High-Frequency Test of Electric Locomotive Arrester and Its PHM Design

The zinc oxide (ZnO) arrester is positioned on the locomotive roof, preventing other onboard electrical equipment from being harmed by external and internal overvoltages. A number of locomotive arrester burnout and explosion accidents occur during traction supply network harmonic resonance, causing train stoppages and power outages in the network. This study first carries out high-frequency tests to investigate the wide frequency band electrical characteristics of the locomotive arrester and prove that the arrester is prone to fault during resonance. Consequently, a prognostics and health management (PHM) methodology for locomotive arresters is proposed, providing online monitoring, fault warning, and health assessment, which is beneficial to the operation and maintenance of arresters in the future.