Nonlinear

This thesis focuses on the nonlinear identification of a railway pantograph using Control-Based Continuation (CBC), a class of experimental techniques that enables the reconstruction of the nonlinear frequency response of a system under closed-loop operation. The goal is to develop and validate a methodology to identify the main nonlinear features of the pantograph, such as amplitude-dependent stiffness and damping effects, starting from experimental or numerical data. The work may include the definition of a reduced-order model, the implementation of CBC-based tests, the analysis of the measured response, and the comparison between identified and reference dynamics. The thesis will involve both… Read more