Monitoring Large Railways Infrastructures Using Hybrid Optical Fibers Sensor Systems

In this paper we propose a hybrid fiber optics sensor system, based on Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) and Raman distributed temperature sensing (RDTS), for monitoring essential sites within large railway infrastructures like bridges, viaducts and slopes potentially subject to landslides. The geometrical...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inIEEE transactions on intelligent transportation systems Vol. 21; no. 12; pp. 5177 - 5188
Main Authors Velha, Philippe, Nannipieri, Tiziano, Signorini, Alessandro, Morosi, Mirko, Solazzi, Massimiliano, Barone, Francesco, Frisoli, Antonio, Ricciardi, Luca, Eusepi, Ricardo, Icardi, Marco, Recchia, Giuseppe, Lupi, Margherita, Arcoleo, Giuseppe, Firmi, Paola, Di Pasquale, Fabrizio
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York IEEE 01.12.2020
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subjects
Bragg grating
Bragg gratings
Condition monitoring
Defects
Electromagnetic interference
False alarms
Fiber gratings
Fiber optics
Finite element analysis
Hybrid systems
Intelligent sensors
Landslides
Optical fiber
Optical fiber sensors
Optical fibers
railway engineering
railway safety
Railway tracks
Railway transportation
Raman scattering
Remote monitoring
Remote sensors
Sensors
Temperature sensors
Thresholds
Viaducts
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In this paper we propose a hybrid fiber optics sensor system, based on Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) and Raman distributed temperature sensing (RDTS), for monitoring essential sites within large railway infrastructures like bridges, viaducts and slopes potentially subject to landslides. The geometrical rail track condition is monitored in real-time using fiber optic sensors, providing early warning if pre-defined thresholds are exceeded in terms of longitudinal, horizontal and cross-level defects. The sensor reading units can be remotely located from the monitored zones, without requiring active elements on the tracks and ensuring high immunity to electromagnetic interference. The proposed technology has been first validated in railway laboratories and then in field trials confirming its capability to detect defects over pre-established thresholds and the absence of false alarms with regular train circulation.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ISSN:1524-9050
1558-0016
DOI:10.1109/TITS.2019.2949752