Study on wheel-flat detection method based on vehicle system acceleration measurement

The wheel flat fault is the most common wheel damages. It causes rapid deterioration of, both, rolling and fixed railway equipment. So, it cannot be ignored and should be detected as soon as possible after it occurs. In this paper, a wheel flat detection method is presented which is based on vehicle system acceleration measurement. A simulation model with acceleration sensors is set up using SIMPACK. The Fourier Transform is applied to analysis the data obtained from the simulation model. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated by simulation results.