Indirect monitoring and early detection of faults in trains' motors

Abstract

This study investigates the ability of temperature sensors installed in the traction core of trains to early detect incipient faults. For instance, the breaking of a bearing is known to be critical as it may cause an increase of the temperature in the motor compartment, that in turn may eventually lead to a winding fault in the induction motor. The technique proposed in this contribution is characterised by extreme generality, since most frequent incipient faults lead to temperature increase that, if properly analysed, can be a tool for preventive maintenance. In particular, the measured data, provided by the main Italian railway company, are processed by two different methodologies which are characterised by positive, yet different, performances. The results show that preventive maintenance with the proposed approach is feasible.