Quantum Technology - Potential for Railway Infrastructure (QT-PRI)

Qt-PRI是RSK、Atkins、Network Rail和伯明翰大学(UOB)之间的合作，旨在建立Quantum Technology(Qt)重力传感器市场机会，以应对当前地球物理技术的评估，以检测和评估埋在铁路网下的资产，特别是排水沟的状况，以及通过铁路土方工程的水流。有19万多个铁路土方工程和6000多公里的掩埋资产。不完整和不成熟的资产库存极大地限制了决策支持框架的发展，使之能够进行积极的状况评估，从而使有限的资源最大化并保持铁路网的运营。目前，地球物理传感器在商业上用于检测公路中管道和管道的位置，在铁路上的成功有限，但很少用于检测资产状况或母资产(土方)本身的状况。因此，目前岩土工程故障通常是由火车司机或步行资产报告的，成本约为每年800万GB。这限制了任何积极主动的资产管理，并往往导致铁路网更长时间的中断。为了克服这些限制并开辟地球物理传感器的新应用，QT-PRI将：1)通过将QT重力传感器与目前铁路行业使用的最先进的地球物理仪器进行基准比较，确立QT重力传感器在铁路基础设施中的市场潜力；2)开发新的后处理技术来识别感兴趣的信号，特别是沿铁路网，并进行现场试验，以证明现有传感器的真实能力和局限性，以确定QT传感器的工作空间；3)确定QT重力传感器的技术传感器规格；4)评估QT重力仪器在列车速度和准静止状态下的市场，以探测埋藏的资产和可视化铁路土方工程中的水流。Qt-PRI将通过三种方式加速Qt重力仪器的商业化：1)通过提供传感器配置和性能参数，特别侧重于时延评估和列车速度下的数据收集，确保传感器开发和系统工程工作生产出适合用途的仪器；2)通过与尚不熟悉Qt传感器的客户群接触，出色的传播活动和实际现场演示，增加传感器的市场；3)展示商业地球物理系统在灵敏度、弹性、尺寸、重量和成本与使用Qt重力传感器的投资回报相比。Qt-PRI将通过以下方式打开Qt重力传感器的新市场：1)详细评估当前最好的一套适用于铁路环境的地球物理传感器的能力和局限性；2)通过与客户群接触、出色的传播活动和原型设备能力的实际现场演示来扩大传感器的市场。

QT-PRI is a collaboration between RSK, Atkins, Network Rail and the University of Birmingham (UoB) to establish the Quantum Technology (QT) gravity sensor market opportunities against assessment of current geophysical technologies to detect and assess the condition of assets buried below the railway network, in particular drains, as well as water flow through the railway earthworks. There are over 190,000 railway earthworks and over 6000km buried assets. The incomplete and immature asset inventory significantly limits the development of a decision support framework to allow proactive condition assessment thereby maximising the limited resources and keeping the rail network operational. Currently, geophysical sensors are commercially used to detect the location of the ducts and pipes in roads and with limited success on the railways, but are rarely used to detect the asset condition or the condition of the parent asset (earthwork) itself. Thus, currently geotechnical failures are often reported by train drivers or by walking the asset at a cost of ~£8M/year. This limits any proactive asset management and often results in longer disruptions to the rail network. To overcome these limitations and open up a new application for geophysical sensors, QT-PRI will: 1) Establish the market potential for QT gravity sensors for railway infrastructure by benchmarking it against the most advanced state-of-the-art geophysical instrumentation currently used in the railway industry; 2) Develop novel post-processing techniques to identify the signal of interest, especially along the rail network and Undertake field trials to demonstrate the real-world capabilities and limitations of existing sensors to identify the operational space for QT sensors; 3) Determine technical sensor specifications for QT gravity sensors and 4) Assess the market of QT gravity instruments used both at train speed and quasi stationary to detect buried assets and visualise water flow in railway earthworks. QT-PRI will accelerate the commercialisation of QT gravity instruments in three ways: 1) ensuring that the sensor development and system engineering efforts produces instruments that are fit for purpose by providing sensor configuration and performance parameters with particular focus on time-lapse assessment and data collection at train speed, 2) increasing the marketplace for the sensors by engagement with a client base not yet familiar with QT sensors, excellent dissemination activities, and practical field demonstrations and 3) demonstrating what can be achievable from commercial geophysical system with respect to sensitivity, resilience, size, weight and cost in comparison with the Return on Investment using QT gravity sensors.QT-PRI will open up a new market for QT gravity sensors by: 1) Assessing in detail the capability and limitations of the best suite of current geophysical sensors for the railway environment; 2) Increasing the marketplace for the sensors by engagement with the client base, excellent dissemination activities, and practical field demonstrations of prototype equipment capability.