Identification of the catenary structure wavelength using pantograph head acceleration measurements

For the condition monitoring of railway catenaries, the potential utilization of pantograph head (pan-head) vertical acceleration instead of pantograph-catenary contact force is discussed in this paper. In order to establish a baseline of the pan-head acceleration before it can be used for health condition monitoring, one of the essential...

Monitoring bolt tightness of rail joints using axle box acceleration measurements

Rail joints are a weak component in railway tracks because of the large impact and wheel-rail contact forces. Every train passage contributes to the deterioration of rail joints, causing visible (e.g. battered rails) and invisible (e.g. loose bolts) damages. The invisible damage cannot be detected by the commonly performed visual inspection,...

Experimental Investigation Into the Condition of Insulated Rail Joints by Impact Excitation

This paper presents a feasibility study to determine if the health condition of Insulated Rail Joints (IRJs) can be assessed by examining their dynamic response to impact excitation. First, a reference dynamic behavior is defined in the frequency domain of 50-1200 Hz based on field hammer test measurements performed on a IRJ baseline (i.e., a...