Optimization and development of contact wire for high speed lines

F. Pupke
nkt cables GmbH, Cologne, Germany

Abstract:
The contact wire is a key product in overhead catenary systems (OCS), especially for high speed
lines. In order to avoid high amplitudes of OCS- oscillation by increase of the wave propagation speed
it is necessary to put the contact wire under high specific tension. For this reason special copper
alloys have been developed, which have a high tensile strength, high thermal stability and a good
electrical conductivity at the same time. Additionally the contact wire in a high speed line has to be
installed with highest accuracy in respect of flatness without kinks and an absolutely low level of
deviations from the ideal constant height above the rails. Only this high level of quality can avoid
sparking at high speed, because the pantograph has to follow the level of the contact wire without
jumping. Furthermore the installation of high tensile strength contact wire is generally more
complicated than of pure copper material with regard to the constant height, free of significant micro
waves.
In order to compare different alloys several material investigations are made: mechanical tests,
measurements of electrical conductivity and thermal coefficient, determination of half hard points and
the influence of the content of the alloying elements and the creeping behavior at different
temperatures. The investigations show, that the best combination of electrical, thermal and
mechanical properties can be reached with CuMg- alloys. The properties of the final product are a
result of the complete production and installation chain, starting with the right quality of raw material
followed by the different production steps until the installation process. The complete supply chain
with all steps has been investigated in order to check the specific influence on the product parameters
and to optimize the product properties. Different ways have been tested to increase the regularity and
the quality of the material. Especially the chemical composition of CuMg- contact wires has been
optimized in a way, that it was possible to increase the electrical conductivity for the two basic alloys:
CuMg0,2 to 80 % and CuMg0,5 to 70 % IACS. Further material improvement and the use of new
production technology is in progress an outlook will be given.
Additional investigations on the creeping behavior of different materials will be made. For this purpose
a climate chamber with a temperature range of 40...+150C is used, where the samples of contact
wire are put into a tensioning device under the same tension as in the original OCS. The
measurement of the creeping rate is done by strain gauge transducers with temperature
compensation. The target is to give recommendations to the customers and installation companies for
the optimization of OCS- regulation work. Application limits for the OCS should be found.
The bending properties of the contact wire during the installation can be influenced during the
production process. It was possible to find the right way of increasing the regularity of the contact wire
in this respect under the condition to maintain a maximum of electrical conductivity at the required
high level of tensile strength (430 N/mm for CuMg0,2 and 490 N/mm for CuMg0,5 at 120 mm cross
section). The flatness of the contact wire is continuously monitored by the use of a specially
developed inline laser device. For the testing of the bending properties during the unwinding of the
contact wire from the drum a rewinding line with exact control of the applied tension was used. The
quality was measured by determination of the wave amplitudes of the unwound contact wire. In
addition the optimized CuMg0,5 - contact wire was installed and the wave amplitudes were measured
in a test field with Re 330 - equipment according to the specification of Deutsche Bahn. The wave
amplitudes of the contact wire after installation can be restricted to a maximum of 0,1 mm. For further
improvement of the installation quality and prevention of kinks a special leveling technology, which is
integrated into the installation vehicle, has been developed for high strength contact wire.
The improved CuMg- contact wire is compatible with existing standards, but offers better electrical
and mechanical properties. This has a positive effect on the life cycle cost by energy saving of up to
13 % of the thermal loss in the contact wire and on the installation quality. Because of the lower
thermal coefficient of electrical conductivity of the CuMg- alloys this energy saving effect increases

with rising working temperatures. Taking additionally into account the very low wear rates of CuMg
alloys compared with other material the life cycle cost calculation of several Railway applications
should be taken into consideration by the decision makers.

1.Introduction
The contact wire is a key product in overhead catenary systems (OCS), especially for high speed
lines. In order to avoid high amplitudes of OCS- oscillation by increase of the wave propagation speed
it is necessary to put the contact wire under high specific tensile tension. For this reason special
copper alloys have been developed, which have a high tensile strength, high thermal stability and a
good electrical conductivity at the same time. Additionally the contact wire in a high speed line has to
be installed with highest accuracy in respect of flatness without kinks and an absolutely low level of
deviations from the ideal constant height above the rails. Only this high level of quality can avoid
sparking at high speed, because the pantograph has to follow the level of the contact wire without
jumping. Furthermore the installation of high tensile strength contact wire is generally more
complicated than of pure copper material with regard to the constant height, free of significant micro
waves.
For High speed lines the copper alloys CuMg0,2 / CuMg0,5, CuSn0,4 and CuAg0,1 are used in
different OCS. The intention of the following investigations is to evaluate some properties of these
alloys and to give recommendations to designers of OCS and end users. Especially thermomechanical stability against recrystallisation and creeping, electrical conductivity and installation
behaviour are of interest.
2. Material properties
2.1. Half Hard Point of different alloys in Contact Wire
There have been made investigations on the thermal stability of contact wire made of different copper
alloys.
During the production process of contact wire the strength of the material is increased by cold
deformation in several drawing procedures. Within the material the so- called strain- hardening is
going on during the cold deformation. The lattice structure of copper is disturbed by the deformation
and leads to an increasing tensile strength of the material. Additionally the strain hardening can be
increased by alloying with elements like Mg, Sn and Ag, which are solved in the cubic face centered
copper crystal matrix. The effect of Ag is relatively low in this respect because there is only a small
difference in atom radius of Cu and Ag. The biggest effect on strain- hardening can be reached by
alloying with Mg. All three elements improve the thermal stability of the material against
recrystallisation. Recrystallisation means, that the disturbed crystal structure of the deformed metal
recedes and the material is softening, when treated under higher temperatures. In order to
characterize this process one defines the so- called half- hard- point (or recrystallisation temperature):
The material is annealed at different temperatures for a distinct time and the tensile strength at room
temperature is measured after annealing [1].
For the actual investigations there have been made heat treatments between 20 and 580 C for 90
minutes each and quenching in water. The results for different Contact Wires are shown in figure 1.
One can see, that the highest thermal stability can be reached by alloying with Mg (half hard
temperature for CuMg0,2 is 370 C and for CuMg0,5 it is 375 C).

550
516

half hard point

500

461
447

450

428

400

394

390
375

370
353

350

365
346

344
335
321
310

300

CuMg0,5 120 mm2

CuMg0,2 107 mm2

CuSn0,4 107mm2

CuSn0,4 150mm2

CuAg0,1 120 mm2

Tensile strength half-hard

N/mm2

394

353

346

335

310

tensile strength hard N/mm

516

461

447

428

390

Temperature half-hard C

375

370

344

365

321

Material
Figure 1: Half Hard Points of different Contact Wires
2.2. Creeping under mechanical tension
Contact Wire in High Speed Lines is loaded with very high tension in the OCS in order to have the
highest possible wave propagation speed of the mechanical waves which are created by the
pantograph passes.
Each metal product shows the effect of creeping under mechanical tension. Creepage as a plastic
deformation is a thermally activated process. For contact wire and cable conductors creepage is
regarded as the time dependent extension under constant mechanical tensile stress. Temperature
and tensile stress within the wire have an important impact on creepage. The higher the temperature
and the mechanical load the higher is the creeping speed.
Creepage is divided into three areas [1,5]:
area I:
area II:
area III:

primary or transition creepage, characterized by a decreasing creeping speed

secondary or stationary creepage, characterized by a nearly constant creeping speed
third stage creepage, where the creeping speed is increasing again and resulting in the
creeping breakage (recrystallization, constriction of cross section)

