Iot Based Sensor Network for Crack & Bend Monitoring in Railway Track

Abstract

In India railway is one of the most common means of transport, which is the fourth largest railway community in the world. Even though Indian railways has an outstanding boom, it remains plagued because of some of the major issues like problem in gate crossing, fire accidents and problem in the track which remains unmonitored causing derailment. The tracks contract and expand due to changes in season. Due to this crack may develop on the track. This proposed system identifies the cracks and the obstacles on the track using sensors The project railway crack and object detection are a forward step to improving the railway system. The system performs two main functions. The first one is detecting the crack on the railway track by using the Flex sensor and the second one is detecting the object by using IR sensor.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Indian Railways is one of the largest revenue giving assets. It is the biggest railway system of Asia. The Bruisers used a railway system to carry the goods from different parts of India to different parts but now in the 21st century this system has a great importance for India. So, keep in mind about the growth of this system. The safety of this system is must. About 12,000 trains go from one place to another place every day. So, in this regard people's lives are important. We know that the current situation of Indian Railways regarding safety is not pretty good.

Structural health monitoring (SHM) has become a necessary measure to ensure the safe and reliable operation of large structures (railways, bridges, aircrafts, etc.). In civil machinery and aviation systems, the failure and fatigue of metallic objects may cause economic loss and endanger personal safety. Therefore, the detection of stress and fatigue cracks are important aspects of in-depth evaluation of sensitive metallic structures We can detect failures by embedding compact and portable sensors in the structure. With the development of sensors and the Internet of Things (IOT), defect detection and characterization techniques will be applied to products and infrastructures. Because of their passive, low-cost and wireless characteristics, they are used for identification and tracking of items. In today’s world, transport, being one of the biggest drainers of energy, its sustainability and safety are issues of paramount importance. In India, rail transport occupies a prominent position in quenching the ever-urgent needs of a rapidly growing economy. However, if we consider the reliability and safety parameters, India has not reached the global standard yet. The major problem is that there is no efficient and cost-effective technology to detect problems in the rail tracks and the lack of proper maintenance. However, the proper operation and maintenance of transport infrastructure has a large impact on the economy. This model says about a proposed proto type of testing train for detecting obstacles and cracks, which is similar to that of the line following the testing train. The proposed testing train is cost effective and analysis time is less. With this proposed system the exact location of the faulty rail track can be easily located, so that many lives can be saved.

This technology is very effective and low cost and it will help to reduce the number of train accidents. Regarding life safety this is a great system.

Today India is synonymous with transportation, but budget-friendly and the common man is “Indian Railways”, where on the one hand we have ordinary railways. Every day, the railway sector in India is making new progress and has many high-speed and luxury trains in India. Now we have moved from simple trains to bullet.

4)  Battery Operated Motor

BO (Battery Operated) light weight DC geared motor which gives good torque and rpm at lower voltages.  This motor can run at approximately 150 RPM when driven by a single Li-Ion cell.  Great for battery operated light weight robots. A specific type of DC geared motors that can be operated through battery and that why known as Battery Operated (BO) motors.

It is used for light weight applications mostly Available in different torque and RPM.  BO motor run on the railway track with the help of relay.

IV. ARDUINO IDE SOFTWARE

An official software introduced by Arduino.cc, that is mainly used for writing, compiling and uploading the code in almost all Arduino modules/boards. Arduino IDE is open-source software and is easily available to download & install. Arduino IDE is an open-source software, designed by Arduino.cc and mainly used for writing, compiling & uploading code to almost all Arduino Modules.

It is an official Arduino software, making code compilation too easy that even a common person with no prior technical knowledge can get their feet wet with the learning process.

It is available for all operating systems i.e., MAC, Windows, Linux and runs on the Java Platform that comes with inbuilt functions and commands that

play a vital role in debugging, editing and compiling the code.

A range of Arduino modules available including Arduino Uno, Arduino Mega, Arduino Leonardo, Arduino Micro and many more.

1. Fig. 3 show experimental set up of hardware of the project. In this project set up we used wooden plywood as railway track. We connected battery operated motor to wheels to run the project on the track.
2. We used zero PCB board for connection to GPS, Microcontroller, Flex sensor, IR sensor, Wi-Fi through connecting cables.
3. GPS send exact location via longitude & latitude coordinates in the Arduino IDE software & blynk App on mobile.
4. Microcontroller used is Node MCU ESP8266.It is processing unit it processes the data received from IR sensor & flex sensor & give further to the relay & Battery-operated motor.
5. Flex sensor is connected to detect the bend on the railway track.
6. IR sensor is connected to detect the crack on the railway track.

This project gives an idea how IOT can be applied in the railways sector. Using this mechanism, the accident can be prevented due to fast detection of track discontinuity in the railway tracks. This mechanism reduces the usage of manpower. More accuracy in the detection of cracks in tracks. Less time consuming and more effective than manual checking of tracks. This mechanism saves the property damages for the train and also saves the human by preventing accidents.  Result shows bent and crack detection in the railway track. The location of bend and crack is shown on the blynk App using IOT application.

As per the study the existing systems are time consuming as well as uneconomical. The proposed system not only overcomes these problems but also improves accuracy and crack detection in rails. It is the most economical solution provided in order to achieve good results for the railways of our country in order to minimize the stats of accidents caused. Thereby saving precious lives of passengers and loss of economy. It also saves the time and money for identification of crack

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2022 Sumedh V. Ghayal, Yamini A. Bawanthade, Swapnil B. Sonkamble, Dr. Tarun Shrivasatava, Saurabh L. Katore, Megha D. Gedam. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.