Life prediction of the tensile damage progress for high-speed train gearbox shell based on acoustic emission sensor and an automatic optimization method

Yibo Ai,Chang Sun,Weidong Zhang

doi:10.1177/1550147718781455

Abstract

The high-speed train gearbox is one of the key components of the train system, and its working state is related to passengers’ safety. The gearbox shell is the protective shell for gears under harsh and complex service environment. Instantaneous impact of hard material during failure can lead to the rapid damage accumulation and fracture of the shell material. In this article, the accumulation of tensile damage of the high-speed train gearbox shell material has been studied. For the short tensile process leading to significant amount of damage, a real-time and non-destructive detection method has been used to monitor the tensile damage progression and predict the residual life of the material. An automatic optimization algorithm has been proposed to deal with data quality problems such as fluctuations, imbalances, and large intervals. In addition, an automatic life prediction optimization model for material tensile process has been established. The life prediction errors are controlled within 50 s, and the majority of errors are less than 20 s. For the accelerated test, in respect to real situation, a 6 h time slot is designed for disaster control such as passenger evacuation and train failure prevention.

Highlights

It is of great importance to study structural health monitoring and prognosis for in-service gearbox of highspeed train
The acoustic emission (AE) signal data collected during the tensile tests were built into characteristic parameter set series, namely, C(t) for time t
AE data were collected during tensile test

Summary

Introduction

It is of great importance to study structural health monitoring and prognosis for in-service gearbox of highspeed train. The key material for the high-speed train gearbox shell is high-strength aluminum alloy, such as A356. Some models have been developed to simulate the tensile damage accumulation, few models have been proposed to investigate the tensile life of high-strength aluminum alloys. The high-speed train gearbox is operated in a harsh environment, where static and dynamic loads promote both tensile damage and fatigue damage. Compared to the fatigue damage process, the tensile damage process is a relatively short term, but may lead to a fatal disaster. Many studies have focused on analyzing tensile damage of in-service materials. Qin et al.[1] investigated the plastic damage induced by thermal

Methods

Results

Conclusion