EUROPE: A Vibration Analysis for Remote Condition Monitoring project funded from the EU’s H2020 Fast Track to Innovation programme aims to use remote monitoring to detect potential failures of train doors and predict their remaining lifetime.
The vibration analysis algorithms will be combined with image recognition to distinguish between doors that are working properly and those that are not. The ambition is to able to predict the probability of failure, and thus reduce costs through the use of targeted rather than preventive maintenance
The project is being undertaken by a a consortium of Hitex, TWI Ltd, Transport Systems Catapult, Transports Metropolitans De Barcelona and Innovative Technology & Science Ltd, with completion planned for 2019.
The partners quote statistics which say that between 25% and 50% of train defects come from the doors, while worldwide 70% of passenger injuries involve doors.
'Vibration analysis and pattern recognition applied on the signals received during the operation of the train doors can pave the way for better maintenance, enhancement of future design of train doors and most importantly, decreased number of accidents', said Sofia Sampethai, Project Manager at Transport Systems Catapult.
