Railway Monitoring
Earthquake and Vibration Monitoring for Railways and Highspeed Railways
Railway Earthquake and Vibration Monitoring
A railway vibration and earthquake monitoring system can be deployed for two reasons; To measure emitted vibration noise or as an earthquake early-warning system.
Railway Emitted Vibrations
A train traveling along a set of rails generate quite a lot of vibrations. These vibrations are emitted and travel through the ground to nearby buildings and structures, where they over time can create structural damage, make an uncomfortable living environment or even disturb a process in a factory. Even small induced vibrations may disturb, say a semiconductor factory or a chemical production facility to a level where production has to stop either for preserving the quality of the product or for safety.
With a seismic-grade vibration monitoring system from Seisodin it is possible to record and prove the level of induced vibrations. These records help the railway operator to define speed limits and time windows in order to minimize the impact of the passing trains. Vibration records also help plant- and building owners prove the interference with their business.
Earthquake Early Warning for Railways
Trains are at very high risk of derailment during and following an earthquake. With high-speed trains today travelling as fast as 300km/h, the distance for emergency braking is often as long as 4-7km (2.5-4.5mi). With such long braking distance it is crucial that trains are stopped or slowed down immediately when an earthquake is detected along the route. An earthquake may deform the rails, creating a highly dangerous situation.
An earthquake early-warning system can help stop a train before it reaches an area with potentially deformed rails.
How Seisodin Accelerographs help trains stay on their tracks
By installing a series of interconnected Seisodin Tilia accelerographs along a long train line, it is possible to detect an earthquake, and instantly alarm the train control center. This way the control center can pinpoint the earthquake and stop or slow down all traffic which is headed towards that point until the tracks have been inspected.
The Seisodin Tilia-series Accelerographs are perfectly suited for deployment along train lines. With its integrated fiber optical interface the accelerographs along the train line can easily be daisy chained over long distances, up to 20km (12mi) between each instrument. The devices are equipped with state-of-the art force-balance accelerometers (T130F) which provide an extreme range og measurement, perfect for catching earthquakes regardless if they happen near or far. The Tilia-series accelerographs are weather proof, and provide best-in-class temperature stability making them perfect for deploying in extreme outdoor conditions.
