《 Overhead Contact Line system Running & Maintenance》

Contact wire wear

Liu Guanghui
Zhengzhou Railway Vocational & Technical College
 1 Types of contact wire
please wirte mean of each character and number ?
Main types : TCG－110 CTMH-120/CTAH-120.
T——Material for copper；
C——contact wire；
G——Slotted/Groove type；
110—— cross-sectional area of the contact wire.（mm2.
For instance,
TCG－110 is 110 mm2 copper contact wire.
CTMH-120 is 120 mm2 high-stength copper-megnesium alloy contact
wire.
CTAH-120 is 120 mm2 high-stength copper-sliver alloy contact wire.
 1 Contact wire
Technique properties of contact wire

（1）High tensile strength 500N/mm2

（2）Low resistivity
（3）Good heat resistance
(4) Good wear resistance
（5）Long manufacturing length
 1 Contact wire
Contact wire wear requirements
(1) Contact wire wear
While the train is in motion, the so-called pantograph
permanently slides against the overhead line, mostly
made of copper, with a certain contact pressure. In the
long run, the overhead contact line wears out, threatening
to break – with potentially fatal consequences.
 1 Contact wire
Contact wire wear requirements
(1) Contact wire wear

a R 2
(R x)Rsin
180
where,
a ——Wear area of the contact wire(mm2);
R ——Contact line lower section radius(mm);
x ——Actual wear height. Contact wire wear diagram
1 Contact wire
The wear was determined by lookup table
For example:
The contact wire of a tensioning section adopts TCG-110.
It is found that the average wear height of the contact
wire is 3.2mm, and the transmission ratio of the
automatically tensioning device is 1:2. How should the
tension and number of weight balances be adjusted?
 1 Contact wire
The wear was determined by lookup table

First：we should know remaining

height.

h＝12.32－3.2＝9.12mm；

Variation diagram of tension due to wear

 1 Contact wire
The wear was determined by lookup table
Second：we should know wear area.
TCG110 Wear conversion table
高（mm） 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
8.2 35.09 34.97 34.86 34.74 34.63 34.51 34.39 34.28 34.16 34.05
…
9.0 26.03 25.92 25.81 25.70 25.60 25.49 25.38 25.27 25.16 26.14
1 24.04 24.83 24.73 24.62 24.51 24.40 24.29 24.19 24.08 23.97
2 23.86 23.76 23.65 23.54 23.43 23.33 23.22 23.11 23.01 22.90
…
12.0 0.88 0.84 0.80 0.76 0.73 0.69 0.65 0.62 0.58 0.55
1 0.51 0.48 0.45 0.42 0.39 0.36 0.33 0.30 0.27 0.24
2 0.22 0.19 0.17 0.15 0.13 0.11 0.09 0.07 0.05 0.04
3 0.02 0.01 0.00
 1 Contact wire
The wear was determined by lookup table

Third：accordingt to
remaining height, we can
know the tensile force of
contact wire ；
Forth: adjust the number 24.73

of weight balances
 1 Contact wire
Contact wire wear requirements
(1) Contact wire wear
Overhead contact wires need to be
replaced as soon as they have fallen
below a specified thickness.
Railway companies therefore check
the contact wire thickness at regular
intervals – if possible quickly and
efficiently in regular operation.
Wire Wear Monitoring System
without touching
 1 Contact wire
Contact wire wear requirements
1. Conduct contact wire wear
measurements at least once a year.
2. If the average wear of the contact wire
in the section reaches 20% of the cross-
sectional area , it should be replaced
completely.
3. Reinforcement can be performed
when the local wear exceeds 30%. When
the local wear reaches 40%, the contact
Contact wire wear measurement
wire should be cut off and connect with
contact wire connection clamp .
 1 Contact wire
Contact wire wear requirements

4. The select of measurement points is special, such

as suspension point, electrical connection clamp,
Connection clamp for contact wire, mid-span
anchor, neutral section, and so on.
 1 Contact wire
Contact wire connector requirements
（2）Connection clamp for contact wire
Existing line:
The number of joints in each tensionging
section and the distance between support
point and joint is more than 2m.
Standard value: 0. Cu connection clamp

Standard status: same as standard value.

