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.

A framework for dynamic modelling of railway track switches considering the switch blades,actuators and control systems

The main contribution of this paper is the development and demonstration of a novel methodology that can be followed to develop a simulation twin of a railway track switch system to test the functionality in a digital environment.This is important because,globally,railway track switches are used to allow trains to change routes;they are a key part of all railway networks.However,because track switches are single points of failure and safety-critical,their inability to operate correctly can cause significant delays and concomitant costs.In order to better understand the dynamic behaviour of switches during operation,this paper has developed a full simulation twin of a complete track switch system.The approach fuses finite element for the rail bending and motion,with physics-based models of the electromechanical actuator system and the control system.Hence,it provides researchers and engineers the opportunity to explore and understand the design space around the dynamic operation of new switches and switch machines before they are built.This is useful for looking at the modification or monitoring of existing switches,and it becomes even more important when new switch concepts are being considered and evaluated.The simulation is capable of running in real time or faster meaning designs can be iterated and checked interactively.The paper describes the modelling approach,demonstrates the methodology by developing the system model for a novel“REPOINT”switch system,and evaluates the system level performance against the dynamic performance requirements for the switch.In the context of that case study,it is found that the proposed new actuation system as designed can meet(and exceed)the system performance requirements,and that the fault tolerance built into the actuation ensures continued operation after a single actuator failure.

Research on Track Fastener Service Status Detection Based on Improved Yolov4 Model

As an important part of railway lines, the healthy service status of track fasteners was very important to ensure the safety of trains. The application of deep learning algorithms was becoming an important method to realize its state detection. However, there was often a deficiency that the detection accuracy and calculation speed of model were difficult to balance, when the traditional deep learning model is used to detect the service state of track fasteners. Targeting this issue, an improved Yolov4 model for detecting the service status of track fasteners was proposed. Firstly, the Mixup data augmentation technology was introduced into Yolov4 model to enhance the generalization ability of model. Secondly, the MobileNet-V2 lightweight network was employed in lieu of the CSPDarknet53 network as the backbone, thereby reducing the number of algorithm parameters and improving the model’s computational efficiency. Finally, the SE attention mechanism was incorporated to boost the importance of rail fastener identification by emphasizing relevant image features, ensuring that the network’s focus was primarily on the fasteners being inspected. The algorithm achieved both high precision and high speed operation of the rail fastener service state detection, while realizing the lightweight of model. The experimental results revealed that, the MAP value of the rail fastener service state detection algorithm based on the improved Yolov4 model reaches 83.2%, which is 2.83% higher than that of the traditional Yolov4 model, and the calculation speed was improved by 67.39%. Compared with the traditional Yolov4 model, the proposed method achieved the collaborative optimization of detection accuracy and calculation speed.

Stiffness Degradation Modeling for Composite Wind Turbine Blades Based on Full-Scale Fatigue Testing

In order to provide more insights into the damage propagation composite wind turbine blades(blade)under cyclic fatigue loading,a stiffness degradation model for blade is proposed based on the full-scale fatigue testing of a blade.A novel non-linear fatigue damage accumulation model is proposed using the damage assessment theories of composite laminates for the first time.Then,a stiffness degradation model is established based on the correlation of fatigue damage and residual stiffness of the composite laminates.Finally,a stiffness degradation model for the blade is presented based on the full-scale fatigue testing.The scientific rationale of the proposed stiffness model of blade is verified by using full-scale fatigue test data of blade with a total length of 52.5 m.The results indicate that the proposed stiffness degradation model of the blade agrees well with the fatigue testing results of this blade.This work provides a basis for evaluating the fatigue damage and lifetime of blade under cyclic fatigue loading.

Experimental investigations on small-and full-scale ship models with polyurea coatings subjected to underwater explosion

Nowadays, the mitigation of damage to a ship caused by the underwater explosion attracts more and more attention from the modern ship designers. In this study, two kinds of scale tests were conducted to investigate the effects of polyurea coatings on the blast resistance of hulls subjected to underwater explosion. Firstly, small-scale model tests with different polyurea coatings were carried out. Results indicate that polyurea has a better blast resistance performance when coated on the front face, which can effectively reduce the maximum deflection of the steel plate by more than 20% and reduce the deformation energy by 35.7%-45.4%. Next, a full-scale ship(approximately 50 m × 9 m) under loadings produced by the detonation of 33 kg of spherical TNT charges was tested, where a part of the ship was coated with polyurea on the front face(8 mm + 24 mm) and not on the contrast area. Damage characteristics on the bottom were statistically analyzed based on a 3D scanning technology, indicating that polyurea contributes to enhancing the blast protection of the ship. However, damage results of this test were different from those of the small-scale tests. Moreover, the deformation area of the bottom with polyurea was greatly increased by 40.1% to disperse explosion energy, a conclusion that cannot be drown from the small-scale tests.

Segmentation Based Real Time Anomaly Detection and Tracking Model for Pedestrian Walkways

Presently,video surveillance is commonly employed to ensure security in public places such as traffic signals,malls,railway stations,etc.A major chal-lenge in video surveillance is the identification of anomalies that exist in it such as crimes,thefts,and so on.Besides,the anomaly detection in pedestrian walkways has gained significant attention among the computer vision communities to enhance pedestrian safety.The recent advances of Deep Learning(DL)models have received considerable attention in different processes such as object detec-tion,image classification,etc.In this aspect,this article designs a new Panoptic Feature Pyramid Network based Anomaly Detection and Tracking(PFPN-ADT)model for pedestrian walkways.The proposed model majorly aims to the recognition and classification of different anomalies present in the pedestrian walkway like vehicles,skaters,etc.The proposed model involves panoptic seg-mentation model,called Panoptic Feature Pyramid Network(PFPN)is employed for the object recognition process.For object classification,Compact Bat Algo-rithm(CBA)with Stacked Auto Encoder(SAE)is applied for the classification of recognized objects.For ensuring the enhanced results better anomaly detection performance of the PFPN-ADT technique,a comparison study is made using Uni-versity of California San Diego(UCSD)Anomaly data and other benchmark data-sets(such as Cityscapes,ADE20K,COCO),and the outcomes are compared with the Mask Recurrent Convolutional Neural Network(RCNN)and Faster Convolu-tional Neural Network(CNN)models.The simulation outcome demonstrated the enhanced performance of the PFPN-ADT technique over the other methods.

Full-scale multi-functional test platform for investigating mechanical performance of track–subgrade systems of high-speed railways

Motivated by the huge practical engineering demand for the fundamental understanding of mechanical characteristics of high-speed railway infrastructure,a fullscale multi-functional test platform for high-speed railway track–subgrade system is developed in this paper,and its main functions for investigating the mechanical performance of track–subgrade systems are elaborated with three typical experimental examples.Comprising the full-scale subgrade structure and all the five types of track structures adopted in Chinese high-speed railways,namely the CRTS I,the CRTS II and the CRTS III ballastless tracks,the double-block ballastless track and the ballasted track,the test platform is established strictly according to the construction standard of Chinese high-speed railways.Three kinds of effective loading methods are employed,including the real bogie loading,multi-point loading and the impact loading.Various types of sensors are adopted in different components of the five types of track–subgrade systems to measure the displacement,acceleration,pressure,structural strain and deformation,etc.Utilizing this test platform,both dynamic characteristics and long-term performance evolution of high-speed railway track–subgrade systems can be investigated,being able to satisfy the actual demand for large-scale operation of Chinese high-speed railways.As examples,three typical experimental studies are presented to elucidate the comprehensive functionalities of the full-scale multi-functional test platform for exploring the dynamic performance and its long-term evolution of ballastless track systems and for studying the long-term accumulative settlement of the ballasted track–subgrade system in high-speed railways.Some interesting phenomena and meaningful results are captured by the developed test platform,which provide a useful guidance for the scientific operation and maintenance of high-speed railway infrastructure.

