In Australia, rail transportation is undergoing a rapidly evolving mode, changing people’s travel habits with riding comfort. The Australian rail industry contributes over $26 billion to the national economy and stands at the forefront of innovation and the world’s best practices. Some of the heaviest and longest freight trains in the world travel on Australia’s heavy haul railways. To ensure the stability and safety of railroads and trains whether moving people or commodities, the evaluation of railway lines now heavily relies on regular inspection and monitoring.
Considering that the population is rising at a rapid rate, it is anticipated that 10 million people will move to Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane by 2060. This put pressure on local authorities and asset owners to ensure the health of railway infrastructure by performing regular inspection and maintenance work on high-speed rails.
As high-speed rails put more strain on the tracks due to the greater loading, it accelerates the deterioration of the tracks. For example, irregularities in the rail geometry might result in unexpected cracks. These cracks can start a chain reaction that causes rails and railway sleepers to split up across lengthy distances. As a result, it increases the likelihood of accidents due to track failure such as transverse cracks, spalling and gauge corner cracks etc.
Additionally, the rail absorbs impact loads from trains that operate infrequently owing to issues with the wheels, at specific rail turnouts or rail joints, etc. Wheel and rail contacts create strong vibrations that are concurrently transferred in both directions from the wheel-rail interface up to the coach and down to the rail slab. Long-term repeated cycles of loading and unloading subject rail tracks and train wheels to vibrations and strains brought on by the interactions between the wheels and rail, resulting in wear, cracks, deformation, and other deterioration.
It is therefore both commercially and economically viable to predict the potential failures. The key success of implementing railway track monitoring systems relies on the technological capabilities of the inspection system and the expertise of the rail operators. Manual inspection techniques are not preferred as they are unreliable, slow, and ineffective.
Mobile measurement systems that include high-precision sensors and data acquisition have been developed for the health monitoring of rail infrastructure. For example, non-contact laser sensors identify the wear and defects on a rail track by measuring the distance from the mounting surface to the track at a high measuring rate. More than one sensor is mounted on the mobile trolley to collect the profile data of the rail track. The measurement from all the laser sensors determines the dimension variations and supports accurate rail track inspection.
Inspecting Railway lines for detecting wear and defects
The measurement system for inspecting railway lines consists of a mobile wagon, multiple laser sensors, data acquisition hardware and maybe a PC. Two or more laser scanners are used to record the whole rail head profile. This makes it possible to measure the profile simultaneously on both sides of the rail tracks. Laser scanners are ideal for these applications as they are environmentally sealed to ensure reliable measurement and survive operations under harsh environmental conditions, including the outdoor environment.
The main carriage is equipped with laser profile sensors that scan the rails from the side, up, and down. Each sensor’s position can be fixed and does not require shifting due to the wide measurement range for width and depth. From the configuration tools software, each sensor can be customized to suit a variety of measurements. This makes it simple to find measured values for the rail’s top and bottom rail widths and height on both sides. It also makes the integration simpler and enables continuous measurement while the vehicle is moving. The entire system is portable, lightweight, and simple to set up.
This laser profile measurement system offers adjustable dynamic exposure capability for high-speed applications. As a result, it is regarded as one of the most suitable sensors for rail profile monitoring applications. The reference profile kept in the database is regularly compared with the recorded profiles. As a result, any flaws may be found in real-time, and any required maintenance can be planned using a more effective procedure. As the differences from the reference data are marked on a map using GPS, the locations of the flawed tracks may also be easily determined. The systems can be adjusted to include extra protection housing and can be used in a variety of weather conditions.
The Australian rail network consists of more than 41,000 kilometres of track spanning the continent which plays a major role in passenger and freight transportation operations on key intercity routes. With the increase in freight and passenger movements in the coming years and the addition of high-speed trains, the rail load is expected to increase substantially. As they continue to carry an increasing number of trains, rail upgrades are needed in addition to their maintenance, repair, and upkeep.
The rail industry has long benefited from systematic and dependable inspection and monitoring provided by various sensing systems. Regular rail inspection enables the early identification of defects and improved functionality by planning predictive maintenance, leading to a reduction in associated costs and fatal accidents.
Bestech Australia’s laser scanners offer the capacity to monitor rail head condition at very high speeds. Our wide range of laser sensors ensures increased durability, immunity to challenging environments and high-speed measurement along a long line. We have established a long-standing collaborative relationship with all our suppliers and combined this partnership with local expertise to back local manufacturing and testing capability.
