Self-sensing railway electrification system for efficient operation and improved maintenance

全球铁路行业对提高效率和可靠性的需求不断增长，推动了先进资产和车队管理工具的市场，包括远程诊断（或预测）和更好的资产规划，为运营商提供真正物有所值的服务。对安全的关注也将增加：铁路自动化将有助于在不影响安全的情况下提高效率，从而减少可能成为成本上升的主要领域。有一些测量系统可用于监测铁路电气化系统，例如，通过使用多个应变计和加速度计，但是它们的电力输送和数据传输需要在如此高的电压条件下进行仔细的绝缘。这种限制可能会导致一些极端情况，例如减线，从而导致大范围的交通中断。该项目利用光纤本身的理想绝缘体特性，将光纤传感器集成到电流收集受电弓形管中进行远程监控，从而解决了上述挑战，当交流机车在所有天气条件下以25kV的电压供电，以350公里/小时的速度行驶时。获得的传感器数据将用于综合控制和基于状态的维护模型的开发，以便在不影响安全的情况下更好地管理资产和车队。该项目的主要目标是将创新研究转化为能够提高可靠性和效率并降低铁路运营和维护成本的新产品，从而使全球广大人口受益。

The increasing demand for improved efficiency and reliability in the rail industry worldwide drives the market for advanced asset and fleet management tools, including remote diagnostics (or prognostics) and better asset planning offering real value-for-money to operators. The focus on safety will also increase: rail automation will help increase efficiency without compromising on safety and thus reduce what could be a major area of rising costs. There are some measurement systems available for monitoring rail electrification systems, for example, by using multiple strain gauges and accelerometers, however their power delivery and data transmission require a careful insulation under such a high voltage condition. This limitation could lead to some extreme scenarios, such as dewirement, thus causing a widespread traffic disruption. This project addresses the above challenge by exploiting the ideal insulator nature of the optical fibre itself through integration of optical fibre sensors into the current-collecting pantographs for remote monitoring, when AC lomotives are powered at 25kV and travel at speeds up to 350 km/h under all weather conditions. The sensor data obtained will be used both for integrated control and for the development of a condition-based maintenance model, to allow better asset and fleet management without comprising on safety. The key objective of this project is to translate the innovative research into a new product that is able to improve the reliability and efficiency and lower the cost of rail operation and maintenance that benefits the large population worldwide.