Analysis of track geometric evaluation methods for monitoring railway in Brazil

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58922/transportes.v31i1.2824

Keywords:

Railway, Track inspection, Track geometry, Track quality index

Abstract

Railways are an essential part of global logistics, being used as a fundamental and efficient means of transporting goods in the world's major economies (ANTF, 2022b). Railways need to be monitored to ensure safe operations and economical maintenance. Currently, inspections are performed automatically, usually by control cars that measure geometric parameters, using an index to represent it numerically. Different regulatory agencies have proposed several quality indices, such as European Railway Agency and FederalRailway Administration (FRA). There is no standardized method of track quality index for the Brazilian railways. In this way, the study sought to understand and apply the methods of geometric evaluation of the railway track from data collected in two Brazilian railways using the control car inspection equipment, in view of the need to understand the indices applied in railways of other countries. Track Quality Index (TQI) FRA, Standard Deviation (SD), TQI China Index, J Coefficient and Combined Standard Deviation (CoSD) were evaluated. In addition to verifying and discussing the methodologies applied in the railroads, a unique existing methodology to be applied in railroads in Brazil will be proposed through a case study. Using an adequate index can favor the definition of effective planning by railway maintenance management, enabling better control of the service life of the assets and, consequently, optimization of the resources. Therefore, a sample section was evaluated for the two railroads, with their respective classifications and quality levels according to the different methods available in the literature, to assess which methodology best represented the real condition of the railroad line of both railroads. With this, it was possible to understand better the characteristics of the parameters that involve the railroads, in addition to the understanding, comparison, and applicability of the different methods using the same set of information from the inspections carried out by rail track inspection vehicles. We suggest using the CoSD method considering the four parameters of track geometry described in technical standards (NBR 16387, 2020) until a more appropriate method is developed.

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References

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Published

2023-04-19

How to Cite

Junqueira, A. S., dos Santos Motta, R., & Oliveira, L. (2023). Analysis of track geometric evaluation methods for monitoring railway in Brazil. TRANSPORTES, 31(1), e2824. https://doi.org/10.58922/transportes.v31i1.2824

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Artigos