Warning value: 2.
Boundary value: 4
 1 Contact wire
Contact wire connector requirements
（3）Connection clamp for contact wire
High speed line:
The number of joints in each tensionging
section for main line is zero.
Joint of sliding line adopt the following
requirments:
Standard value: 0.
Standard status: same as standard value.
Warning value: 2. Cu contact wire connection clamp
Boundary value: 4
 1 Contact wire
Contact Wire Straightener

Five-wheel straightener
 1 Contact wire
Contact Wire Straightener

hydraulic device for Contact Wire Straightening

《 Overhead Contact Line system Running & Maintenance 》
Messenger wire

Liu Guanghui
Zhengzhou Railway Vocational & Technical College
 2 Messenger
Function :
Messenger is the longitudinal wire that supports a contact wire. It
is required that the Messenger can withstand large tension and
corrosion resistance, and the change of sag is small when the
temperature changes.

Simple catenary
 2 Messenger
Classification of Messenger according to materials

Copper and copper alloy messenger

Steel mssenger

Aluminum-coated steel messenger

 2 Messenger
Copper and copper alloy messenger
Advantages:
Electrical conductivity
It can be used as one of way for
traction current, and is connected
with contact wire in parallel to reduce
the voltage loss and energy loss.

High corrosion resistance

Copper stranded wire cross sections
.
 2 Messenger
Copper and copper alloy messenger

Disadvantages:
higher cost
lower mechanical strength
cannot withstand large tensions, and have large
changes in sag when temperature changes.
 2 Messenger
Copper and copper alloy messenger

Specification: There are several kinds of stranded

messenger, such as TJ-95, TJ-120, etc.
In 1997, China developed a new copper-magnesium
alloy messenger; It allows high working temperature
and strong current-carrying capacity. For example,
JTMH-95, JTMH-70.
 2 Messenger
The contact wire cross-sectional area selected depends mainly on the current
required, the voltage stability、short-circuit current-carrying capacity and the
tensile forces to be applied. Addis Ababa~Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway adopt
wires as the table shown.
Table of Wire Material and Tension
Model of wire
Type of wire material Tension（kN）
material

Main line CTAH-120 13

Contact
wire Station
CTAH-85 9
tracks

Main line JTMH-95 15

Messenger
Station
JTMH-70 15
tracks
 2 Messenger
Steel mssenger
Advantages:
Galvanized steel stranded wire has high strength, high tensile strength, low
cost,small installation sag and small change in sag when temperature changes.

Galvanized steel stranded wire cross sections

 2 Messenger
Steel mssenger
Disadvantages:
The main disadvantage of simple
steel conductor is its susceptibility
to corrosion. What's more, the
resistance is large.

Specification:
Common specifications are
GJ-100, GJ-80, GJ-70 and
other types.
Galvanized steel stranded wire cross sections
 2 Messenger
composite messenger
Aluminum-coated steel messenger
Although aluminium has a lower
conductivity and tensile strength than
copper, it is cheaper and extremely
corrosion-resistant after the protective
oxide layer has formed.Steel wire bears
the tension, the aluminum wire carry the
current. Its conductivity, mechanical
strength and corrosion resistance is good.
Coppeer-coated steel stranded wire
Commonly used models are, GLJN-120/35.
 2 Messenger
Anti-corrosion of steel mssenger

Corrosion and erosion Surface protection against local

and environmental pollution shall be provided on wires or
conductors of ferrous material. Additional provision shall
be considered for internal strands of ferrous or nonferrous
multi stranded wires (i.e. greasing).
 2 Messenger
Anti-corrosion of steel mssenger

The weakness of composite messenger

is that it is easily corroded. Although the
surface is plated with a layer of zinc at the
factory, the galvanized layer will quickly fall
off due to pollution.
In order to extend the service life, it should
be coated with antiseptic oil periodically. It
is generally apply antiseptic oil once every Steel stranded wire
3 to 4 years in summer or autumn.
End