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EP-4737264-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING AN ADHESION VALUE OF A RAIL

EP4737264A1EP 4737264 A1EP4737264 A1EP 4737264A1EP-4737264-A1

Abstract

A system (100) for determining an adhesion value of a rail (R) is described, arranged to be installed on a vehicle (V), comprising: - optical radiation generating means (102) arranged to emit an optical radiation (Rad) in the direction of the rail (R) on which said vehicle (V) is travelling; - optical radiation sensor means (104) arranged to detect an intensity value of at least part of a reflected optical radiation (RadRef) which is generated by at least one of: • the reflection of said optical radiation (Rad) on said rail (R); • the reflection of said optical radiation (Rad) on a contaminating material (202) arranged on said rail (R); - electronic processing means (108) arranged to determine the adhesion value of the rail (R) as a function of the intensity value detected by said optical radiation sensor means (104). A corresponding method is also described.

Inventors

  • FREA, Matteo

Assignees

  • Faiveley Transport Italia S.p.A.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20251105

Claims (13)

  1. System (100) for determining an adhesion value of a rail (R), arranged to be installed on a vehicle (V), comprising: - optical radiation generating means (102) arranged to emit an optical radiation (Rad) in the direction of said rail (R) on which said vehicle (V) is travelling; - optical radiation sensor means (104) arranged to detect an intensity value of at least part of a reflected optical radiation (RadRef) which is generated by at least one of: • the reflection of said optical radiation (Rad) emitted by said optical radiation generating means on said rail (R); • the reflection of said optical radiation (Rad) emitted by the optical radiation generating means on a contaminating material (202) arranged on said rail (R); - electronic processing means (108) arranged for determining the adhesion value of said rail (R) as a function of the intensity value detected by said optical radiation sensor means (104).
  2. System according to claim 1, wherein, for determining the adhesion value of the rail (R) as a function of the intensity value detected by said optical radiation sensor means (104), the electronic processing means (108) are arranged to: - compare the intensity value detected by said optical radiation sensor means (104) with a plurality of predetermined intensity values each associated with a respective adhesion value; - determine that the adhesion value of the rail (R) corresponds to the adhesion value associated with the predetermined intensity value corresponding to the intensity value detected by said optical radiation sensor means (104) or closer to the intensity value detected by said optical radiation sensor means (104).
  3. System according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said optical radiation (Rad) emitted by said optical radiation generating means (102) is any one of: - an infrared radiation; - a laser.
  4. System according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: - communication means (300) arranged to permit transmission, from said electronic processing means (108) to second electronic processing means (302), of the determined adhesion value.
  5. System according to claim 4, wherein said second electronic processing means (302) are comprised in a further system (304) installed in the vehicle (V).
  6. System according to claim 5, wherein said further system (304) installed in the vehicle is at least one of: - an adhesion recovery system; - a system for managing skidding of at least one wheel of the vehicle; - a braking control system of the vehicle; - a management and control system of the vehicle.
  7. System according to claim 4, wherein said second electronic processing means (302) are arranged to be comprises in a further system (306) remote from said vehicle (V).
  8. System according to claim 7, wherein said further system (306) remote with respect to said vehicle (V) is: - a traffic management system comprised in a control station remote with respect to said vehicle.
  9. System according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: - the optical radiation generating means (102) comprise a single optical radiation generator arranged to emit the optical radiation (Rad) in the direction of said rail (R); and - the optical radiation sensor means (104) comprise a single optical radiation sensor arranged to detect the intensity value of at least part of the reflected optical radiation (RadRef); wherein said electronic processing means (108) are arranged to determine the adhesion value of the rail (R) solely as a function of the intensity value detected by said single optical radiation sensor.
  10. Vehicle comprising: - at least one wheel (W) arranged to rotate on a rail (R); - a system (100) for determining an adhesion value of a rail (R) according to any of the preceding claims .
  11. Method for determining an adhesion value of a rail (R), implemented by means of electronic processing means (108), comprising the steps of: i) emitting an optical radiation (Rad) in the direction of said rail (R); ii) detecting an intensity value of at least part of a reflected optical radiation (RadRef), which is generated by at least one of: • the reflection of said emitted optical radiation (Rad) on said rail (R); • the reflection of said emitted optical radiation (Rad) on a contaminating material (202) arranged on said rail (R); iii) determining the adhesion value of the rail (R) as a function of the intensity value measured in step ii).
  12. Method according to claim 11, wherein, step iii) further comprises the following steps: - comparing the intensity value detected in step ii) with a plurality of predetermined intensity values each associated with a respective adhesion value; - determining that the adhesion value of the rail (R) corresponds to the adhesion value associated with the predetermined intensity value corresponding to the intensity value detected in step ii) or closer to the intensity value detected in step ii).
  13. Method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein: - step i) comprises: emitting the optical radiation (Rad) in the direction of said rail (R) by means of a single optical radiation generator; - step ii) comprises: detecting the intensity value of at least part of the reflected optical radiation (RadRef), by means of a single optical radiation sensor; - step iii) comprises: determining the adhesion value of the rail (R) solely as a function of the intensity value detected by the single optical radiation sensor in step ii).

