Vibration Analysis of the Third Rail Structure of a Mass Rapid Transit System with Structural Defects

The third rail is a critical piece of railway infrastructure that provides continuous supply electricity to power mass rapid transit trains. vibration the may excite different resonant modes and affect its structural integrity reliability by degrading mechanical properties leading damaged or missing components. This paper examines vibrational characteristics Singapore Mass Rapid Transit system with Using mathematical model, first five, pin-to-pin natural frequencies were identified compared modal harmonic response obtained from ANSYS finite element models. A good agreement was observed between analytical numerical solutions. study further extended sagging due failure impact on collector shoes. It found defects could produce resonance below 5 Hz. In addition, contact force shoes increased multiple folds when more than 2 claw structures are broken. methods results presented in this article can be used as tool for predictive maintenance detecting possible defects.