Analysis of European systems for checking and monitoring of
pantographs for railway transport through 3D laser scanning
By
Ankita Das1, Oleksij Fomin2, O. Kozynka2, AmitKarmakar3, ApurbaDas4
School of Laser Science & Engineering
Jadavpur University, Kolkata-32, India
Email: ankitadas175@gmail.com
CONTENT of the presentation
 Pantograph..
 System architecture
 Literature review.
 Methodology.
 Results and analysis.
 General conclusions.
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PANTOGRAPH DEFINITION
The pantograph is located on the roof of the train and collects the electricity needed to power the train.
It lifts or down based on the wire tension.
Pantographs make direct contact with the overhead power lines in order to obtain electricity.
The usage of pantograph is always changing due to the speed of the train and external weather
conditions.
Pantographs need to be able to maintain a constant level of quality and collect a constant level of
electricity without damaging the overhead power lines.
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SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
 A photovoltaic cell charges a set of lead-acid batteries, which power the
3D scanning device.
 Short text messages (SMS), which are supported by the GSM module
used by the system, can be used for power control and supervision.
 The 3D scanning system is supplied from batteries.
 It has been installed at a distance of about 30 m from the scanning
point.
 A long-range laser distance meter has been used for automatic detection
and velocity measurement of an approaching vehicle.

An HD-resolution CCTV camera has been used to identify the vehicle
by a number placed at the front of the locomotive and to establish which
of the current collectors on the vehicle is raised.
Fig. 1: Photograph of the prototype of
the contact strips inspection system
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CONTACT STRIPS 3D SCANNING SYSTEM
 A camera and a laser line generator are needed for the laser
triangulation method of 3D shape scanning.
 Onto the contact strip that is being scanned, the generator projects a
bright line.
 The direction of the movement of an object being scanned determines
the direction in which the laser light beam is produced.
 The camera is set up so that an angled registration of the light line
projected on the strip is possible.
Fig. 2: Basic diagram of the contact
strips 3D scanning system
 Angle values typically vary from 15 to 60 degrees. A wider -angle
results in a higher resolution of height determination, but it also
increases the chance that some of the light lines will be covered by the
scanned object's components. This situation is known as Occlusion.
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methodology
 A sharp image of the light line is obtained by adjusting the
exposure's parameters, or the aperture factor and
exposure time, at the same time as removing the other
scene features.
 The ROI (region of interest) is constrained. This makes
sure that any reflections that might appear in the image's
empty areas won't affect the image processing methods.
 Reducing the number of lines to be analyzed also speeds
up processing and increases the frequency of profile
registration.
(a)
(b)
Fig.3: Image registered by a camera
for temporary (a) and target
(b)parameters of exposure and
region of interest.
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PHOTOGRAPHS OF DIFFERENT CONTACT STRIPS
 Friction between a contact wire and the contact strip's surface causes wear.
 A catenary's design guarantees a continuous shift (stagger) in a contact wire's
location for the track axis. As a result, when the car is moving, the contact point
shifts over the strip. Therefore, the contact strip wears more consistently in the
actual contact location during operation.
(a)
 The greatest material loss is usually seen in the middle of contact strips.
(b)
 Carbon contact strips may chip, break, or detach from the section due to regular
wear and tear.
(c)
 The current collection is disturbed by flaws.
 Severe damage may even prevent contact the wire from freely moving over the
strip and cause harm to the current collector and catenary. As a result, it's
critical to find damages quickly.
Fig.4: Photographs of a
new(a),worn and chipped(b),
and damage(c)contact strip
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RESULTS & ANALYSIS
Table 1: Difference real profile Vs scanning profile in mm
Serial
no.
Fig.5: Results of pattern scanning:
a)comparison of real dimension with scanning
result.
Scanning Length in mm Difference in mm
1
30
-0.56
2
60
.32
3
90
-.28
4
120
-.56
5
150
-.12
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School of Laser Science & Engineering, JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY
CONCLUSIONS
 The comparison of real dimensions with scanning dimensions confirms that 3D laser triangulation
technique can accurately capture the actual dimensions.
 3D laser triangulation technique useful for service optimization, downtime reduction, and increased
infrastructure and railroad availability are the main objectives of monitoring systems.
 To precisely model the varying properties of scanned objects the error analysis was carried out by using
real-case carbon contact strips (CCSs) patterns.
