Haberturk Newspaper

HABER TURK Newspaper

ANKARA (AA) – GÖKSEL YILDIRIM –

RailAcoustic (Broken Rail Detection System)

Turkish engineers signed a first with their inventions that increased safety in railway transportation. The broken rail detection system, which is based on the acoustic signal transmission and reflections in the rails, is protected by international patents registered to Enekom which is active in METU Technopolis.

All over the world, rail systems are preferred because of their safety, comfort and environmental friendliness. With the development of rail system technologies every day, it is rapidly becoming widespread. The safety of rail systems is ensured by continuous maintenance. Continuous maintenance is insufficient to detect fractures on the rails before accidents occur.

Track circuits, which are still widely used all over the world, are working with the principle of electrical continuity on the rail. Track circuits can also cause serious perceptual errors due to the fact that the rail is also used as a return current line.

In addition, other methods, including the control of the railway track by control personnel with the help of visual or basic hand measurement tools, do not assure solid results all the time, because of its difficulty in use and high cost.

Enekom, which carries out R & D activities at METU Technopolis, has developed ’System that Detects Rail Fractures and Defects with Remote Reflection Method’ in order to meet the needs in this field and to produce a local solution.

It works with the principle of sensing the vibration injected at a certain frequency to the rail at 2 points, one away.

This system, called Railacoustic, works with a combination of electronical, electromechanical and computational method, and after the vibration is injected into the rail, this vibration signal is read from another point simultaneously. The difference between the vibration signal levels carried by the rails, broken or damaged with a solid rail, and the vibration signal levels between the two points, and reflected from the faulty area, the incoming signal is detected and processed by the sensitive detection electronics of the system. The information is transferred to the control center via the fiber optic communication line.

Lines equipped with vibration application and sensing modules placed at intervals of up to two kilometers can be continuously tested and monitored remotely.

On the Ankara-Konya High Speed ​​Line, the first level system performance tests were successfully completed and system assemblies started.

The current target is the international certification!

The General Manager of Enekom, Haluk Gökmen said in a statement to AA correspondent that they have obtained the national and international patents of the system they developed, and said :

‘We have secured ourselves as the only organization in the world with these patents’.

Pointing out that RailAcoustic works completely independent from other systems on the rail, Mr Gökmen said:

‘We get point temperature information with the systems we connect on the rail. We can also make the necessary adjustments for the system to reorganize itself accordingly. In addition to the detection of fractures and cracks in the rails, the system can also detect any seismic vibrations that may affect the performance of itself and line safety in the region. We can also detect interventions and intrusions to the system and rails from outside’.

He also added:

‘RailAcoustic has other benefits. We can also detect the damage caused by natural disasters. As a result of landslides, we are able to identify the obstacle on the road. We are able to detect vehicles on the line. We can detect the incoming train and speed. The conditions and conditions we have measured so far are just like the iceberg. As the system is integrated into the high-speed train line now, so much data is flowing, it is possible to reach new outputs that are not on the agenda at the moment.

Gökmen added that the system attracts attention from India, Australia, England and Japan.

Source: HaberTurk