Railway structure hazard predictor

Details Railway structure hazard predictor Railway structure hazard predictor

1995-07-21

1996-06-25

Le, Mark T.

Railway switches and signals

Roadway-defect protection

246121, 246246, 385 13, B61L 100

Patent

active

055292674

ABSTRACT:
A hazard predictor that processes both rail and superstructure measurements to predict some potentially hazardous conditions on a railway structure. Measurement is collected in real time with the aid of fiber optic sensor based linear array mesh, and processed with a neural network. Sensors placed under the rail and sensors placed laterally of the rail provide data collection in real time both during occupied and unoccupied periods. In some embodiments the measurement data is compressed into two signatures which can be represented as two vectors. The collinearity of the vectors and the angle between the vectors are utilized to interpret the data as to track conditions. The angle between the descriptors can be used to predict the severity of degradation of the structure. The predictor can be used to manage maintenance of the structure and interface with existing railway signalling equipment to provide traffic management.

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