Vibration Analysis of the Third Rail Structure of a Mass Rapid Transit System with Structural Defects
Source abstract
Abstract
The third rail is a critical piece of railway infrastructure that provides a continuous supply of electricity to power mass rapid transit trains. The vibration of the third rail may excite different resonant modes and affect its structural integrity and reliability by degrading the mechanical properties leading to the damaged or missing structural components. This paper examines vibrational characteristics of the third rail of Singapore Mass Rapid Transit system with damaged and missing structural components. Using the mathematical model, the first five, pin-to-pin modes of vibration and natural frequencies were identified and compared with modal and harmonic response obtained from ANSYS finite element models. A good agreement was observed between the analytical and numerical solutions. The study was further extended to study the sagging of the third rail due to structural failure and its impact on collector shoes. It was found that the structural defects could produce resonance modes below 5 Hz. In addition, the sagging and contact force on collector shoes increased by multiple folds when more than 2 claw structures are broken. The methods and the results presented in this article can be used as a tool for predictive maintenance by detecting possible structural failure or defects.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Railway Engineering and Dynamics · Structural Health Monitoring Techniques · Structural Engineering and Vibration Analysis
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
SMRT-NTU Urban Rail Corporate Laboratory, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
Funding
Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT)
References (31)
Show source-provided references
1. Kim, Y.-S., Jeong, R.-G., Lee, B.-S., Park, S.-H., and Lee, W.-D. (2020, May 20). Development of a Third Rail Type Current Collecting Shoegear for the Rubber-Tired AGT System. Available online: www.Railway-research.org.
2. James, K. (2011). Evaluating the Feasibility of Electrified Rail at the Port of LA/LB, Metrans.
3. Forman, K. (2013, January 15–18). Aluminum/Stainless Steel Conductor Technology: A Case for its Adoption in the US. Proceedings of the ASME/IEEE Joint Rail Conference, Knoxville, TN, USA.10.1115/JRC2013-2434 ↗
4. (2020, May 20). Third Rail. Available online: http://www.railsystem.net/third-rail/.
5. Railroad standardization: Notes on third rail electrification
6. Hussein, M.F.M. (2004). Vibration from Underground Railways, University of Cambridge.
7. Monteiro, M. (2020, May 20). Vibrations Induced by Trains. Case Study: Extension of Track Platform of Gare do Oriente. 2009. Available online: ttps://fenix.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/395139464839/Abstract_ManuelMonteiro.pdf.
8. Dynamics analysis of electric shoegear and conductor rail system
9. Timoshenko, S. (1926, January 12–17). Method of analysis of statical and dynamical stresses in rail. Proceedings of the Second International Congress of Applied Mechanics, Zurich, Switzerland.
10. Thompson, D. (2008). Railway Noise and Vibration: Mechanisms, Modelling and Means of Control, Elsevier.
11. Kaewunruen, S., and Remennikov, A. (2008). Dynamic Properties of Railway Track and Its Components: A State-of-the-Art Review, University of Wollongong.
12. Yang, X., Liu, X., Zhou, S., Ma, X., Shen, J., and Zang, J. (2016). Vertical random vibration analysis of track-subgrade coupled system in high speed railway with pseudoexcitation method. Shock Vib., 591–600.10.1155/2016/7064297 ↗
13. Bhargava, B. (1999, January 18–22). Railway electrification systems and configurations. Proceedings of the 1999 IEEE Power Engineering Society Summer Meeting, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
14. Simulation model for the study of overhead rail current collector systems dynamics, focused on the design of a new conductor rail10.1080/00423110500165499 ↗
15. Paulin, J., Sanz, J.D., and Vera, C. (2006, January 4–8). Development of a new high-performance overhead conductor rail using simulation models, and their validation through field testing. Proceedings of the 7th WCRR, Montreal, QC, Canada.
16. Weston, P., Stewart, E., Roberts, C., and Hillmansen, S. (2008, January 18–22). Analysis of electric shoegear dynamics. Proceedings of the 8th World Congress on Railway Research, Seoul, Korea.
17. Detection of loose fasteners in a third rail support assembly using a wavelet analysis10.1080/19373260.2014.886304 ↗
18. Differences between Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam formulations for calculating the effects of moving loads on a periodically supported beam10.1016/j.jsv.2020.115432 ↗
19. Gramoll, K. (2020, May 20). Multimedia Engineering Mechanics of Materials, University of Oklahoma. Available online: https://ecourses.ou.edu/cgi-bin/ebook.cgi?doc=&topic=me.
20. Døssing, O. (1988). Structural Testing: Mechanical Mobility Measurements, Brüel & Kjær.
21. DataPhysics (2020, March 12). SignalCalc Software. Available online: https://www.dataphysics.com/.
22. (2020, March 12). MEScopeVES. Available online: https://www.vibetech.com/solutions/visual/.
23. Avitabile, P. (2002). Could You Please Explain the Basic Steps to Acquire Data for Modal Testing. Modal Space—In Our Own Little World, Brüel & Kjær.
24. Avitabile, P. (1999). I Still Don’t Understand Curvefitting... How Do You Get Mode Shapes from FRFs. Modal Space—In Our Own Little World, Brüel & Kjær.
25. Avitabile, P. (1999). Curvefitting Is So Confusing to Me! What Do All the Different Techniques Mean. Modal Space—In Our Own Little World, Brüel & Kjær.
26. Pin-Pin Resonance as a Reference in Determining Ballasted Railway Track Vibration Behaviour
27. Vibration-based Damage Identification Methods: A Review and Comparative Study10.1177/1475921710365419 ↗
28. Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) (2012). Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Disruption of MRT Train Services on 15 and 17 December 2011. Annex A, Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT).
29. Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) (2012). Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Disruption of MRT Train Services on 15 and 17 December 2011, Annex B, Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT).
30. (2020, April 11). SMRT Third Rail Maintenance to Prevent Disruptions. Available online: http://blog.smrt.com.sg/smrt-third-rail-maintenance-to-prevent-disruptions/.
31. Stemmann-Techni (2020, July 01). TRSG Bottom-Running-System. Available online: http://stemmann.com/en/products/3rd_rail_current_collector/trsg_bottom_running_system.