2022 Volume 59 Issue 11 Pages 556-562
Wheel sliding, which may occur during rainy weather, is a severe problem faced by railways. The re-adhesion control method is an effective countermeasure; however, it cannot entirely prevent wheel sliding. Therefore, an increasing number of rail vehicles are equipped with a device that jets a small amount of ceramic particles toward the contact area between the wheel and rail to improve the wheel adhesion. However, no method exists to monitor the flow state of the particles in the jetting device. Therefore, we developed monitoring methods focusing on the electrostatic charging of particles passing through the device and conducted experiments using corundum and silica sands. The experimental results verified that two methods, that is, those used to analyze the electrical signals detected by the device and their integration values, are adequate to discriminate the flow state. Furthermore, we evaluated the electrostatic characteristics of the monitoring system and considered it for practical applications.
