Detecting early damages in the railway pantograph mechanism: a multiple excitation approach for the frequency domain

In this work, we address the problem of damage diagnosis on the railway pantograph mechanism including nonlinear behaviour and sample-induced uncertainties. In particular, we discuss an experimental campaign in which investigation pursued the analysis of frequency response functions estimated by a dedicated inspection robot that we intentionally developed for vibration tests on pantographs. Special focus is pointed to the inherent nonlinear behaviour of the pantograph for which we estimated the damage index for different levels of the input excitation. The investigation is carried out on a population of pantographs of the same type and studying three kinds of damages. Results highlight the relevance of including several excitation levels and encourage investigation in a real operational scenario.

Automated summary

In this work, we discuss the problem of damage diagnosis on railway pantograph mechanism with nonlinear behavior and sample-induced uncertainties. We conducted an experimental campaign to analyze frequency response functions using a dedicated inspection robot developed for vibration tests on pantographs. We focused on the inherent nonlinear behavior of the pantograph and estimated the damage index for different levels of input excitation. The study was conducted on a population of pantographs of the same type with three different types of damages. The results highlight the importance of including multiple excitation levels and encourage investigation in a real operational scenario.