Abstract
For future requirements, asset management of turnouts needs to rely on data-based assessment tools. These tools must enable the quantification of quality behaviour of turnouts and identify causes of poor behaviour. In this paper, we provide a toolbox addressing these requirements. We use track geometry as the main criterion for quality behaviour in combination with additional indicators, each associated with a different component, to understand turnout performance. The toolbox is applied to five similar turnouts to compare their performance. It is revealed that one of the turnouts performs significantly worse than the others. A deeper analysis can identify worn ballast in several areas of the turnout as the cause of poor performance. Problems in the ballast bed can be attributed to worn insulated rail joints as well as to stiffness changes in the transition areas of the turnout.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 10665 |
| Journal | Applied Sciences (Switzerland) |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 19 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2023 |
Keywords
- data analysis
- life cycle costs
- predictive maintenance
- railways
- track geometry
- turnout
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Materials Science
- Instrumentation
- General Engineering
- Process Chemistry and Technology
- Computer Science Applications
- Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes