Abstract
Pantograph-catenary system provides electric energy for the subway lines; its health status is essential to the serviceability of the vehicle. In this study, a real-time structural health monitoring method based on strain response inversion is proposed to calculate the magnitude and position of the dynamic contact force between the catenary and pantograph. The measurement principle, calibration, and installation detail of the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are also presented in this article. Putting this monitoring system in use, an application example of a subway with a rigid overhead catenary is given to demonstrate its performance. The pantograph was monitored and analyzed, running underground at a maximum speed of 80 km/h. The results show that the strain response inversion method has high measurement accuracy, good data consistency, and flexibility on sensor installation. It can accurately calculate the magnitude and location of the contact force exerted on the pantograph.
Highlights
With the rapid urbanization progress in China, subway lines have become longer and faster, as an indicator of city growth
The relation between the contact force and the strain response measured by fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors will be discussed along with the casing and temperature compensation method, which guides the design of the monitoring scheme
This study proposed an inversion method for calculating and locating the dynamic contact force of the pantograph–catenary system based on its strain response using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors
Summary
With the rapid urbanization progress in China, subway lines have become longer and faster, as an indicator of city growth. The researcher developed a method based on the transfer function to calculate the contact force, which considers the pantograph arc vibration waveform or the transfer function related to the contact force and the strain response [16]. This method lacks accuracy and has many restraints in the calculation. The relation between the contact force and the strain response measured by FBG sensors will be discussed along with the casing and temperature compensation method, which guides the design of the monitoring scheme. The sensor location could be asymmetrical; this method is still usable but with a more complicated solution
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