Typical faults and safety analysis of brake controller for AC locomotive

Purpose – The brake controller is a key component of the locomotive brake system. It is essential to study itssafety.Design/methodology/approach – This paper summarizes and analyzes typical faults of the brakecontroller, and proposes four categories of faults: position sensor faults, microswitch faults, mechanical faultsand communication faults. Suggestions and methods for improving the safety of the brake controller are alsopresented.Findings – In this paper, a self-judgment and self-learning dynamic calibration method is proposed, whichintegrates the linear error of the sensor and the manufacturing and assembly errors of the brake controller tosolve the output drift. This paper also proposes a logic for diagnosing and handling microswitch faults.Suggestions are proposed for other faults of brake controller.Originality/value – The methods proposed in this paper can greatly improve the usability of the brakecontroller and reduce the failure rate.