Multifunctional Sensor-Based Monitoring System for Identifying Vehicle Characteristics

The intensification of investments into international transportation and the resulting intense growth of traffic volume and speed of railroad consists predetermines the need for increased safety and reliability of railroad operation. Current safety requirements revealed the urgent need for monitoring safety of rolling stock. The author designed a multifunctional wayside monitoring system that allows to identify the type and speed of passing vehicles, count the number of axles in the consist, and also determine the condition of car wheels and axles that may potentially present the risk to safe operations. The monitoring system is based on the use of intelligent sensors. Four such sensors are placed along the rail. The number of sensors is driven by the different distances between axles for commuter, passenger and freight trains operated in the countries of Former Soviet Union. For a given direction of the train the distance between the first sensor and the following other three sensors corresponds to the distances between axles of different types of vehicles. The electrical signals generated in each sensor are registered in the computer-based system that is located nearby and is hard-wired with the sensors. The computation system keeps count of number of axles passed, and computes the speed of the train. At the same time, the analog signals from the sensors, the magnitude of which represents the magneto-inductive characteristics of the wheel set depending on the state of their wear, are processed by the diagnostic system that determines the level of wheel wear. A special algorithm, developed by the author is used for identifying a type of the wheel wear. The system developed by the author is unique. It is patented in Russia and Georgia. There are no analogous technical solutions for the system to perform the named above multiple tasks. The monitoring system can be used for train location determination, for wayside diagnostics of rolling stock, for identification the type of vehicles and monitoring their movements in tunnels, for controlling the speed of vehicles, especially on steep descents, and for identification of the type and amount of passing vehicles in yards, repair facilities, depots and sidings. Equipping certain segments of railroad tracks with such monitoring devices will increase the effectiveness of railroad operation since the most vital characteristic of the passing vehicles will be monitored, which would allow to prevent potential accidents.