LLC "Bionetics" - new measuring equipment for Russian railways, development and research

Tue, 11 December 2018

ACTUAL SECURITY ISSUES

Track economy of the railways of Russia due to its material consumption is the most costly branch in the system of Russian Railways. On the railways of a number of foreign countries, for example, Australia, the United States, South Africa, the operating costs in the track economy, attributed to the unit of transportation work, are much smaller than in the domestic ones. It is known that the reliability of roads on the roads of Russia, despite the relatively high quality of the rails, is much lower than a number of foreign ones for a number of operational parameters (mean time between failures, technical resources, etc.) This situation is largely due to the lack of effective controls technical condition of roads. Numerous examples of premature rail replacement are known, carried out according to the regulations. At the same time, examples of unexpected emergency situations are known due to the sudden destruction of the rails, which could not be prevented due to the lack of the necessary measuring equipment. Here it is necessary to take into account that in the current conditions of intensive track maintenance fatigue phenomena accumulate imperceptibly in the structure of rail steel, making it fragile. The process of softening began to go unnoticed. Therefore, the rail can break down suddenly, without the appearance of fatigue cracks and other signs of fatigue wear. Existing methods of nondestructive testing in this case are completely ineffective, since there are no signs of a future fracture. The need for additional measures to protect against such accidents is the reason for additional costs, which may amount to 50% of the total operating costs. It follows that it is necessary to develop new, more effective methods for monitoring the technical condition of the rail, which can detect problems in advance, and take preventive measures to eliminate them.

EXACT MEASUREMENTS – MAIN ENGINE

OF DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

PROBLEMS OF DIAGNOSTICS

The main result of any research is the acquisition, processing and analysis of measurement results. Precise measurements are the main engine for the development of new technologies. Any experiment without measurements does not make any sense. The more accurate the measurement, the better the quality of the experiments. Therefore, the measurement methods are constantly being improved. But the process of such improvements is not infinite. There comes a time when the old methods of measurement reach the maximum limit of their capabilities, and their further improvement does not bring tangible results. In this case, there are two ways to solve the problem: It is necessary either to complicate research programs, or to increase the accuracy of measurements. Using the old methods, you can make hundreds of experiments, manually collecting and processing information in each of them. But, if you use computer technology and more modern methods of processing results, you can do just one experiment, having received all the necessary data at once. If in the time of Newton, in scientific experiments, as a rule, two or three parameters were measured, modern measuring equipment in automatic mode is capable of recording many thousands of different characteristics distributed in space and time. Reducing the number of necessary experiments, and increasing the speed of obtaining the full volume of necessary data is of great strategic importance. The sooner a complete test cycle is completed, the sooner a new machine or new technology will appear. Accelerating the development, you can get ahead of competitors, and get tangible economic benefits. In addition, ahead of competitors, you can take the leading positions in the world, while receiving, even, certain political advantages.

RAILS CAN LAP SUDDENLY WITHOUT THE APPEARANCE OF CRACKS, SO WE DEVELOP THE DEVICES WHICH MAY ADD THE RISK OF DESTRUCTION AND PREVENT THE ACCIDENT

MAIN ADVANTAGES OF OUR DEVELOPMENTS

NOVELTY

ACCURACY

UNIVERSALITY

TECHNOLOGY

CONVENIENCE

ORIGINALITY

PERSPECTIVENESS

PERSPECTIVE DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER WORK

CREATION OF NEW INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS

It is known that every mechanical device in operation creates its own characteristic noise, which, in turn, consists of a multitude of noise of individual parts. Those. every detail rustles in its own way. The measuring technique developed by our engineers allows us to decompose complex sounds into elementary components, analyze them, and on the basis of this analysis determine the technical state of individual parts of various complex mechanisms. It must be borne in mind that the new measuring means are not ordinary flaw detectors, and are not intended solely to search for cracks or voids in materials. The application of the developed instruments is much broader. They allow us to determine the physical properties of materials, and thus predict the probability of their sudden fatigue failure in advance. That is, there is a real opportunity not to wait for the beginning of destruction, but to prevent them in advance!

SPEED MEASUREMENTS OF THE STATE OF THE WAYS

At present, the state of the elements of the Russian Railways infrastructure is checked by various diagnostic means: track-wagons, flaw detectors, and laboratory wagons. Such a solution does not provide a comprehensive assessment of the infrastructure. At the same time, joint planning of windows for various types of repairs, and modernization of roads is difficult. The heterogeneity of the data obtained by checking with existing diagnostic tools does not allow them to be compared for objective analysis, to identify “narrow” places in the content of paths, electrification devices and electricity supply. This, in turn, makes it difficult to rationally allocate funds for the current maintenance and repair in accordance with the technical state. Practical experience shows that a significant part of these problems was solved with the help of a new method for diagnosing railway tracks developed by specialists of our company, which is based on the spectral analysis of wheel noise, carried out with the help of computerized equipment installed in the cab of a conventional train. For a better understanding of the advantages of the new method of acoustic control of technical condition of paths, let us consider the features of existing equipment.

CONTROL OF WHEELS OF PASSING TRAINS

Ensuring the safety of train traffic is the main condition of operation for the carriage of passengers and goods around the world. This is due to a constant increase in the speed of movement on railways and accelerated wear of rolling stock. With the increase in the speed of movement, the requirements to the reliability of the rolling stock are increasing. This leads to the need to maximize the use of the car fleet without compromising safety. In particular, in Russia, the wear of wagons and locomotives is more than 50%. The movement in the “wheel-rail” system is associated with intensive wear of both components, but in particular this applies to the wheels. In the course of operation, the geometry of the wheel, the quality of its material and the condition of the rolling surface deteriorate, the stresses increase, the smoothness of the course and the level of traffic safety are reduced. Wheel monitoring for the purpose of detecting defects is a basic condition for ensuring safety, especially for high-speed trains. For example, the non-roundness of the wheel can be one of the reasons for damaging the track or running gear of the rolling stock, reducing the smoothness of the course and increasing the risk of derailment.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY HAMMER

The oldest and most reliable railroad tool is an ordinary hammer on a long handle, which is taped by rails or wheels since the invention of the locomotive. The presence of defects is determined by hearing a characteristic rattling, which should catch the delicate hearing of the inspector. You need to know where to hit, how to bang, and what sound should be if the product is good. Among the many advantages of this method, there is one very significant drawback. The effectiveness of this method largely depends on the professional experience of man and his subjective parameters. Attempts to automate the process of searching for defects led to the emergence of a theory of oscillations, which can be the basis for the development of an electronic hammer, and a method for measuring impact parameters. It should be borne in mind that in the conditions of operation of measurement, not a highly qualified scientist, but an ordinary worker-inspector, exercises. Therefore, the results of measurements should be presented in the most simple and understandable form. At the same time, the accuracy of the measurements must be quite high.