• Composites Research
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• 제36권6호
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• pp.429-434
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• 2023

본 연구에서는 기존 배관 가스 누출 감지에 사용되던 음향방출 센서가 실시간 모니터링에 적용될 때 발생할 수 있는 문제들을 개선하기 위해, Macro-fiber composite (MFC) 트랜스듀서를 음향방출 센서로 사용하여 가스 누출 감지 시스템에 적용하였다. 적용 전 MFC의 구조를 최적화하기 위해 구조해석을 진행하여 제작하였고, 그 결과 MFC가 가지는 유연성으로 굴곡진 배관에 잘 밀착되어 AE 신호를 문제없이 수신할 수 있었다. AE 신호 분석 결과 고압 누출, 저압 누출 모두 파라미터 값 변화에 유의미한 결과를 보였으며, 특히, FFT 그래프의 파라미터에서 고압 누출의 경우 누출이 없는 경우 대비 120~626%의 변화량, 저압 누출의 경우 9~22%의 변화량을 보였다. 또한, 누출 발생 부위에서의 거리에 따라, 거리가 멀수록 이러한 파라미터 변화량이 줄어드는 경향을 보여, 추후 파라미터 변화량 감지를 통해 누출 감지가 가능할 뿐만 아니라, 변화량으로부터 누출 발생 위치를 파악할 수 있을 것으로 보인다.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.549-562
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• 2017

The US railroad network carries 40% of the nation's total freight. Railroad bridges are the most critical part of the network infrastructure and, therefore, must be properly maintained for the operational safety. Railroad managers inspect bridges by measuring displacements under train crossing events to assess their structural condition and prioritize bridge management and safety decisions accordingly. The displacement of a railroad bridge under train crossings is one parameter of interest to railroad bridge owners, as it quantifies a bridge's ability to perform safely and addresses its serviceability. Railroad bridges with poor track conditions will have amplified displacements under heavy loads due to impacts between the wheels and rail joints. Under these circumstances, vehicle-track-bridge interactions could cause excessive bridge displacements, and hence, unsafe train crossings. If displacements during train crossings could be measured objectively, owners could repair or replace less safe bridges first. However, data on bridge displacements is difficult to collect in the field as a fixed point of reference is required for measurement. Accelerations can be used to estimate dynamic displacements, but to date, the pseudo-static displacements cannot be measured using reference-free sensors. This study proposes a method to estimate total transverse displacements of a railroad bridge under live train loads using acceleration and tilt data at the top of the exterior pile bent of a standard timber trestle, where train derailment due to excessive lateral movement is the main concern. Researchers used real bridge transverse displacement data under train traffic from varying bridge serviceability levels. This study explores the design of a new bridge deck-pier experimental model that simulates the vibrations of railroad bridges under traffic using a shake table for the input of train crossing data collected from the field into a laboratory model of a standard timber railroad pile bent. Reference-free sensors measured both the inclination angle and accelerations of the pile cap. Various readings are used to estimate the total displacements of the bridge using data filtering. The estimated displacements are then compared to the true responses of the model measured with displacement sensors. An average peak error of 10% and a root mean square error average of 5% resulted, concluding that this method can cost-effectively measure the total displacement of railroad bridges without a fixed reference.