00740700

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1584-06

http://scholar.google.com...psey&publication_year=1997

Buckling and cracking of steel rails is a contributing factor in accidents on railroads today. Detection and notification of buckled track sections before a train reaches these locations will significantly increase rail safety. A fiber-optic-based sensing system, with the fiber affixed to a beam, was developed and evaluated to detect buckled regions. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the sensitivity of the fiber-optic sensing system to buckling of a long structural member. Numerous facets of fiber-optic sensing have been explored. Fiber-to-steel bonding techniques were examined and tested. Full-scale laboratory testing was conducted by elastically buckling a 24.4-m-long (80-ft-long) wide-flange section with hydraulic rams. Typical measurement accuracy within 10% of theoretical predictions was achieved by optical time domain reflectometry techniques. For field testing, however, a more robust solution is sought and is currently under development. It is suggested that a lower-cost fiber break or bend detector is a suitable option. The optical fiber will break or bend at the location of rail elongation in the buckled area, allowing the detection equipment to locate the buckled area.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1584, Railroad Research Topics: Costs of High-Speed Rail, Communications-Based Control, and Track Research.

English

p. 41-45

1997

Transportation Research Record

0309061555

Figures (9) ; References (11)

Accuracy; Bending; Bonding; Buckling; Detection and identification; Detectors; Fiber optics; Fibers; Fracture mechanics; Laboratory tests; Measurement; Optical fibers; Railroad tracks; Sensitivity

Design; Highways; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors

TRIS, TRB

Sep 17 1997 12:00AM

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• CROSS-CORRIDOR COMPARISON OF OPERATING COSTS FOR HIGH-SPEED GROUND TRANSPORTATION
• METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR ESTIMATING EXTERNAL BENEFITS AND COSTS OF HIGH-SPEED GROUND TRANSPORTATION IN THE UNITED STATES
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• TRAIN DISPATCHING EFFECTIVENESS WITH RESPECT TO COMMUNICATIONS-BASED TRAIN CONTROL: QUANTIFICATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP