Accelerated degradation test method and performance prediction with service mileage of the yaw damper in railway vehicles

Abstract

The performance of the yaw damper for rail vehicles degrades significantly degradation after long-term operation, which directly affects the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle operation. To quickly achieve the performance degradation of the yaw damper and predict the operating mileage under actual service conditions, the operating displacement spectrum of the yaw damper under actual operating conditions is analysed and decomposed using the short-time Fourier transform. Based on the equivalent principle of energy loss during vibration attenuation, an accelerated test method is proposed for the performance degradation of yaw dampers. By conducting the accelerated degradation test of the yaw damper on the test bench, the continuous degradation relationship between the performance parameters of the damper and the loading times is obtained. By combining the operating displacement spectrum and the accelerated degradation test data, the performance degradation trajectory model of the yaw damper is established, taking into account the equivalent energy loss between the service mileage and the loading times. The mapping relationship among loading times, service mileage and performance degradation is constructed. Finally, parameter performance tests are conducted on yaw dampers under different service mileage to verify the accuracy of the performance degradation trajectory model. The results show that the proposed acceleration test method and degradation trajectory model can quickly realise the performance degradation of the damper and accurately predict the performance parameters for different service mileage under actual operating conditions.