Numerical analysis of high‑speed railway slab tracks using calibrated and validated 3D time‑domain modelling

Concrete slabs are widely used in modern railways to increase the inherent resilient quality of the tracks,provide safe and smooth rides,and reduce the maintenance frequency.In this paper,the elastic performance of a novel slab trackform for high-speed railways is investigated using three-dimensional finite element modelling in Abaqus.It is then compared to the performance of a ballasted track.First,slab and ballasted track models are developed to replicate the full-scale testing of track sections.Once the models are calibrated with the experimental results,the novel slab model is developed and compared against the calibrated slab track results.The slab and ballasted track models are then extended to create linear dynamic models,considering the track geodynamics,and simulating train passages at various speeds,for which the Ledsgard documented case was used to validate the models.Trains travelling at low and high speeds are analysed to investigate the track deflections and the wave propagation in the soil,considering the issues associated with critical speeds.Various train loading methods are discussed,and the most practical approach is retained and described.Moreover,correlations are made between the geotechnical parameters of modern high-speed rail and conventional standards.It is found that considering the same ground condition,the slab track deflections are considerably smaller than those of the ballasted track at high speeds,while they show similar behaviour at low speeds.

基于改进Tracktor的行人多目标跟踪算法

在多目标视频跟踪中,针对受交互遮挡等影响导致检测偏差从而致使目标身份丢失的问题,提出一种基于改进Tracktor的行人多目标跟踪算法DUTracktor。在检测框回归中设计一个动态更新模块,利用孪生网络对建议框进一步检测定位;利用时序信息增强模块更新当前帧更适合的模板,建立全局上下文关系;并通过像素相关进行特征融合,从而增强目标边缘信息和尺度信息;利用相机运动补偿和融合相似矩阵构建二级关联跟踪机制,建立检测框和轨迹更强大的关联性,提高目标跟踪的鲁棒性。在公开的MOT16数据集上进行实验测试,并与当前主流算法相比,该算法跟踪精度表现较优,具有良好的鲁棒性,FPS稳定在24帧。

A Track Initiation Method for the Underwater Target Tracking Environment

A novel efficient track initiation method is proposed for the harsh underwater target tracking environment(heavy clutter and large measurement errors): track splitting, evaluating, pruning and merging method(TSEPM). Track initiation demands that the method should determine the existence and initial state of a target quickly and correctly.Heavy clutter and large measurement errors certainly pose additional difficulties and challenges, which deteriorate and complicate the track initiation in the harsh underwater target tracking environment. There are three primary shortcomings for the current track initiation methods to initialize a target:(a) they cannot eliminate the turbulences of clutter effectively;(b) there may be a high false alarm probability and low detection probability of a track;(c) they cannot estimate the initial state for a new confirmed track correctly. Based on the multiple hypotheses tracking principle and modified logic-based track initiation method, in order to increase the detection probability of a track,track splitting creates a large number of tracks which include the true track originated from the target. And in order to decrease the false alarm probability, based on the evaluation mechanism, track pruning and track merging are proposed to reduce the false tracks. TSEPM method can deal with the track initiation problems derived from heavy clutter and large measurement errors, determine the target’s existence and estimate its initial state with the least squares method. What’s more, our method is fully automatic and does not require any kind manual input for initializing and tuning any parameter. Simulation results indicate that our new method improves significantly the performance of the track initiation in the harsh underwater target tracking environment.

