EN / IEC 61373: Testing items of equipment intended for use on railway vehicles which are subsequently subjected to vibrations and shock

EN 61373 specifies the requirements for testing items of equipment intended for use on railway vehicles which are subsequently subjected to vibrations and shock owing to the nature of railway operational environment. To gain assurance that the quality of the equipment is acceptable, it has to withstand tests of reasonable duration that simulate the service conditions seen throughout its expected life.

EN 61373 specifies the requirements for testing items of equipment intended for use on railway vehicles which are subsequently subjected to vibrations and shock owing to the nature of railway operational environment. To gain assurance that the quality of the equipment is acceptable, it has to withstand tests of reasonable duration that simulate the service conditions seen throughout its expected life.

Simulated long-life testing can be achieved in a number of ways each having their associated advantages and disadvantages, the following being the most common:
a) amplification: where the amplitudes are increased and the time base decreased;
b) time compression: where the amplitude history is retained and the time base is decreased (increase of the frequency);
c) decimation: where time slices of the historical data are removed when the amplitudes are below a specified threshold value.

Although EN 61373 is primarily concerned with railway vehicles on fixed rail systems, its wider use is not precluded. For systems operating on pneumatic tires, or other transportation systems such as trolleybuses, where the level of shock and vibration clearly differ from those obtained on fixed rail systems, the supplier and customer can agree on the test levels at the tender stage. Equipment tested at levels lower than those quoted in this standard cannot be fully certified against the requirements of this standard. This standard applies to single axis testing. However multi-axis testing may be used with prior agreement between the manufacturer and the customer.

The test values quoted in this standard have been divided into three categories dependent only upon the equipment’s location within the vehicle.

Category 1 Body Mounted
Class A Cubicles, subassemblies, equipment and components mounted directly on or under the car body.
Class B Anything mounted inside an equipment case which is in turn mounted directly on or under the car body.
NOTE 1 Class B should be used when it is not clear where the equipment is to be located.

Category 2 Bogie Mounted
Cubicles, subassemblies, equipment and components which are to be mounted on the bogie of a railway vehicle.

Category 3 Axle Mounted
Sub-assemblies, equipment and components or assemblies which are to be mounted on the wheel set assembly of a railway vehicle.