 The precise dimensions of these patterns can be recorded using this technique while additional features of
GPS can be installed to accurately locate the real-time position of the specific location where the worn out
is crossing the permissible limits.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors express sincere gratitude to Prof. (Dr.) Amit Karmakar,
Department of Mechanical Engineering; Jadavpur University and
Sri. Dipten Misra, Director, School of Laser Science and
Engineering for invaluable guidance, whole-hearted support, and
encouragement for accomplishing the present investigation.
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REFERENCES
[1]A. Steimel, “Electric traction – Motive power and energy supply: Basics and practical experience”Germany: OldenbourgIndustrieverlag,2008.
[2] A. Szelag, T. Mac olek, “A 3 kV DC electric traction system modernisation for increased speed and trains power demand – problems of analysis and synthesis,”
PrzeglądElektrotechniczny (Electical Review), vol. 89, no 3a, 2013, pp. 21–28.
[3] Commission Decision of 23 July 2012 amending Decisions 2006/679/EC and 2006/860/EC concerning technical specifications for interoperability (notified under document
C(2012) 4984) 2012/464/EU.
[4] G. Bucca, A. Collina, “A procedure for the wear prediction of collector strip and contact wire,” Wear, No. 266, 2009, pp. 46–59.
[5] K. Karwowski, M. Mizan, “Technical diagnostics and monitoring of traction current collectors,” in Modern Electric Traction: Power Supply, K. Karwowski and A. Szelag,
Eds.Gdansk, Publishing House of GUT, 2009, pp. 151–167.
[6] S. Judek, “Visual measurement system for chosen parameters of current collectors,” in Modern Electric Traction: Power Supply, K. Karwowski and A. Szelag, Eds. Gdansk,
Publishing House of GUT, 2009, pp. 137-151.
[7] S. Judek, L. Jarzebowicz, “3D-scanning system for railway current collector contact strips,” in Computer Applications in Electrical Engineering, vol. 11, R. Nawrowski, Eds.
Poznan, Publishing House of PUT, 2013, pp. 329–335.
[8] Ma Li, Wang Ze-yong, Gao Xiao-rong, Wang Li, Yang Kai, “Edge detection on pantograph slide image,” Proc. of 2nd International Congress on Image and Signal Processing
(CISP), Tianjin, 2009,pp. 1–3.
[9] L. G. C. Hamey, T. Watkins, S. W. T. Yen, “Pancam: Inservice inspection of locomotive pantographs,” Proc. of 9th Biennial Conference on Digital Image Computing Techniques
and Applications, of the Australian Pattern Recognition Society, Gleneng, 2007, pp. 493–499.
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REFERENCES
[10] S. Ostlund, A. Gustafsson, L. Buhrkall, M. Skoglund, “Condition monitoring of pantograph contact strip,” Proc. Of IET 4th International Conference on Railway Condition
Monitoring,Derby, 2008, pp. 1–6.
[11] M. Sacchi, S. Cagnoni, D. Spagnolettix, L. Ascariz, G. Zunino, A. Piazzi, “PAVISYS: A computer vision system for the inspection of locomotive pantographs,” Proc. Of
Pantograph Catenary Interaction Framework for Intelligent Control, Amiens 2011.
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[13] SlawomirJudek, LeszekJarzebowicz,” Analysis of Measurement Errors in Rail Vehicles’ Pantograph Inspection System”,ELEKTRONIKA IR ELEKTROTECHNIKA, ISSN
1392-1215, VOL. 22, NO. 3, 2016.
[14] Yu. Chugui, A. Verkhoglyad, A. oleshchuk,V. Korolkov, E. Sysoev, P. Zavyalov, “Optical measuring systems and laser technologies for scientific and industrial applications,”
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[15] P. R. Cavalcanti, Y. P. Atencio, C. Esperanca, F. P. Nascimento, “3D Triangulations for IndustrialApplications,” Proc. of 25th SIBGRAPI Conference on Graphics, Patterns and
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[16] R. Marani, G. Roselli, M. Nitti, G. Cicirelli, T.D'Orazio, E. Stella, “A 3D vision system for high resolution surface reconstruction,” Proc. of 7th International Conference onSensing
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[17]G. Bucca, A. Collina, “A procedure for the wear prediction of collector strip and contact wire,”Wear, No. 266, 2009, pp.46–59.
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QUESTIONS
&
SUGGESTIONS
CONTACT INFO: ankitadas175@gmail.com
ANKITA DAS
Research Scholar
School of Laser Science & Engineering
Jadavpur University
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THANK YOU
Have a nice day
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