To ensure uninterrupted service and the safety of the infrastructure, the monitoring of catenary tensioning is essential for the entire network.
In order to avoid contact wire breaking, in spite of temperature variations, the tensioning must be constant.
Safety, Quality of Service and Maintenance Costs Are the Main Issues
In extreme weather conditions, such as high temperatures, the counterweights are lowered and can reach the stops. This means that the mechanical tension is no longer maintained, the contact wires are no longer horizontal and can break when the pantograph passes or create electric arcs.
To prevent this from happening, on-the-spot verifications and interventions are very frequent but also very costly.
This is why Stimio has deployed a remote monitoring solution which drastically reduces the number of inspection rounds and at the same time avoids disruption of the service.
Collecting Information Using a Certified Connected Sensor
Our catenary tensioning monitoring solution can be easily deployed with the help of our Railnode IoT device, which is railway certified. The Railnode is attached to the top of the tensioning mast and measures the height of the counterweight.
The data is stored, decoded and visualised on our Cloud Oxygen platform, enabling the monitoring and prediction of the voltage of the catenaries.
The information collected is downloaded wirelessly and, if required, directly into the customer’s third-party information system.
Railnode has a life span of up to five years, is battery operated and requires no power cables. Its installation is all the more simplified.
The modularity and swiftness of the solution fulfils its objective perfectly by offering rapid implementation without substantial intervention on the equipment.
Voltage Prediction up to 48 Hours in Advance
With our IoT solution, from the sensor to the cloud interface, it is possible to optimise maintenance operations thanks to being able to predict the catenary tensioning up to 48 hours in advance on the entire network.
Our turnkey solution allows the creation of a behavioural model of catenary tensioning.
This is of paramount interest: to be able to predict the behaviour of tensioning upstream and anticipate maintenance actions as accurately as possible.
The platform’s dashboards are especially adapted to the needs of the railway operators and make it possible to create alerts in order to be warned when the voltage exceeds the defined threshold.
This article was originally published by STIMIO.
