A real-time impact detection and diagnosis system of catenary using measured strains by fibre Bragg grating sensors

This paper describes an impact detection system using strain signals based on fibre optic sensors(FBG) for the real-time monitoring of the catenary system. The proposed detection system consists of three subsystems: a measuring system, a data processing and analysis system, and a status display and data access system. Because the strain signals obey the normal distribution, to monitor the catenary system in real time, a novel method that combines mobile standard deviation with the mobile Pauta criterion is proposed to distinguish real impact from the strain signal background. The use of this adaptive judging method reduces the misjudgment rate of impacts and improves the impact recognition accuracy. These impacts can be identified by the data analysis system, which provides impact location and their causes using the features of the catenary system. This method can simplify the detection system compared with the traditional location method. An application to a commercial metro line system indicated that the impacts on the catenary system were main caused by overlaps, expansion joints or steady arms, and were verified by correspondence with the floor plan of the catenary and manual inspection results. These results verified the reliability and effectiveness of the proposed impact detection system.     

光纤光栅孔隙水压力计的研制与应用研究

阐述了光纤Bragg光栅(FBG)技术的原理以及传感器的结构设计原理和方法,采用光纤Bragg光栅(FBG)传感技术研制了适合岩土工程使用的光纤光栅孔隙水压力计,对研制的6支光纤光栅孔隙水压力计进行了试验检验并埋设于某高速公路软土路基中试测孔隙水压力以检验研发成果。实践结果表明该仪器克服了常规仪器的某些缺点,并有稳定性好、耐腐蚀等优点,可以较好地应用于岩土工程监测当中。本仪器的研制对于光纤传感技术在岩土工程领域的应用具有积极的推动作用。     

Evaluation of detection sensitivity and count performance of advanced vehicle detection technologies at a signalized intersection

This article evaluates the stop-bar detection and count performance of three advanced vehicle detection sensors under various environmental conditions at a signalized intersection. Continuing advancements to vehicle detection technologies and improvements to their detection capabilities to overcome issues from impacting conditions necessitates testing the performance of new and upgraded sensor products to evaluate their performance and identify the most suitable products for various climates and weather conditions. The three evaluated sensors were Autoscope Encore video, Iteris Vantage Edge 2 video, and Wavetronix SmartSensor Matrix microwave sensors. The three sensors performed with high detection sensitivity during ideal environmental conditions with up to 99.9% detection accuracy levels and are suitable for traffic monitoring centers that rely on remote access to the monitored sites and the collected data. However, they were affected by some extreme adverse weather conditions, mainly daytime and nighttime snow, daytime fog, dawn lighting, and strong winds (for high mounted devices). The selection of a sensor product will depend on the type of application and the priority given to the type of traffic data being collected. Overall, the Iteris video sensor performed with the highest detection sensitivity levels, with the Wavetronix Matrix microwave sensor performing similarly under most conditions (14 of 19 evaluated conditions). Autoscope video provided the highest count accuracies and also provides a much broader data collection capability. The results of this study will help transportation agencies in selecting suitable vehicle detection sensor technologies for future installations within their jurisdiction and improved data collection.     

Modeling and simulation of a dual-mode electrohydraulic fully variable valve train for four-stroke engines

In modern four-stroke automotive engine technology, variable valve timing and lift control offer potential benefits for making a high-performance engine. In this paper, a novel design named dual-mode electrohydraulic fully variable valve train (EHFVVT) for both engine intake and exhaust valves is introduced. The system is mainly controlled by either proportional flow control valves or proportional pressure relief valves, and hence two different families of valve displacement patterns can be achieved. The construction of the mathematical model of the valve train system and its dynamic analysis are also presented in this paper. Experimental and simulation results show that the dual-mode electrohydraulic variable valve train can achieve fully variable valve timing and lift control, and has the potential to eliminate the traditional throttle valve in the gasoline engines. With the proposed system, the engine performance at various speeds and loads will be significantly improved.     

Development and implementation of a torque vectoring algorithm for an innovative 4WD driveline for a high-performance vehicle

The sporting spirit that characterises a high-performance car can be observed in certain technical solutions. The power distribution on the rear wheels is the simplest example of that. It is well known that rear-wheel drive (RWD) vehicles are more fun to drive and faster in their reactions. Unfortunately, they are also less intuitive and harder to control because of their natural oversteering behaviour. The idea of maintaining an RWD driveline in the future is not farseeing, because it would imply an excessive tyre dimension increasing to let the driver use all engine power in many cornering and low-friction conditions. The choice of adopting a part-time all-wheel drive (AWD) driveline comes from the will of enhancing the overall performance by using all the available friction every time that it is needed. It has to be kept into account that a normally aspirated motor of a sport car can supply 500–600 Hp nowadays, and that it will supply 700–800 Hp in the very near future. However, the proposed driveline has not to worsen the weight characteristics (mass and load distribution) that make an RWD vehicle better than other cars. Because of all these considerations and constraints, a new driveline system has been designed. It derives from an RWD driveline with a semi-active differential, to which has been added a controlled wet clutch that directly connects the engine to the front differential. This device allows the drive torque to be distributed between the two axles. It can be understood that in such a device, the torque distribution does not depend only on the central clutch action, but also on the engaged gear. Because of this particular layout, this system can not work in the whole gear range because of thermal problems due to kinematical reasons. So the centre clutch controller has to consider the gear position too. The control algorithms development was carried out using a vehicle model, which can precisely simulate the handling response, the powertrain dynamic, and the actuation system behaviour. Such a modelling precision required the development of a customised powertrain model library in Matlab/Simulink.