Tunnels & Bridges Defects
Background
Visual track defects inside tunnels and bridges may occur both on the track itself and on surrounding civil structures. Standard linescan imaging systems are suitable for picking up track related defects. The evaluation of surrounding structures requires clearance measurements (detailed separately), as well as the use of imaging, thermal and possible other sensors directly mounted on the structures (e.g. vibration) for a comprehensive evaluation. In some cases where the structures have to be viewed from angles not possible with a train-borne system, a drone based imaging system may be needed.
In the case of tunnels, surface defects can include:
- Cracking in walls or ceilings
- Water seepage
- Structural damage
- Material deterioration
- Construction defects
In the case of bridges, surface defects can be:
- Top of deck faults
- Prestressed concrete girder or beam defects
- Floorbeam defects
- Column defects
- Abutment defects
- Pier Cap defects
- Strip Seal Deck Joint defects
- Elastomeric (Expansion) Bearing defects
- Fixed Bearing defects
- Masonry, Other or Combination Material Railing defects
A slideshow of some of the defects in tunnels and bridges
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RV Diagnostics
TrackVue S series equipment uses high definition colour areascan cameras and monochrome linescan cameras to record tunnel and bridge areas with adequate number of cameras needed to provide a satisfactory view for automated image analytics.
RV Advantage
There are several benefits of using S series equipment including:
- Integrated high intensity LED lighting with intensity of up to 200,000 Lux allows night time operations
- An integrated solution with TrackVue Z series that performs rail and track diagnostics is possible, giving full details of the tunnels, bridges, their clearances and surface defects along with condition of track that passes through them
- TrackVue S series equipment is suited to all types of vehicles including passenger vehicles. For surface detection only (without 3D lidar profiling), measurements can be made at full line speeds of up to 160 kmph.
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