Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Trains as Data Mules to Monitor Slab Track Infrastructures
Department of Languages and Computer Science, University of Málaga, Boulevar Louis Pasteur 35, Málaga 29071, Spain
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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Vittorio M.N. Passaro
Sensors 2015, 15(7), 15101-15126; https://doi.org/10.3390/s150715101
Received: 22 May 2015
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Revised: 19 June 2015
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Accepted: 23 June 2015
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Published: 26 June 2015
(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)
Recently, slab track systems have arisen as a safer and more sustainable option for high speed railway infrastructures, compared to traditional ballasted tracks. Integrating Wireless Sensor Networks within these infrastructures can provide structural health related data that can be used to evaluate their degradation and to not only detect failures but also to predict them. The design of such systems has to deal with a scenario of large areas with inaccessible zones, where neither Internet coverage nor electricity supply is guaranteed. In this paper we propose a monitoring system for slab track systems that measures vibrations and displacements in the track. Collected data is transmitted to passing trains, which are used as data mules to upload the information to a remote control center. On arrival at the station, the data is stored in a database, which is queried by an application in order to detect and predict failures. In this paper, different communication architectures are designed and tested to select the most suitable system meeting such requirements as efficiency, low cost and data accuracy. In addition, to ensure communication between the sensing devices and the train, the communication system must take into account parameters such as train speed, antenna coverage, band and frequency.
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Keywords:
wireless sensor networks; slab track infrastructure protection; communication architecture; structural health monitoring
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MDPI and ACS Style
Cañete, E.; Chen, J.; Díaz, M.; Llopis, L.; Reyna, A.; Rubio, B. Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Trains as Data Mules to Monitor Slab Track Infrastructures. Sensors 2015, 15, 15101-15126. https://doi.org/10.3390/s150715101
AMA Style
Cañete E, Chen J, Díaz M, Llopis L, Reyna A, Rubio B. Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Trains as Data Mules to Monitor Slab Track Infrastructures. Sensors. 2015; 15(7):15101-15126. https://doi.org/10.3390/s150715101
Chicago/Turabian StyleCañete, Eduardo, Jaime Chen, Manuel Díaz, Luis Llopis, Ana Reyna, and Bartolomé Rubio. 2015. "Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Trains as Data Mules to Monitor Slab Track Infrastructures" Sensors 15, no. 7: 15101-15126. https://doi.org/10.3390/s150715101
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