LQTTrack:Multi-Object Tracking by Focusing on Low-Quality Targets Association

Multi-object tracking(MOT)has seen rapid improvements in recent years.However,frequent occlusion remains a significant challenge in MOT,as it can cause targets to become smaller or disappear entirely,resulting in lowquality targets,leading to trajectory interruptions and reduced tracking performance.Different from some existing methods,which discarded the low-quality targets or ignored low-quality target attributes.LQTTrack,with a lowquality association strategy(LQA),is proposed to pay more attention to low-quality targets.In the association scheme of LQTTrack,firstly,multi-scale feature fusion of FPN(MSFF-FPN)is utilized to enrich the feature information and assist in subsequent data association.Secondly,the normalized Wasserstein distance(NWD)is integrated to replace the original Inter over Union(IoU),thus overcoming the limitations of the traditional IoUbased methods that are sensitive to low-quality targets with small sizes and enhancing the robustness of low-quality target tracking.Moreover,the third association stage is proposed to improve the matching between the current frame’s low-quality targets and previously interrupted trajectories from earlier frames to reduce the problem of track fragmentation or error tracking,thereby increasing the association success rate and improving overall multi-object tracking performance.Extensive experimental results demonstrate the competitive performance of LQTTrack on benchmark datasets(MOT17,MOT20,and DanceTrack).

Effect of temperature gradientinduced periodic deformation of CRTS Ⅲ slab track on dynamic responses of the train-track system

Purpose-Temperature is an important load for a ballastless track.However,little research has been conducted on the dynamic responses when a train travels on a ballastless track under the temperature gradient.The dynamic responses under different temperature gradients of the slab are theoretically investigated in this work.Design/methodology/approach-Considering the moving train,the temperature gradient of the slab,and the gravity of the slab track,a dynamic model for a high-speed train that runs along the CRTS Ⅲ slab track on subgrade is developed by a nonlinear coupled way in Abaqus.Findings-The results are as follows:(1)The upward transmission of the periodic deformation of the slab causes periodic track irregularity.(2)Because of the geometric constraint of limiting structures,the maximum bending stresses of the slab occur near the end of the slab under positive temperature gradients,but in the middle of the slab under negative temperature gradients.(3)The periodic deformation of the slab can induce periodic changes in the interlayer stiffness and contact status,leading to a large vibration of the slab.Because of the vibration-reduction capacity of the fastener and the larger mass of the concrete base,the accelerations of both the slab and concrete base are far less than the acceleration of the rail.Originality/value-This study reveals the influence mechanism of temperature gradient-induced periodic deformation in the dynamic responses of the train-track system,and it also provides a guide for the safe service of CRTS Ⅲ slab track.

基于改进CStrack关联策略的多目标跟踪算法

针对复杂场景下目标外观变化明显、运动不规律易导致轨迹中断和身份切换频繁等问题,从重识别(Re-Identification,Re-ID)特征、数据关联和插值等方面对跟踪器进行改进,提出基于改进CStrack关联策略的多目标跟踪算法。使用外观特征更新模块,减小因视角改变、目标移动导致特征剧烈变化而产生的影响,增强特征间的关联。提出二次关联方法,根据高低置信度检测结果的特点,使用不同的度量方式进行二次关联:第一次关联使用IoU距离融合外观特征作为关联的代价矩阵,第二次使用扩展IoU关联,缓解运动估计偏差、外观不可区分导致度量失效的问题;采用高斯回归算法,考虑运动信息,通过插值补偿漏检。在MOT17、MOT20数据集上进行测试,跟踪精度分别达到73.9%、64.2%。实验结果表明,该方法在跟踪精度上有明显优势,能够较好地适应复杂场景。

Track Bed Total Route Evaluation for Track Renewals&Asset Management“A Network Rail Perspective”

Over the last 10 years there have been significant developments and improvements in the understanding of railway track bed in the UK and its relationship and impact on track quality,ballast life and maintenance following track renewals.This paper aims to describe the process adopted by Network Rail for track bed investigation and design which offers Network Rail optimum design solutions and value for money from an investigation and construction perspective,balancing design with possession availability to maximise construction output.It also describes innovative investigation and construction techniques that have been developed over the last 5 years maximising the use of rail mounted asset condition data collection systems which run at line speed,allowing targeted investigations and in some case removing the requirements for physical site investigation.It also allows Network Rail to predict sections of track bed which may be affected by line speed increases which would cause the track bed to fail prematurely or,retain its ability to maintain good track geometry post line speed increase.These problems can manifest themselves as stiffness related problems such as critical velocity issues(surface wave velocity,Rayleigh Wave velocity)or,sub-grade erosion resulting in high rates of deterioration in the vertical track geometry.The paper also describes the development and installation process for Enhanced Axial Micropiles to address stiffness related track bed problems whilst leaving the track in-situ a technique which is new to the UK railways.

改进YOLOv7+Bytetrack的小目标检测与追踪

近年来,目标检测技术已经相当成熟,但小目标检测一直是目标检测领域的一大挑战。为了解决这一问题,设计一种名为MFF-YOLOv7的小目标检测算法,该算法旨在提高小目标检测的准确率。设计级联双向特征金字塔KBiFPN,以及联合提出的多级感受野特征聚合模块MFA,来聚合浅层特征并增强特征的信息表达能力。为了解决小目标漏检问题,设计了新的解耦头和新的注意力机制。新的解耦头对小目标的检测能力更强,新的注意力机制可以重点关注感兴趣的小目标区域。引入了一种新的损失函数ECIOU,旨在加快模型的收敛速度。为了验证模型的性能,分别在三个小目标数据集上进行了实验。实验结果表明,MFF-YOLOv7算法提高了检测精度。同时,使用多目标追踪Bytetrack算法在MOT17和VisDrone2019-MOT两个多目标追踪数据集上对新模型进行了验证,进一步证明了其有效性。此外,MFF-YOLOv7算法在动态视频追踪中表现出了良好的性能。

基于SBAS-InSAR与Offset-Tracking的色东普流域灾前形变探究

利用SAR偏移量追踪(offset-tracking)技术获取冰川形变作为SBAS-InSAR的补充,采用2种技术计算2018-01~10色东普流域灾前形变,联合分析灾前形变特征及影响因素。结果表明,色东普流域冰川与沟道在2018-10-17冰崩灾害发生前已出现形变;冰川主要形变区形变趋势表现为加速-平缓-加速,7~9月形变量达到-7.69 m;沟道内堆积物长期呈下滑趋势,7月后与冰川均加速形变;气温升高是冰崩碎屑流灾害发生的主导因素。联合SBAS-InSAR与offset-tracking技术能够满足不同形变量级的监测需求,可用于冰崩灾害的早期识别与形变反演,为青藏高原地区冰崩灾害防治提供参考。

Prescribed Performance Tracking Control of Time-Delay Nonlinear Systems With Output Constraints

The problem of prescribed performance tracking control for unknown time-delay nonlinear systems subject to output constraints is dealt with in this paper. In contrast with related works, only the most fundamental requirements, i.e., boundedness and the local Lipschitz condition, are assumed for the allowable time delays. Moreover, we focus on the case where the reference is unknown beforehand, which renders the standard prescribed performance control designs under output constraints infeasible. To conquer these challenges, a novel robust prescribed performance control approach is put forward in this paper.Herein, a reverse tuning function is skillfully constructed and automatically generates a performance envelop for the tracking error. In addition, a unified performance analysis framework based on proof by contradiction and the barrier function is established to reveal the inherent robustness of the control system against the time delays. It turns out that the system output tracks the reference with a preassigned settling time and good accuracy,without constraint violations. A comparative simulation on a two-stage chemical reactor is carried out to illustrate the above theoretical findings.

Label-free in-vivo classi-cation and tracking of red blood cells and platelets using Dynamic-YOLOv4 network

In-vivo flow cytometry is a noninvasive real-time diagnostic technique that facilitates continuous monitoring of cells without perturbing their natural biological environment,which renders it a valuable tool for both scientific research and clinical applications.However,the conventional approach for improving classification accuracy often involves labeling cells with fluorescence,which can lead to potential phototoxicity.This study proposes a label-free in-vivo flow cytometry technique,called dynamic YOLOv4(D-YOLOv4),which improves classification accuracy by integrating absorption intensity fluctuation modulation(AIFM)into YOLOv4 to demodulate the temporal features of moving red blood cells(RBCs)and platelets.Using zebrafish as an experimental model,the D-YOLOv4 method achieved average precisions(APs)of 0.90 for RBCs and 0.64 for thrombocytes(similar to platelets in mammals),resulting in an overall AP of 0.77.These scores notably surpass those attained by alternative network models,thereby demonstrating that the combination of physical models with neural networks provides an innovative approach toward developing label-free in-vivoflow cytometry,which holds promise for diverse in-vivo cell classification applications.