Generally one can say, that the existence of lattice defects is a condition for the occurrence of
creepage. These defects occur at grain boundaries and also within the grains of the material. By
feeding of an activating energy into the material there are slip motions presumably at the defects
initiated. This activating energy is influenced by internal and external stresses. Additional lattice
defects , caused by cold deformation, and external tensile stress reduce the activating energy.
Also thermal activated transformations of the grain structure before and during the mechanical loading
have to be regarded for the creeping process. Depending on the content of impurities in the material
and the degree of lattice defects, caused by cold deformation, the deformed grain structure recedes
starting at a distinct temperature range. In this process called recrystallization - an important part of

the lattice defects disappears . After recrystallization the material shows lower tensile strength and
increased ability for reshaping.
The resistance against creeping is very different between the copper alloys. It is also related to the
half hard point. The higher the half hard temperature the lower is the creeping elongation under
tension. There has been developed a new testing stand at nkt for the measurement of creeping at
contact wire under mechanical tension.
For this purpose a climate chamber with a temperature range of 40...+150C is used, where the
samples of contact wire are put into a tensioning device under the same tension as in the original
OCS (see figure 2). The measurement of the creeping rate is done by strain gauges with temperature
compensation using a high precision amplifier. The target is to give recommendations to the
customers and installation companies for the choice of material and the optimization of OCSregulation work. Application limits for the OCS should be found.

Figure 2: Tensioning device for the measurement of creeping with strain gauges at nkt cables in
Cologne
The first results of the measurements for 18 days at room temperature are shown in figure 3. There
was made a test of three materials: Cu-ETP, CuAg0,1 and CuMg0,5 with contact wire of 100 mm
cross section and a mechanical tension load of 11,25 kN each. CuMg0,5 did not show a measurable
creeping under these conditions, whereas pure ETP- copper reached an additional plastic strain of 68
m/m and copper-silver of 23 m/m. For copper and copper-silver one can see also, that the primary
creeping phase (area I) was finished after about one week. This phase is followed by the stationary
phase with constant creeping speed (area II). Next steps will be investigations at different
temperatures and loads.

Figure 3: Creeping curves for Contact Wire of 3 different materials (profile AC 100 acc. EN 50149)
2.3. Installation properties and avoidance of bending waves on contact wire
According to Hookes law for elastic deformation the elastic limit for bending can be calculated as:
Dmin = d E / Rp
Dmin
d
E
Rp

(1)
Elastic bending diameter
Contact wire diameter
Elastic (Youngs) modulus
Yield point (elastic limit)

Some examples for Contact Wire according to (1) with calculation basis R p0,2 are as follows:
Contact Wire 120 mm (CuMg0,5):
Contact Wire 150 mm (CuMg0,5):
Contact Wire 120 mm (CuSn0,4):
Contact Wire 150 mm (CuSn0,4):

Dmin = 3,0 m
Dmin = 3,4 m
Dmin = 3,2 m
Dmin = 3,6 m

The elastic limit for torsion of a round wire is approached according to the equation [2]:
Mt = 0,58 d3 Rp / 16 (round wire)
Mt
d
Rp

(2)

Elastic torque
Contact wire diameter
Yield point (elastic limit)

Some examples for Contact Wire according to (2) with calculation basis Rp0,2 are as follows:

Contact Wire 120 mm (CuMg0,5):

Contact Wire 150 mm (CuMg0,5):
Contact Wire 120 mm (CuSn0,4):
Contact Wire 150 mm (CuSn0,4):

Mt = 100 Nm
Mt = 136 Nm
Mt = 85 Nm
Mt = 119 Nm

The calculations according to (1) and (2) with the examples show:
- Plastic bending cannot be avoided during winding and unwinding of contact wire under
practical conditions
- Relatively low torque can damage the contact wire because of plastic torsion
3. Quality insurance
As the calculations under 2.3. explain, it is essential to have tight control on all relevant process
parameters during contact wire production and installation and to keep them stable. Uncontrolled
plastic bending and torsion have to be avoided in order to have a smooth surface of contact wire after
installation. For this purpose a special laser control system which is integrated in the drawing process
was developed at nkt. This guarantees that the Contact Wire has no micro waves when it is wound on
the drum. In order to prove the effect of stabilization of all relevant process parameters on the Contact
Wire quality in respect of wave- free installation there have been made further measurements:
- Measurement of wave amplitudes on a rewinding unit under tension control (see figure 4)
- Measurement of wave amplitudes in a test field at nkt which is built with original
accessories for the High speed system of Deutsche Bahn Re 330 under a tension of 27
kN (see figure 5)

