Wang Guan, Song Dongqi, Pang Zhongwang, Wang Fangmin, Dai Hongfei, Li Wenlin, Wang Bo
Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
State Key Laboratory of Precision Space-time Information Sensing Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Nat Commun. 2025 May 3;16(1):4129. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59507-6.
The health inspection of widespread high-speed railway network is crucial to maintain the regular transportation, particularly as the velocity of high-speed trains continues to escalate. To narrow the long inspection period of current track recording vehicle method, we have implemented a laser interferometer sensing system to turn those existing fiber cables within high-speed railway cable ducts into effective sensing elements. Based on the distributed vibration sensing of daily passing trains, an average power spectrum density indicator is used to assess the health of high-speed railway infrastructures. During the observation over one year, average power spectrum densities of 4 typical infrastructures remain stable, indicating their robust health despite challenging environmental conditions. To demonstrate the sensitivity of average power spectrum density indicator on railway faults, we analyze the sensing results of a rail section before and after track maintenance, which shows distinctive average power spectrum density features corresponding to different levels of creep deformation. Additionally, the sensing system can also report other ambient vibrations, such as seismic waves after propagation of over 300 km. It demonstrates the fiber sensing system not only has the ability to act as a real-time supplementary tool for high-speed railway health inspection, but also has potential to establish a large sensing network.
广泛的高速铁路网络的健康检查对于维持正常运输至关重要，尤其是随着高速列车速度持续提升。为了缩短当前轨道记录车辆方法漫长的检查周期，我们实施了一种激光干涉仪传感系统，将高速铁路电缆管道内现有的光纤电缆转变为有效的传感元件。基于日常过往列车的分布式振动传感，使用平均功率谱密度指标来评估高速铁路基础设施的健康状况。在一年的观测期间，4个典型基础设施的平均功率谱密度保持稳定，表明尽管环境条件具有挑战性，但它们的健康状况良好。为了证明平均功率谱密度指标对铁路故障的敏感性，我们分析了轨道维护前后一段铁轨的传感结果，结果显示对应于不同程度的蠕变变形具有独特的平均功率谱密度特征。此外，该传感系统还可以报告其他环境振动，例如传播超过300公里后的地震波。这表明光纤传感系统不仅有能力作为高速铁路健康检查的实时辅助工具，而且有潜力建立一个大型传感网络。
