Abstract: Operative monitoring of track brakes involves passing an electric current through a winding of a brake magnet, measuring the electric current and comparing the temporal progression of the measured current with a saved temporal progression of a reference current. Comparison is achieved by calculating the difference between the measured current and the reference current. The difference between measured current and reference current may be temporally integrated and compared with a threshold value. To determine a magnetic coupling between track brake and track, a calculation may be made as to whether the measured current has local minima and/or local maxima during the activation of the track brake, only the temporal progression of the measured current as the current increases being subjected to a comparison with the reference current. The current may be activated in pulses, with the comparison of the measured current and the reference current being restarted with each pulse.

Abstract: Operative monitoring of track brakes involves passing an electric current through a winding of a brake magnet, measuring the electric current and comparing the temporal progression of the measured current with a saved temporal progression of a reference current. Comparison is achieved by calculating the difference between the measured current and the reference current. The difference between measured current and reference current may be temporally integrated and compared with a threshold value. To determine a magnetic coupling between track brake and track, a calculation may be made as to whether the measured current has local minima and/or local maxima during the activation of the track brake, only the temporal progression of the measured current as the current increases being subjected to a comparison with the reference current. The current may be activated in pulses, with the comparison of the measured current and the reference current being restarted with each pulse.