Vibration-based damage identification on the suspension of a railway waggon – Findings from snap-back experiments with transient excitation

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article deals with the damage detection at the suspension of a railway freight waggon and reveals that the measured accelerations change with the damage in a characteristic way. The authors show that the damage of the suspension is accompanied by a reduction in spring energy which causes a shift of the higher vibration modes in the measured signals. In this context, the paper did not intend to present new methodologies for damage identification. However, the simple findings from the experimental tests can be useful for the design of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems for railway vehicles. At the end, a simple SHM approach for a low number of sensors with practice-oriented positions at the waggon is proposed.