Processing of strain gauge control signals by the Kalman filter

Abstract

One of the methods for detecting defects in the rolling surface of the wheels of freight cars is to measure the deformations of the rail under the passing train. The method is based on the analysis of a strain gauge signal. The main task of the strain gauge signal analysis is the selection of informative components and the removal (filtering) of interference. The paper presents methods of filtering diagnostic signals of strain gauge control and the selection of informative components. The useful signal component can be used to measure the mass of cars, to determine the dynamic load on the rails and to detect defects in the rolling surface of the wheels. The method of adaptive Kalman filtering and linear convolution are proposed as signal processing tools. Based on these algorithms, a software module based on the.NET Framework has been developed using the C# programming language. The algorithms were tested on the signals received when the train was moving along the active section of the track, with a strain gauge control system located on it. The computational complexity and speed of the algorithms are assessed, and the possibility of their further application in the autonomous mode of the system is investigated. The results show that the use of the Kalman filtering algorithm provides a significant performance advantage over the linear convolution algorithm.