Experimental Fatigue Evaluation of Bogie Frames on Metro Trains

Abstract

Metro vehicles have always been known for their high passenger density, frequent traffic flow and strong alternating loads due to their severe running environment. As the major support component, the bogie frame suffers from fatigue damages and receives a high intensity of interest. In this work, a theoretical model is presented between the measured strain and the structural stress via multiple load identification, wherein recognition matrices and stress evaluations of the bogie frame are defined according to the locations found in finite element analysis (FEA). The model is validated through random loading in FE simulation, and the load deviation is within 1.1 kN. A vehicle experiment was performed on the second bogie of the head car on a six-car metro train. The signed von Mises (SVM) stress was calculated at critical locations with the proposed method and compared with what was measured. The excessive part was no more than 14.97%, comparing the reconstructed with the measured amounts. Stress spectra were developed utilizing rain-flow counting and evaluated in terms of the damage accumulation rule with the optimal spectra groups determined from convergence analysis. The evaluation indicates that, when the running mileage increases to the full life cycle of 3,960,000 km, the maximum equivalent damage reaches 0.35 and 0.46 at the gear box base for measured and reconstructed amounts, respectively. Research outcomes suggest that the proposed method offers an alternative for fatigue assessment and maintenance strategies on metro vehicles, as well as other types of rail-transit vehicles.