Towards Prognostic and Health Management of Train Wheels in the Chinese Railway Industry

Condition-based maintenance is a more advanced maintenance strategy, owing to reducing inspection and maintenance costs and improving the reliability of targeted assets. The maintenance strategies in the Chinese Railway industry are transforming from plan-based to condition-based, which has heightened the need for the completion of relevant research. This study proposes an experience-based health status evaluation method for train wheels, which considers factors in the wheel manufacturing process, operational process and maintenance process. The manufacturing factors are indicated by material properties and press-fitting influence factor, while operational and maintenance factors are indicated by wheel diameter and damages. Based on the health evaluation values, a decision-making function is constructed to divide wheels into four categories: fine, attention, pre-alarm and scrapped. Finally, the PHM + Wheel system is developed based on the proposed health evaluation method to provide support for maintenance strategy. The PHM+Wheel system has been practically applied to the Chinese Railway industry with adequate feedback received.