Masked Autoencoders as Single Object Tracking Learners

Significant advancements have beenwitnessed in visual tracking applications leveragingViT in recent years,mainly due to the formidablemodeling capabilities of Vision Transformer(ViT).However,the strong performance of such trackers heavily relies on ViT models pretrained for long periods,limitingmore flexible model designs for tracking tasks.To address this issue,we propose an efficient unsupervised ViT pretraining method for the tracking task based on masked autoencoders,called TrackMAE.During pretraining,we employ two shared-parameter ViTs,serving as the appearance encoder and motion encoder,respectively.The appearance encoder encodes randomly masked image data,while the motion encoder encodes randomly masked pairs of video frames.Subsequently,an appearance decoder and a motion decoder separately reconstruct the original image data and video frame data at the pixel level.In this way,ViT learns to understand both the appearance of images and the motion between video frames simultaneously.Experimental results demonstrate that ViT-Base and ViT-Large models,pretrained with TrackMAE and combined with a simple tracking head,achieve state-of-the-art(SOTA)performance without additional design.Moreover,compared to the currently popular MAE pretraining methods,TrackMAE consumes only 1/5 of the training time,which will facilitate the customization of diverse models for tracking.For instance,we additionally customize a lightweight ViT-XS,which achieves SOTA efficient tracking performance.

Adaptive state-constrained/model-free iterative sliding mode control for aerial robot trajectory tracking

This paper develops a novel hierarchical control strategy for improving the trajectory tracking capability of aerial robots under parameter uncertainties.The hierarchical control strategy is composed of an adaptive sliding mode controller and a model-free iterative sliding mode controller(MFISMC).A position controller is designed based on adaptive sliding mode control(SMC)to safely drive the aerial robot and ensure fast state convergence under external disturbances.Additionally,the MFISMC acts as an attitude controller to estimate the unmodeled dynamics without detailed knowledge of aerial robots.Then,the adaption laws are derived with the Lyapunov theory to guarantee the asymptotic tracking of the system state.Finally,to demonstrate the performance and robustness of the proposed control strategy,numerical simulations are carried out,which are also compared with other conventional strategies,such as proportional-integralderivative(PID),backstepping(BS),and SMC.The simulation results indicate that the proposed hierarchical control strategy can fulfill zero steady-state error and achieve faster convergence compared with conventional strategies.

A vertical track nonlinear energy sink

Eliminating the effects of gravity and designing nonlinear energy sinks(NESs)that suppress vibration in the vertical direction is a challenging task with numerous damping requirements.In this paper,the dynamic design of a vertical track nonlinear energy sink(VTNES)with zero linear stiffness in the vertical direction is proposed and realized for the first time.The motion differential equations of the VTNES coupled with a linear oscillator(LO)are established.With the strong nonlinearity considered of the VTNES,the steady-state response of the system is analyzed with the harmonic balance method(HBM),and the accuracy of the HBM is verified numerically.On this basis,the VTNES prototype is manufactured,and its nonlinear stiffness is identified.The damping effect and dynamic characteristics of the VTNES are studied theoretically and experimentally.The results show that the VTNES has better damping effects when strong modulation responses(SMRs)occur.Moreover,even for small-amplitude vibration,the VTNES also has a good vibration suppression effect.To sum up,in order to suppress the vertical vibration,an NES is designed and developed,which can suppress the vertical vibration within certain ranges of the resonance frequency and the vibration intensity.

