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.