Description

Technical field The present invention generally belongs to the field of vehicles; in particular, the invention relates to a system for determining an adhesion value of a rail, a method for determining an adhesion value of a rail, and to a vehicle. Prior art The known techniques for measuring wheel-rail adhesion are fundamentally based on "indirect" solutions relying on image acquisition sensors or on "direct" solutions that implement a braking or traction control dedicated to estimating adhesion. In this second category fall, for example, the solutions that apply a known braking effort to one or more axles and detect the response in terms of rotational speed. From the braking effort and the angular acceleration, it is possible to deduce the available adhesion in the wheel-rail contact. Disadvantageously, the solutions based on image acquisition sensors require complex electronic solutions, based on artificial intelligence algorithms, for the correct interpretation of the acquired images. Direct adhesion measurements, on the other hand, although reliable, can only be carried out if a braking torque is applied to the axle. Such measurement, therefore, can only be carried out during the braking step, unless a dedicated brake control is implemented that, for example, periodically applies a known braking effort and detects the response of the axle in terms of angular acceleration. Disadvantageously, the solution of the dedicated control allows the measurement of adhesion with the desired space-time resolution, but requires the periodic application, which is unnecessary for the operation of the vehicle, of a braking effort to at least one axle of the railway vehicle. Summary of the invention One object of the present invention is to provide solutions for determining an adhesion value of a rail that do not require the periodic application of an unnecessary braking effort and that do not necessarily require electronic solutions based on complex evaluations of images, for example performed through artificial intelligence algorithms. Said and other objects and advantages are achieved by: according to a first aspect of the invention, a system for determining an adhesion value of a rail having the features defined in claim 1;according to a second aspect of the invention, a vehicle having the features defined in claim 9;according to a third aspect of the invention, a method for determining an adhesion value of a rail having the features defined in claim 10. Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims, the content of which is to be understood as an integral part of the present description. Brief description of the drawings The functional and structural features of some preferred embodiments of a system for determining an adhesion value of a rail, of a method for determining an adhesion value of a rail and of a vehicle according to the invention will now be described. Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system for determining an adhesion value of a rail according to the present invention;Figures 2a and 2b illustrate two exemplary situations in which the adhesion value can be high or low; andFigure 3 illustrates a further embodiment of a system for determining an adhesion value of a rail according to the present invention. Detailed description Before explaining in detail a plurality of embodiments of the invention, it should be clarified that the invention is not limited in its application to the construction details and the configuration of the components presented in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of taking other embodiments and of being carried out or implemented practically in different ways. It should also be understood that the phraseology and terminology are intended to be descriptive and not limiting. The use of "including" and "comprising" and their variations are to be understood as encompassing the elements recited thereafter and their equivalents, as well as additional elements and their equivalents. With initial reference to figure 1, hereinafter is described an embodiment of a system for determining an adhesion value of a rail. The system 100 for determining an adhesion value of a rail R is arranged to be installed on a vehicle V and comprises: optical radiation generating means 102 arranged to emit an optical radiation Rad in the direction of said rail R on which said vehicle V is travelling/transiting;optical radiation sensor means 104 arranged to detect an intensity value of at least part of a reflected optical radiation RadRef, which is generated by at least one of: the reflection, of said optical radiation Rad emitted by the optical radiation generating means, on said rail R;the reflection, of said optical radiation Rad emitted by the optical radiation generating means, on a contaminating material 202 arranged on said rail R. For example, when said rail R is sub