Switch and Crossing Optimal Design and Evaluation

Projektinformationen

S-CODE

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 730849

DOI

10.3030/730849

Projekt abgeschlossen

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 29 Oktober 2016

Startdatum 1 November 2016

Enddatum 31 Oktober 2019

Finanziert unter

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Gesamtkosten

€ 4 999 771,25

EU-Beitrag

€ 4 999 771,25

Koordiniert durch

THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - S-CODE (Switch and Crossing Optimal Design and Evaluation)

Berichtszeitraum: 2018-05-01 bis 2019-10-31

Zusammenfassung vom Kontext und den Gesamtzielen des Projekts

Track switches are a fundamental element of any rail network. Without them it would not be possible to guide trains from one route to another. However, they also limit the capacity & overall reliability of the network. Since the inception of railway track switches very little has changed in terms of their basic layout & operation, apart from the introduction of point machines. In contrast, industries such as aerospace, automotive & manufacturing have made radical improvements to their products & processes through the introduction of advanced materials & new designs incorporating mechatronic technologies.

The challenge addressed by S-CODE was to develop novel and improved solutions for railway S&C. The overall aim was to investigate, develop, validate & initially integrate radically new approaches, technologies, or concepts with the potential to lead to increases in capacity, reliability & safety while reducing investment & operating costs.

Key outcomes & innovations from S-CODE include:
• Development of a modular S&C architecture that allows subsystems to be exchanged over the life of the S&C, enabling innovations to be added as they become available.
• Modelling of the S&C & the modular subsystems to support evaluation of the benefits presented by different technologies.
• Design & prototyping of Next Generation Design components that can be incorporated into the architecture, using new materials & technologies to create a variety of permanent way subsystems.
• Design & prototyping of a Next Generation Control subsystem that can be incorporated into the architecture, which will include an ‘immune system’ capable of self-adjustment & self-correction.
• Design & prototyping of a Next Generation Kinematic subsystem that can be incorporated into the architecture, including concepts such as redundancy & ‘limp-home’ through the use of novel actuators & mechatronics.
• The development of a series of evaluation methodologies that can be applied to concepts & technologies alike. These have then been used to quantify the value of innovations developed throughout S-CODE from the perspective of reliability, life-cycle cost & performance.

Arbeit, die ab Beginn des Projekts bis zum Ende des durch den Bericht erfassten Berichtszeitraums geleistet wurde, und die wichtigsten bis dahin erzielten Ergebnisse

S-CODE was delivered in three phases:
Phase 1: Requirements & initial design
Phase 2: Technical concept development
Phase 3: Demonstration & evaluation

Phase 1 focused on understanding the top-level functional requirements for a track switch system. Literature reviews were combined with horizon scanning in order to identify best-practice & over 100 potential innovative technologies. These were considered to produce first 22, & ultimately 5 high level concepts that could be developed in Phase 2.
Phase 2 reviewed the technologies & concepts & produced Innovation Development Roadmaps. These identified key technologies & the level of technology readiness being considered.
Technology Evaluation Forms for each innovation considered the technology, its interdependencies / compatibilities, & the potential for application.
Key technology elements explored in the project include:
• Communication frameworks & data architectures capable of acting as a plug-&-play core for modular sensing & actuation systems.
• Computational simulation to optimise the selection & positioning of embedded sensors appropriate for the different S&C concepts.
• Alternative sensing approaches, e.g. acoustics, optical & laser-based sensing for inspection & monitoring of S&C components & points operating equipment.
• Imaging technologies to direct & monitor the application of other measurement techniques; removing the need for the cognitive aspects of the user role in preparation for autonomous inspection.
• Lightweight acquisition systems & algorithms tuned to evaluate dynamic effects in both the switch & crossing.
• AI to identify vehicles from S&C reaction to their passage allowing S&C performance degradation to be tracked in relation to particular vehicles.
• Novel ballast constructions designed to improve performance & minimise maintenance.
• Alternative materials & production approaches for bearers.
• New concrete formulations to improve the performance of, & to add self-healing capabilities to, bearers.
• Rail surface coatings to provide increased resistance to rolling contact fatigue.
• Rail fastening solutions including active elements that allow embedding sensing or reactive damping.
• Model based condition monitoring, allowing self-analysis of the S&C & the monitoring system.
• Fault tolerant control systems that build on real-time condition monitoring for self-compensating operation.
• A highly redundant actuator has been used to explore different control & redundancy strategies in a non-monolithic actuation solution.
• Alternative locking mechanisms based on novel materials, magnetorheological fluid, & electromagnetism.
• An alternative actuation mechanism based on electromagnetic operation.
• A back-to-back bistable switch, combining gravity assisted locking & lifted actuation at both ends of the panel to create seamless operation.
• The use of BIM techniques for asset management & health data integration as well as visualisation of operational readiness.

Phase 3 focused on evaluation & validation. This key part of the project quantified the benefits attainable. Innovations were evaluated based on their potential to:
• Improve reliability & reduce life cycle costs;
• Reduce the need for inspection & maintenance processes;
• Improve actuation (switching time, reliability & availability).

Technology demonstrators were assessed using RAMS & LCC evaluation to identify technologies for further development & inclusion in projects developing the Technology Demonstrators (particularly TD3.2) described in the S2R MAAP.

To support the wider adoption of S-CODE outputs, the project has been working closely with the S2R/In2Track2. Representatives of In2Track2 have attended the majority of consortium meetings. Hence, In2Track2 has an understanding of the work undertaken & which innovations are considered the most suitable for inclusion in TD3.2. In2Track2 representatives spoke at the S-CODE closing dissemination event & S-CODE outputs will represent S2R at Innotrans2020.

Fortschritte, die über den aktuellen Stand der Technik hinausgehen und voraussichtliche potenzielle Auswirkungen (einschließlich der bis dato erzielten sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen und weiter gefassten gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen des Projekts)

The S-CODE project is part of a larger S2R work stream. As such, it supports a set of top-level targets associated with MAAP TD3.2:

• 100% increase in capacity
Impact scoring in the S-CODE evaluation showed that technologies with the largest impact on capacity were those offering opportunities reduce track access e.g. remote inspection/monitoring, fault tolerance, self-healing. Back to back & single slender switching reduce discontinuities allowing increased speed through S&C. Alternative locking arrangements (MR fluid, electromagnetic) offer opportunities for faster switching & locking.

• 30% reduction in the life cycle costs & increased safety
Most innovations offer an LCC improvement. Control & monitoring technologies offer improvements in Reliability & Maintainability, whilst new design & material elements offer extended life, and kinematic elements both.

• 50% increase in reliability & punctuality
The greatest potential benefits from S-CODE innovations relate to reliability. The back to back & single slender switch concepts reduce discontinuities and contribute to reduced impacts. Fault tolerant control maintains operation during sensor failure & a solution for a highly redundant actuator has been developed.

S-CODE Phases of Work