Detection of Rail Fastener Conditions Using Time-Frequency Entropy Based on Orthogonal Empirical Mode Decomposition

A method based on OEMD (Orthogonal Empirical Mode Decomposition) and the theory of time-frequency entropy was applied to detect different rail fastener conditions. The original vertical vibration acceleration response of rail under different fastening conditions was obtained from outdoor experiment. The OEMD method was used to get orthogonal IMFs (Intrinsic Mode Functions) of the original vibration signal. The Hilbert time-frequency spectrum was then obtained based on the orthogonal IMFs and corresponding entropy was calculated and compared. The results show that the method is available to detect different rail fastener conditions.