Smart Component Technologies: Smart Washer Augmentation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

A switch moves trains between tracks; components include switch rails, stretcher bars (SBs)& a switch motor. SBs keep the rails a set distance apart & ensure both rails move together.Switch integrity is vital; on the UK’s busiest lines >100 trains will pass over a switch eachday (Ref A). Switch failure is the 3rd biggest cause of UK derailments (Ref B). Missing/faultybolts were the cause of both Potters Bar & Grayrigg incidents.In conjunction with Network Rail, Smart Component Technologies Ltd developed a “SmartWasher” (SW) to measure the clamp-force of switch fasteners during real-time installation &routine maintenance. Trials at London Underground confirm the SW’s ability to detectloose/missing bolts by reporting changes in clamp-force. The SW is also capable of providingremote periodic data & alerts should the clamp-force deteriorate. It also safeguards againsthuman error during manual inspection.During London Underground trials it was requested that capacity to measure the dynamics ofmoving components by the SW was added. Thus, SCT propose a £166,054 Proof of Conceptproject to evaluate the potential to extend the use of a dynamic SW to address a range ofissues including the remote condition monitoring of the entire switch asset but also track bedstability including voids & track geometry/inclination. With the upgraded SW (‘SW3’)attached to switch components, it will sample the dynamic response of the movement of theswitch, in three dimensions, enabling a trace of ‘normal’ switch movement to be gained. Viathe remote condition monitoring & cloud data storage facility, SW3 informs users of theintegrity of the switch. As SW3 permits trend analysis, it improves predictive maintenancecapability & safety of rail networks, leading to cost savings, & meeting Network Rail’s goalfor innovation in cost-effective monitoring.As a platform technology, SW3 has use in other wider applications such as escalatormaintenance, & on pipework valves.