described. In this context numerical techniques like GGL-stabilization and superconvergent patch recovery are applied. The latter yields an error estimation for the finite element grid and shows the critical points of the system.