In-Situ Monitoring of Integrity of Train Bolster Through Guided Wave Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) System

Abstract

A study was performed by Acellent Technologies in collaboration with CRRC to develop an on-board health management system for monitoring in real-time the integrity of structural components due to cyclic fatigue loads for high-speed train systems. In this study, the bolster in high speed trains was the primary focus of the investigation. The bolster components located under the train body are typically welded together and subjected to various types of loadings (compressive, tensile, shear etc.) at different locations. Hence, it makes the bolster structures more susceptible to fatigue cracks and debond failures. An Acellent’s guided wave-based SHM system was selected for monitoring crack- and debond-prone damage areas in bolster structures. Several test cases including wave propagation, simulated damage, and real damage cuts were introduced on a real bolster structure to evaluate the sensitivity of the proposed SHM system.