A Guided Wave Approach for Real-Time Health Monitoring of High-Speed Train Bogie Frames

An online health monitoring system (OHMS) was tailor-made and implemented for structural health monitoring (SHM) of train structures. A sensor network made up of miniature piezoelectric wafers was configured on the bogie frames of China's latest high-speed train model. Ultrasonic guided waves were generated through the sensor network, and a variety of signal features were retrieved and fused by the system's built-in program. During the train's conformance testing on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, continuous SHM was carried out for departure, speed-up, full speed operation (300 km/h), emergency brake, track change, and stop. Artificial damage affixed to the bogie's side panel was successfully located by the OHMS under both static and dynamic conditions, and the results were rapidly visualized through a probability-based diagnostic imaging algorithm. This in-situ test has demonstrated the practicality and effectiveness of guided-wave-based SHM for high-speed train bogies under working conditions.