Nonlinear Response of Fiber Bragg Grating for Health Monitoring of Railway Track

Automated system for real-time health monitoring system of railway track is a major need in India to ensure the passenger, a safe journey. The Indian railway system is facing breakthrough problems such as wheel flat spot due to wheel set drag, axle misalignment, bogie performance, rail health and many other geometric faults. In the proposed research work, we analyzed the nonlinear response of the rolling wheel on Indian standard 136 RE rail and observed the wavelength and strain variation during the integration of the Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor in the web and foot of the rail. Finite Element (FE) results and FBG results have shown consistency with the wheel movement. Wavelength shift obtained for each change in strain step size of 0.5 in the foot part of the rail. Displacement of wheel in for true distance covered data assist in finding the faulty wheel. Obtained sensitivity of designed FBG sensor is 450nm/RIU as per the requirement of high loading capacity. Proposed dynamic wheel analysis of rail and wheel is the very important aspects or need in the current scenario of Indian railway system for automating the safety system.