Adaptive Trajectory Tracking Control for Nonholonomic Wheeled Mobile Robots:A Barrier Function Sliding Mode Approach

The trajectory tracking control performance of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots(NWMRs)is subject to nonholonomic constraints,system uncertainties,and external disturbances.This paper proposes a barrier function-based adaptive sliding mode control(BFASMC)method to provide high-precision,fast-response performance and robustness for NWMRs.Compared with the conventional adaptive sliding mode control,the proposed control strategy can guarantee that the sliding mode variables converge to a predefined neighborhood of origin with a predefined reaching time independent of the prior knowledge of the uncertainties and disturbances bounds.Another advantage of the proposed algorithm is that the control gains can be adaptively adjusted to follow the disturbances amplitudes thanks to the barrier function.The benefit is that the overestimation of control gain can be eliminated,resulting in chattering reduction.Moreover,a modified barrier function-like control gain is employed to prevent the input saturation problem due to the physical limit of the actuator.The stability analysis and comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed BFASMC can ensure the prespecified convergence performance of the NWMR system output variables and strong robustness against uncertainties/disturbances.

Performance analysis of a novel chip tracking loop used for regenerative pseudo-noise ranging clock recovery

To improve the performance of composite pseudo-noise （PN） code clock recovery in a regenerative PN ranging system at a low symbol signal-to-noise ratio （SNR）, a novel chip tracking loop （CTL） used for regenerative PN ranging clock recovery is adopted. The CTL is a modified data transition tracking loop （DTTL）. The difference between them is that the Q channel output of the CTL is directly multiplied by a clock component, while that of the DTTL is multiplied by the Ⅰ channel transition detector output. Under the condition of a quasi-squareware PN ranging code, the tracking （ mean square timing jitter） performance of the CTL is analyzed. The tracking performances of the CTL and the DTTL, are compared over a wide range of symbol SNRs. The result shows that the CTL and the DTTL have the same performance at a large symbol SNR, while at a low symbol SNR, the former offers a noticeable enhancement.

Trajectory tracking guidance of interceptor via prescribed performance integral sliding mode with neural network disturbance observer

This paper investigates interception missiles’trajectory tracking guidance problem under wind field and external disturbances in the boost phase.Indeed,the velocity control in such trajectory tracking guidance systems of missiles is challenging.As our contribution,the velocity control channel is designed to deal with the intractable velocity problem and improve tracking accuracy.The global prescribed performance function,which guarantees the tracking error within the set range and the global convergence of the tracking guidance system,is first proposed based on the traditional PPF.Then,a tracking guidance strategy is derived using the integral sliding mode control techniques to make the sliding manifold and tracking errors converge to zero and avoid singularities.Meanwhile,an improved switching control law is introduced into the designed tracking guidance algorithm to deal with the chattering problem.A back propagation neural network(BPNN)extended state observer(BPNNESO)is employed in the inner loop to identify disturbances.The obtained results indicate that the proposed tracking guidance approach achieves the trajectory tracking guidance objective without and with disturbances and outperforms the existing tracking guidance schemes with the lowest tracking errors,convergence times,and overshoots.

Experimental and numerical settlement analysis of railway track over geogrid reinforced ballast

