Multi-level condition-based maintenance planning for railway infrastructures – A scenario-based chance-constrained approach

This paper develops a multi-level decision making approach for the optimal planning of maintenance operations of railway infrastructures, which are composed of multiple components divided into basic units for maintenance. Scenario-based chance-constrained Model Predictive Control (MPC) is used at the high level to determine an optimal long-term component-wise intervention plan for a railway infrastructure, and the Time Instant Optimization (TIO) approach is applied to transform the MPC optimization problem with both continuous and integer decision variables into a nonlinear continuous optimization problem. The middle-level problem determines the allocation of time slots for the maintenance interventions suggested at the high level to optimize the trade-off between traffic disruption and the setup cost of maintenance slots. Based on the high-level intervention plan, the low-level problem determines the optimal clustering of the basic units to be treated by a maintenance agent, subject to the time limit imposed by the maintenance slots. The proposed approach is applied to the optimal treatment of squats, with real data from the Eindhoven-Weert line in the Dutch railway network.     

长大山岭铁路隧道群无砟轨道施工组织的研究

文章借鉴国内外隧道无砟轨道施工经验和相关技术资料,以贵广铁路隧道群双块式无砟轨道项目的工程实践为背景,对山岭地区隧道群无砟轨道施工工装配置和物流组织进行了研究,提出了长大隧道无砟轨道施工采用双线交错和双线分开的作业程序。工程实践表明,采用组合式轨排框架进行现场轨排组装,可以适应曲线半径作业时轨道的调整性能,保证无砟轨道技术指标,具有良好的通用性和快速的施工转换能力;组合式轨道排架精度高、刚度大,可循环使用,从而提高施工工期和节约施工成本。     

An autonomous system for maintenance scheduling data-rich complex infrastructure: Fusing the railways’ condition,planning and cost

National railways are typically large and complex systems. Their network infrastructure usually includes extended track sections, bridges, stations and other supporting assets. In recent years, railways have also become a data-rich environment.Railway infrastructure assets have a very long life, but inherently degrade. Interventions are necessary but they can cause lateness, damage and hazards. Every day, thousands of discrete maintenance jobs are scheduled according to time and urgency. Service disruption has a direct economic impact. Planning for maintenance can be complex, expensive and uncertain.Autonomous scheduling of maintenance jobs is essential. The design strategy of a novel integrated system for automatic job scheduling is presented; from concept formulation to the examination of the data to information transitional level interface, and at the decision making level. The underlying architecture configures high-level fusion of technical and business drivers; scheduling optimized intervention plans that factor-in cost impact and added value.A proof of concept demonstrator was developed to validate the system principle and to test algorithm functionality. It employs a dashboard for visualization of the system response and to present key information. Real track incident and inspection datasets were analyzed to raise degradation alarms that initiate the automatic scheduling of maintenance tasks. Optimum scheduling was realized through data analytics and job sequencing heuristic and genetic algorithms, taking into account specific cost & value inputs from comprehensive task cost modelling. Formal face validation was conducted with railway infrastructure specialists and stakeholders. The demonstrator structure was found fit for purpose with logical component relationships, offering further scope for research and commercial exploitation.     

堡镇隧道有轨运输全幅仰拱桥设计与施工

文章结合宜万铁路堡镇隧道施工实际,介绍了在有轨运输条件下全幅仰拱桥设计与施工的情况。本工程在目前所配备的施工机械设备前提下,解决了仰拱分段一次浇注的难题,可为今后全面推广全幅仰拱施工、根治隧道运营病害提供参考。     

The price of uncertainty in pavement infrastructure management planning: An integer programming approach

Currently there is a true dichotomy in the pavement maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) literature. On the one hand, there are integer programming-based models that assume that parameters are deterministically known. On the other extreme, there are stochastic models, with the most popular class being based on the theory of Markov decision processes that are able to account for various sources of uncertainties observed in the real-world. In this paper, we present an integer programming-based alternative to account for these uncertainties. A critical feature of the proposed models is that they provide – a priori – probabilistic guarantees that the prescribed M&R decisions would result in pavement condition scores that are above their critical service levels, using minimal assumptions regarding the sources of uncertainty. By construction of the models, we can easily determine the additional budget requirements when additional sources of uncertainty are considered, starting from a fully deterministic model. We have coined this additional budget requirement the price of uncertainty to distinguish from previous related work where additional budget requirements were studied due to parameter uncertainties in stochastic models. A numerical case study presents valuable insights into the price of uncertainty and shows that it can be large.     

液化天然气(LNG)汽车日常检查方法及维护技术综述

天然气是一种优质的替代燃料,具有污染小、安全系数高、运行费用低等优点。天然气已经成为城市公共交通领域应用最为成功和广泛的车辆替代燃料技术,为推动交通运输行业的节能减排做出了显著的贡献。液化天然气汽车,作为天然气汽车的一种类型,与传统汽柴油车相比,液化天然气汽车安装了包括液化天然气气瓶、气管路及各种控制阀门和仪表在内的专用装置,在对液化天然气汽车进行日常检查时需要针对液化天然气汽车的专用装置进行重点检查。本文则针对液化天然气汽车的特点,对液化天然气汽车的正确使用方法、日常检查方法及维护技术要求、以及相关注意事项三个方面进行了解读,为指导液化天然气汽车进行日常检查与定期维护提供了技术参考。     

绝缘接头质量控制和常见问题分析

针对目前绝缘接头广泛应用于防止钢制管道电化学腐蚀的阴极保护系统并且绝缘接头经常出现事故的情况,对绝缘接头产品、制造和检验流程、各工序质量控制要点、常见质量问题等方面进行了介绍,提出了绝缘接头质量控制要点及方法.结果表明:该方法应用于某工厂质量控制、气密性试验泄漏等实例,证明此方法对绝缘接头质量控制有效.     

减少铸管内衬缺陷率的生产实践

文中对某公司生产的铸铁管存在的内衬缺陷进行了分析,并提出了改进措施。利用现场分析与统计分析查找出内衬起泡和内流内裂是造成水泥内衬降级的的主要因素。针对这两个因素,采取了有效的改进措施。通过对托轮、压轮和挡轮装置进行改造,调整衬层机转速,规范了养生制度以及试验调整配料工艺参数等,铸铁管存在的内衬缺陷得到了显著改善,对提高铸铁管整体质量起到了很好的作用。     

Reasonable scheduling for arrival–departure track operations in railway stations

We analyze the train types handled at a section station and the factors affecting the scheduling of the arrival–departure track operation, using the following conditions as our optimization goals: operating the arrival–departure tracks in accordance with a fixed operation scheme, and reducing the influence which the departing–receiving operations impose on shunting operations. We establish a 0–1 integer programming model for formulating a track operation plan. By applying modern sequencing theory, this is transformed into a fixed sequencing model of special parallel machines. We then design a heuristic algorithm to solve the model. Finally, the example of Yiyang railway station is used to verify the advantages of the model and the algorithm. A better operation plan is obtained using MATLAB 7.0 by applying the model and the algorithm provided in the paper, indicating the superiority of our study’s approach.