Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Defect Detection In Railroad Tapered-Roller Bearings Using Vibration Analysis Techniques, Iris L. Alvarado

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Derailments can often lead to great damage, loss of lives, and massive costs associated with the railroad infrastructure. A significant cause of derailments is premature bearing failure, and therefore bearing condition-monitoring systems that can detect developing defects are of great importance. Based on an investigation conducted at the University of Texas-Pan American on the development of a vibration and temperature monitoring system, an algorithm is devised utilizing various vibration analysis techniques. The proposed algorithm determines whether a bearing is defective, the type of defect present, the defective component (i.e. cup, cone, or roller), and the size of the defect. Speed-dependent …