Towards the Internet of Smart Trains: A Review on Industrial IoT-Connected Railways

[Abstract] Nowadays, the railway industry is in a position where it is able to exploit the opportunities created by the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and enabling communication technologies under the paradigm of Internet of Trains. This review details the evolution of communication technologies since the deployment of GSM-R, describing the main alternatives and how railway requirements, specifications and recommendations have evolved over time. The advantages of the latest generation of broadband communication systems (e.g., LTE, 5G, IEEE 802.11ad) and the emergence of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for the railway environment are also explained together with the strategic roadmap to ensure a smooth migration from GSM-R. Furthermore, this survey focuses on providing a holistic approach, identifying scenarios and architectures where railways could leverage better commercial IIoT capabilities. After reviewing the main industrial developments, short and medium-term IIoT-enabled services for smart railways are evaluated. Then, it is analyzed the latest research on predictive maintenance, smart infrastructure, advanced monitoring of assets, video surveillance systems, railway operations, Passenger and Freight Information Systems (PIS/FIS), train control systems, safety assurance, signaling systems, cyber security and energy efficiency. Overall, it can be stated that the aim of this article is to provide a detailed examination of the state-of-the-art of different technologies and services that will revolutionize the railway industry and will allow for confronting today challenges.Galicia. Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; ED431C 2016-045Galicia. Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; ED341D R2016/012Galicia. Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; ED431G/01Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España); TEC2013-47141-C4-1-RAgencia Estatal de Investigación (España); TEC2015-69648-REDCAgencia Estatal de Investigación (España); TEC2016-75067-C4-1-

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Platform for Railway Condition Monitoring

In recent years, the sensors are cheaper and are widely available, and also many sensing technologies are rapidly emerging. Sensors are available in a compact size and hence can be installed at inaccessible situations with less effort. They are deployed on a large scale in various industries because of their low cost and discrete varieties. Due to their broad range, there is a rapid expansion in the condition monitoring of the rail systems, for instance, bridges, rail tracks, signaling, etc. Condition monitoring reduces the risks and time involved during human inspections by automated condition monitoring, and it also reduces the maintenance by identifying faults before they get worse and improves safety and reliability. With the rapid improvements in wireless communications, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are used to monitor these infrastructures effectively using MEMS sensors. WSN condition monitoring reduces the risks, increases the reliability and provide secure communication using the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol. The paper summarizes a background and a literature survey on the WSNs in remote condition monitoring. This paper presents the application of remote condition monitoring by using the ADXL 335 MEMS accelerometer sensor. The sensor records the acceleration of the train and the signal is pre-processed before sending it to the WSN. The output is received at the base station wirelessly via WSN

Eleventh International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields

Innovations in Road, Railway and Airfield Bearing Capacity – Volume 1 comprises the first part of contributions to the 11th International Conference on Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields (2022). In anticipation of the event, it unveils state-of-the-art information and research on the latest policies, traffic loading measurements, in-situ measurements and condition surveys, functional testing, deflection measurement evaluation, structural performance prediction for pavements and tracks, new construction and rehabilitation design systems, frost affected areas, drainage and environmental effects, reinforcement, traditional and recycled materials, full scale testing and on case histories of road, railways and airfields. This edited work is intended for a global audience of road, railway and airfield engineers, researchers and consultants, as well as building and maintenance companies looking to further upgrade their practices in the field

Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Trains as Data Mules to Monitor Slab Track Infrastructures

Recently, slab track systems have arisen as a safer and more sustainable option for high speed railway infrastructures, compared to traditional ballasted tracks. Integrating Wireless Sensor Networks within these infrastructures can provide structural health related data that can be used to evaluate their degradation and to not only detect failures but also to predict them. The design of such systems has to deal with a scenario of large areas with inaccessible zones, where neither Internet coverage nor electricity supply is guaranteed. In this paper we propose a monitoring system for slab track systems that measures vibrations and displacements in the track. Collected data is transmitted to passing trains, which are used as data mules to upload the information to a remote control center. On arrival at the station, the data is stored in a database, which is queried by an application in order to detect and predict failures. In this paper, different communication architectures are designed and tested to select the most suitable system meeting such requirements as efficiency, low cost and data accuracy. In addition, to ensure communication between the sensing devices and the train, the communication system must take into account parameters such as train speed, antenna coverage, band and frequency

Thermal and structural performance of energy tunnels

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Case studies for developing globally responsible engineers

Document realitzat amb un ajut financer de la Unió Europea. Per poder accedir al material complementari per a docents dels 28 casos estudi que formen el llibre, activeu el "Document relacionat"Col·lecció de 28 casos estudi per a professors d'enginyeria: 1. Rural development and planning in LDCs: the “Gamba Deve – Licoma axis”,district of Caia, Mozambique 2. Reducing the impact of soil erosion and reservoir siltation on agricultural production and water availability: the case study of the Laaba catchment (Burkina Faso) 3. Trade and Mobility on the Rooftop of the World: Gravity Ropeways in Nepal 4. Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Food systems with regard to Water 5. Conservation agriculture: a complex avenue to conserve and improve soils 6. The national rural water supply and sanitation programme in Tanzania 7. Use of statistical tools in a development context. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) 8. Water supply system in Kojani Island (Zanzibar, Tanzania) 9. Faecal sludge management in Lusaka, Zambia 10. Water balance on the Central Rift Valley 11. Rural electrification in developing countries via autonomous micro-grids 12. Photovoltaics electrification in off-grid areas 13. Development of a MILP model to design wind-photovoltaic stand-alone electrification projects for isolated communities in developing countries 14. Estimation if indoor air pollution and health impacts due to biomass burning in rural Northern Ghana 15.Improved cookstoves assessment 16. Supporting the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels: why won’t people adopt the perfect stove? 17. Do-it-yourself approach as appropriate technology for solar thermal system: the example of CDF Médina, Dakar (Senegal) 18. Essential oil extraction with concentrating solar thermal energy 19. Survival in the desert sun: cool food storage 20. Energy roadmap in Ghana and Botswana 21. Social & ethical issues in engineering 22. Radio communications systems in rural environments 23. A Diffserv transport network to bring 3G access to villages in the Amazon forest 24. Finding the poynting’s theorem in a health centre in San Pablo (Peru) 25. Tanzania, Water and health 26. Flood assessment and warning system 27. Technical aspects of municipal solid waste collection: case studies from East Africa 28. Plastic recyclingPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version