BEA

Intelligent monitoring system for the predictive maintenance of the critical elements of bogies, based on the processing of acoustic emissions.

The BEA project has developed tools to detect, locate and diagnose emerging cracks in the critical elements of bogies, such as the axles and wheel tread, and to predict the development of the fracture once it has been detected.

A bogie, the chassis on which a current locomotive or train carriage sits, is made up of a platform of two or three axles and their corresponding wheels, attached to the vehicle through a vertical swivel.

The BEA project has improved train safety standards thanks to a new bogie monitoring and supervision process.

The project, led by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, also involves electronic engineering companies Draco Systems and WorldSensing, the MCIA group from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and Eurecat.

Eurecat has taken part in the project through its Modelling and Simulation Unit, which has identified the critical breakage areas and determined the acoustic monitoring requirements, its Metal and Ceramic Materials Unit, which has classified the material’s failure modes, and its Sustainability Unit, which has monitored and correlated the state of disrepair with the acoustic profiles obtained.