Figure 4: Use of a rewinding unit for the measurement of wave amplitudes on contact wire

Figure 5: Test field at nkt, built with original accessories for the High speed system of Deutsche Bahn
Re 330

Figure 6: Leveling Device, developed by nkt and Siemens

For further improvement and in order to overcome difficult installation situations there was developed
a leveling technique by nkt together with Siemens (see figure 6). With the help of this device it is
possible to equalize installation conditions and to insure wave amplitudes on installed contact wire
less or equal to 0,1 mm.
4. New Development
By optimization and stabilization of process parameters for the production of CuMg- contact wires it
was possible to improve the properties of CuMg0,2 and CuMg0,5- contact wire. The new products,
called Valcond fulfill the requirements of EN 50149 and have increased electrical conductivity
compared with the standard requirements (see table 1). This has a positive effect on the life cycle cost
by energy saving of up to 13 % of the thermal loss in the contact wire and on the installation quality.

Parameter

CuMg 0,2
nominal cross section

CuMg 0,5

120
Valcond

120
standard

120
Valcond

120
standard

N/mm

450

430

490

490

Min. Breaking load2) Fm

kN

52,9

50,1

57,6

57,0

370

370

375

375

>46,4

>44,6

>40,6

>36,0

Half- hard point

Electrical conductivity at

0
2

Min. Tensile strength Rm1)

m/Ohm* mm

> 80

>77

>70

>62

2,155

2,240

2,463

2,781

Electrical resistance R 2)

0,183

0,192

0,209

0,239

0
2
t
a

Electrical conductivity
% IACS
Specific electrical resistance
10-8Ohm*m

Ohm/km

1)

different tensile strengths on request

2)

calculation based on the minimum cross section of 98 % (EN 50149: 97 %)

Table 1: Comparison of the new developed Contact Wire Valcond with standard (EN 50149) for a
cross section of 120 mm
Because of the lower thermal coefficient of electrical conductivity of the CuMg- alloys this energy
saving effect increases with rising working temperatures (table 2).
Material

Cu- ETP

CuAg0,1

CuSn0,4

CuMg0,2

CuMg0,5

Thermal coefficient
of electrical conductivity
alpha in 1/K

0,00382

0,00368

0,00319

0,00313

0,00271

Table 2: Thermal coefficients of electrical conductivity for different contact wire materials [3]
Based on the above mentioned investigations and others the next generation of contact wire is under
development at nkt. The excellent mechanical, thermal and good electrical properties of CuMg- alloys
and the very good electrical and thermal properties of CuAg0,1 can be combined in a composite
material (see nkt patent application [4]).
5. Conclusions
Several properties of different copper alloys used for contact wire are investigated and compared in
order to give recommendations to decision makers for the material selection.
CuMg- contact wires have the best mechanical, electrical and thermal properties in comparison of
today available materials for Contact Wires in High Speed Lines.
The electrical conductivity of CuMg alloys can be increased without reduction of the required tensile
strength compared to the EN 50149 standard. Therefore the material is compatible to this standard
but offers an energy saving potential of up to 13 %.

The installation properties of CuMg contact wire are improved, wave amplitudes of maximum 0,1 mm
are achieved. Further improvement is possible by a specially developed leveling technology used
during the installation of the contact wire.
The next generation of Contact Wire a combination of CuMg and CuAg in a composite is under
development. This new contact wire can be optimized according to customer requirements.

[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]

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