G-Sensing Derailment Detector

摘要

This report describes procedures used to arrive at design concepts for a displacement sensitive derailment sensor. It summarizes and analyzes wheel and coupling shock and vibration data derived from over-the-road and derailment-field tests as well as data derived from computer simulations of the track environment and wheel fall from the track. Also described are physical tests of several computer-defined derailment sensor models. Based on the results of these tests, a prototype derailment sensor having an iron seismic mass which is part of a magnetic damping circuit was designed and tested in the laboratory and at the Transportation Test Center, Pueblo, Colorado. Two electronic signal processing methods are discussed which showed feasibility for monitoring seismic mass position and damping coil voltage and determining if the respective position or velocity criterion for derailment was met. Finally, a discussion and analysis of a possible means of using the rail car's vertical motion to produce electrical energy for recharging a battery to run low power signal processing circuits is presented.