A fault detection method for solenoid valves in urban railway braking systems using temperature-effect-compensated electric signals

In Korea, urban railway cars are typically maintained using the strategy of predictive maintenance. In an effort to overcome the limitations of the existing strategy, there is increased interest in adopting the condition-based maintenance strategy. In this study, a novel method is proposed to detect faults in the solenoid valves of the braking system in urban railway vehicles. We determined the key component (i.e., solenoid valve) that leads to braking system faults through the analysis of failure modes, effects, and criticality. Then, an equivalent circuit model was developed with the compensation of the temperature effect on solenoid coils. Finally, we presented how to detect faults with the equivalent circuit model and current signal measurements. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, we conducted a case study using real solenoid valves taken from urban railway vehicles. In summary, it was shown that the proposed method can be effective to detect faults in solenoid valves. We anticipate the outcome from this study can help secure the safety and reliability of urban railway vehicles.