Abstract
In cold areas where the annual rail temperature difference can exceed 90 °C, continuous welded rails (CWRs) on small-radius curves are more likely to buckle or distort owing to the large radial temperature force and large lateral deformation of the rails. To facilitate safe operation of trains in cold areas, a magnetostrictive displacement measurement technique was used to measure the lateral displacement of CWRs in this study. Then, a long-term monitoring system, including a sensor subsystem, a data acquisition and transmission subsystem, and a data analysis and management subsystem, was established for the monitoring of CWRs on small-radius curves and applied in a field test. One year of continuous observation results showed that this monitoring system could effectively realize the functions of real-time acquisition, wireless transmission, and data storage in a cold climate. The collection and analysis of these observation data, including the air temperature, rail temperature, and lateral displacement of the rail, can be further applied for the stability prediction of CWRs on small-radius curves.
Highlights
Continuous welded rails (CWRs) are widely used in rail transit owing to their outstanding advantages of improving ride comfort and reducing track maintenance costs
Buckling or cracking of CWRs is more likely to occur as a result of the large annual rail temperature differences in cold areas, such as northwest and northeast China, where the annual rail temperature difference can exceed 90 ○C
It is hoped that the collected observation data, including air temperature, rail temperature, and lateral displacement of the rails, can be applied for the stability prediction of CWRs on small-radius curves in cold areas
Summary
Continuous welded rails (CWRs) are widely used in rail transit owing to their outstanding advantages of improving ride comfort and reducing track maintenance costs. For CWRs on curves having a small radius, the probability of track buckling increases significantly as a result of the large radial temperature force on the rail.. Scitation.org/journal/adv theory, Ryjácek and Vokác, Strauss et al, and Yun et al conducted long-term monitoring of the additional stress in CWRs on ballasted and ballastless tracks on bridges, respectively.. A long-term and remote diagnostic system for the monitoring of CWRs on curves is developed using the magnetostrictive displacement measurement technique, and the proposed method is applied in a field test. It is hoped that the collected observation data, including air temperature, rail temperature, and lateral displacement of the rails, can be applied for the stability prediction of CWRs on small-radius curves in cold areas
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