Rail turkey – Electromechanical solution for rail cracks

 

A new real time and efficient solution is coming for rail cracks which may cause big train accidents.

The solution was developed by Enekom, a technology company at ODTU Teknokent, and was productised in cooperation with Aselsan.

The system is based on creating vibration on rail and following it all along the track. Vibration, which can run along rail very long distances, is being followed with equipments along the rail, real time and precisely.

Currently, the most common system for rail cracks is rail circuits. They are mainly for signalization of track, but is also being used for detecting rail cracks. The main problem about this system is that the cables and ground  frequently cause to misleading results.

Another method is ultrasonic detection via using either special rail vehicles or special equipments on running test trains. This detection gives information on the time of run, not in real time, and these test trains carrying all these special equipments have to use some capacity of railway.

General Manager of Enekom, Haluk Gökmen, stated that they got the patent of this invention and second one is also on the way. Enekom is cooperating with Aselsan for this project, and succeded in attracting attention of companies from Australia, India, Japan and Netherland.

The product is waiting for start of tests on Turkish high speed lines and completion of certfication process before opening to foreign markets.

Source: Rail Turkey