Purpose-The main objective of the present research is to investigate the benefits of using geogrid reinforcement in minimizing the rate of deterioration of ballasted rail track geometry resting on soft clay and to explore the effect of load amplitude,load frequency,presence of geogrid layer in ballast layer and ballast layer thickness on the behavior of track system.These variables are studied both experimentally and numerically.This paper examines the effect of geogrid reinforced ballast laying on a layer of clayey soil as a subgrade layer,where a half full scale railway tests are conducted as well as a theoretical analysis is performed.Design/methodologylapproach-The experimental tests work consists of laboratory model tests to investigate the reduction in the compressibility and stress distribution induced in soft clay under a ballast railway reinforced by geogrid reinforcement subjected to dynamic load.Experimental model based on an approximate half scale for general rail track engineering practice is adopted in this study which is used in Iraqi railways.The investigated parameters are load amplitude,load frequency and presence of geogrid reinforcement layer.A half fuli-scale railway was constructed for carrying out the tests,which consists of two rails 800 mm in iength with three w00den sleepers(900 mm×90 mm×90 mm).The ballast was overlying 500 mm thick clay layer.The tests were carried out with and without geogrid reinforcement,the tests were carried out in a well tied steel box of 1.5 m length X 1 m width X 1 m height.A series of laboratory tests were conducted to investigate the response of the ballast and the clay layers where the ballast was reinforced by a geogrid.Settlement in ballast and clay,was measured in reinforced and unreinforced ballast cases.In addition to the laboratory tests,the application of numerical analysis was made by using the finite element program PLAXIS 3D 2013.Findings-It was concluded that the settlement increased with increasing the simulated train load amplitude,there is a sharp increase in settlement up to the cycle 500 and after that,there is a gradual increase to level out between,2,500 and 4,500 cycles depending on the load frequency.There is a little increase in the induced settlement when the load amplitude increased from 0.5 to i ton,but it is higher when the load amplitude increased to 2 ton,the increase in settlement depends on the geogrid existence and the other studied parameters.Both experimental and numerical results showed the same behavior.The effect of load frequency on the settlement ratio is almost constant after 500 cycles.In general,for reinforced cases,the effect of load frequency on the settlement ratio is very small ranging between 0.5 and 2%compared with the unreinforcedcase.Originalitylvalue-Increasing the ballast layer thickness from 20 cm to 30 cm leads to decrease the settlement by about 50%.This ascertains the efficiency of ballast in spreading the waves induced by the track.

Application of three-dimensional speckle tracking technique in measuring left ventricular myocardial function in patients with diabetes

BACKGROUND Diabetic cardiomyopathy is considered as a chronic complication of diabetes mellitus(DM).Therefore,early detection of left ventricular systolic function(LVSF)damage in DM is essential.AIM To explore the use of the three-dimensional speckle tracking technique(3D-STI)for measuring LVSF in DM patients via meta-analysis.METHODS The electronic databases were retrieved from the initial accessible time to 29 April 2023.The current study involved 9 studies,including 970 subjects.We carried out this meta-analysis to estimate myocardial function in DM compared with controls according to myocardial strain attained by 3D-STI.RESULTS Night articles including 970 subjects were included.No significant difference was detected in the left ventricular ejection fraction between the control and the diabetic group(P>0.05),while differences in global longitudinal strain,global circumferential strain,global radial strain,and global area strain were markedly different between the controls and DM patients(all P<0.05).CONCLUSION The 3D-STI could be applied to accurately measure early LVSF damage in patients with DM.

Study on the dynamic contact relationship between layers under temperature gradients in CRTSⅢ ballastless track

In areas with large temperature differences,the uneven distribution of temperatures in the CRTS III ballastless track slab due to daytime sunlight can cause warpage deformation,leading to periodic rail irregularities that increase the wheel-rail impact of high-speed vehicles and accelerate track structure damage.Therefore,it is necessary to study the dynamic contact relationship between the composite slab and the base plate during vehicle running.The results of the study show that:1)Under the influence of temperature gradients,the composite slab tends to deform elliptically.With a positive temperature gradient,the middle part of the track slab bulges upward,causing the slab to be supported by its four corners.Conversely,with a negative temperature gradient,the four corners of the track slab bulge upward,resulting in the slab being supported by its center.2)Temperature gradients can lead to separation between the composite slab and the base plate,reducing the contact area between layers.During vehicle running,the contact area between layers gradually increases,but the separation cannot be completely closed.3)The temperature gradient significantly affects the vertical displacement of the track.The vertical displacement in the middle of the slab increases with a positive temperature gradient.In contrast,the vertical displacement at the ends of the slab increases with a negative temperature gradient.4)The stress of self-compacting concrete at the side position significantly increases under a positive temperature gradient,with the vertical stress increasing by 2.7 times when the temperature gradient increases from 0 to 90℃·m^(-1).