Fault detection of dampers of railway vehicles focused on phase difference between translational and rotational motion

Abstract

The authors have developed a vibration suppression system with variable vertical oil dampers in primary or secondary suspensions of railway vehicles for improvement of riding comfort due to vertical vibration. In order to apply this system into practical use, the function to detect the failure and stop the control in case some damper fails is required. This paper presents a technique for damper fault detection based on the phase difference between the bounce and the pitch vibration of bogie frames or car bodies obtained with inertial sensors, as a method without mounting sensors in oil dampers. The result of vibration excitation test with one vehicle on a testing plant demonstrates the fault of a primary vertical damper was detectable by evaluating the phase difference between the bounce and the pitch vibration of the bogie frames. The result of running test in a meter-gauge line demonstrated the fault of a secondary vertical damper was detectable based on the phase difference of that of car bodies. These results have suggested the proposed method is effective for the fault detection of both primary and secondary vertical damper. © 2012 The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.