Research on vibration response of catenary under strong wind and icing conditions

Abstract

To analyze the vibration response of the catenary under strong wind and icing conditions caused by wind speed variations, a 7-span catenary finite element model was established based on the ANSYS platform. The pulsating wind field acting on the contact network was numerically simulated by combining the spectral representation method. Firstly, wind-induced vibration analysis is conducted under strong wind conditions to reveal the correlation between wind speed and vibration characteristics. Secondly, an ice thickness calculation model is developed to evaluate the impact of icing on the catenary. Finally, typical icing wind speeds are applied to comprehensively analyze the response characteristics under wind-ice coupling. The results indicate that under strong wind conditions, lateral displacement dominates the catenary vibration, with amplitudes significantly larger than vertical displacements (maximum lateral: 249.63 mm, maximum vertical: −4.94 mm). The dominant frequencies are 1.14 Hz (lateral) and 1.04 Hz (vertical), respectively. Under icing conditions, vertical displacement of the catenary increases significantly with ice thickness (sag exceeds 0.1 m with 25 mm of ice). Under wind-ice coupling, within typical icing wind speed ranges, lateral displacement changes insignificantly with ice thickness, but vertical sag becomes the primary risk. The findings provide a theoretical basis for differentiated safety assessment and the development of protective strategies for catenary systems under complex climatic conditions.