The carbon brushes we intended to use are the Helwig Carbon products (fig.1). They are electric current collectors. It is important to anticipate how current behaves as load is applied against it. previously we have mentioned we need 50 N contact force. However, applying unnecessary load is not ideal because it creates friction which adds additional friction for the bogie to overcome. Additionally, the brushes wear at a faster rate.
the results shows that adding more weight does not necessarily mean more current.
working with Tynan, it was important to find how the current behaves with increasing load to find the ideal load and the performance of the current collector.
the figures above represent the T shaped current rail sitting on an insulator. We tested our analysis multiples weights as shown below
Mass added on top of the current rail |
For the graph above, testing for 2.5 V supplied the current collected by the carbon brush starts behaving uniformly after 2000 g. This value is equivalent to 20 N contact force. In conclusion, the collector carbon brush from Helwig Carbon Products are very conductive and does not need intense contact force. This reference value will help us design a mechanism that does not need excessive load.
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