Abstract
The safety and reliability of railway transport requires new solutions for monitoring and quick identification of faults in the railway infrastructure. Electric heating devices (EORs) are the crucial element of turnouts. EORs ensure heating during low temperature periods when ice or snow can lock the turnout device. Thermal imaging is a response to the need for an EOR inspection tool. After processing, a thermogram is a great support for the manual inspection of an EOR, or the thermogram can be the input for a machine learning algorithm. In this article, the authors review the literature in terms of thermographic analysis and its applications for detecting railroad damage, analysing images through machine learning, and improving railway traffic safety. The EOR device, its components, and technical parameters are discussed, as well as inspection and maintenance requirements. On this base, the authors present the concept of using thermographic imaging to detect EOR failures and malfunctions using a practical example, as well as the concept of using machine learning mechanisms to automatically analyse thermograms. The authors show that the proposed method of analysis can be an effective tool for examining EOR status and that it can be included in the official EOR inspection calendar.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
Thermal analysis can be used in manual mode as an insight into the device’s state or in automatic mode with a machine learning algorithm
The share of tests, measurements, and thermal imaging in the exploitation processes concerning the use of EOR devices for electric heating of turnouts is increasing
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. To ensure efficient travel in difficult weather conditions, railway companies have introduced turnouts equipped with an electric turnout heating system (EOR) to counteract the effects of low temperatures and icing Such solutions are intended to adapt the lines to the faster railway traffic and to increase the automation of railway infrastructure. Directive 2016/798, SMS means the organization, measures, and procedures adopted by an infrastructure administrator or a railway company to ensure the safe management of the operation In many cases it can be ensured by combination of thermal imaging methods for quick testing and artificial intelligence for image analysis for monitoring and predicting the damage to the devices that support the traffic of rolling stock and railway rails. In the Conclusions, the authors point out the premises for expanding the area of infrastructure covered by the proposed system, a system that can significantly increase the level of safety of the infrastructure in use through faster diagnosis of damaged elements and indication of emergency states
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