Behaviour of non-ballast pre-stressed and precast track structures in high speed railway based on multiscale finite element model

In order to make further study on the mechanical property of CRTSIII type slab non-ballast track structures,which was self-designed in China,based on the method of the multiscale finite element model(FEM),the traditional FEM of slab non-ballast track structures was improved.The multiscale FEM of CRTSII type slab nonballast track structures was established based on the general finite element program ABAQUs.Then the comparative calculation was made between various FEMs,showing that the high solution precision,fast modelling speed and high solution efficiency could be obtained.Therefore,the multiscale FEM was suitable for the parametric study on mechanical behaviour of CRTSII type slab non-ballast track structures,and then the key influence factor and constructions could be optimized.

Full-scale Water Modeling on Flow Field of Continuous Casting Mold

In the continuous casting process of aluminum killed steel grades,nozzle clogging is a common problem.Argon is usually injected into the casting channel through stoppers or nozzles to minimize clogs;however,complex two-phase flow regimes appear,and the flow in the mold might deteriorate.This could result in a higher defect rate in the cast product and should be avoided as much as possible.Therefore,it is important to understand the interaction between process conditions and the refractory products used and their impact on the flow pattern in the mold.In this study,a full-scale water model was established to simulate the slab casting process.Three nozzle shapes and three immersion depths were applied to investigate the flow behavior and liquid level fluctuations by the full-scale water model.The relationship between the flow behavior and continuous casting parameters was evaluated.The results provide guidance for the design and production of the refractory nozzle and the operation of the continuous casting plant.

Multi-constrained model predictive control for autonomous ground vehicle trajectory tracking

A multi-constrained model predictive control （ MPC ） algorithm for trajectory tracking of an autonomous ground vehicle is proposed and tested in this paper. First, to simplify the computa- tion, an active steering linear error model is applied in the MPC controller. Then, a control incre- ment constraint and a relaxing factor are taken into account in the objective function to ensure the smoothness of the trajectory, using a softening constraints technique. In addition, the controller can obtain optimal control sequences which satisfy both the actual kinematic constraints and the actuator constraints. The circular trajectory tracking performance of the proposed method is compared with that of another MPC controller. To verify the trajectory tracking capabilities of the designed control- ler at different desired speed, the simulation experiments are carried out at the speed of 3m/s, 5m/ s and 10m/s. The results demonstrate the MPC controller has a good speed adaptability.

A deep neural network based surrogate model for damage identification in full-scale structures with incomplete noisy measurements

The paper introduces a novel approach for detecting structural damage in full-scale structures using surrogate models generated from incomplete modal data and deep neural networks(DNNs).A significant challenge in this field is the limited availability of measurement data for full-scale structures,which is addressed in this paper by generating data sets using a reduced finite element(FE)model constructed by SAP2000 software and the MATLAB programming loop.The surrogate models are trained using response data obtained from the monitored structure through a limited number of measurement devices.The proposed approach involves training a single surrogate model that can quickly predict the location and severity of damage for all potential scenarios.To achieve the most generalized surrogate model,the study explores different types of layers and hyperparameters of the training algorithm and employs state-of-the-art techniques to avoid overfitting and to accelerate the training process.The approach’s effectiveness,efficiency,and applicability are demonstrated by two numerical examples.The study also verifies the robustness of the proposed approach on data sets with sparse and noisy measured data.Overall,the proposed approach is a promising alternative to traditional approaches that rely on FE model updating and optimization algorithms,which can be computationally intensive.This approach also shows potential for broader applications in structural damage detection.

Adaptive Robust Motion Trajectory Tracking Control of Pneumatic Cylinders with LuGre Model-based Friction Compensation

Friction compensation is particularly important for motion trajectory tracking control of pneumatic cylinders at low speed movement. However, most of the existing model-based friction compensation schemes use simple classical models, which are not enough to address applications with high-accuracy position requirements. Furthermore, the friction force in the cylinder is time-varying, and there exist rather severe unmodelled dynamics and unknown disturbances in the pneumatic system. To deal with these problems effectively, an adaptive robust controller with LuGre model-based dynamic friction compensation is constructed. The proposed controller employs on-line recursive least squares estimation（RLSE） to reduce the extent of parametric uncertainties, and utilizes the sliding mode control method to attenuate the effects of parameter estimation errors, unmodelled dynamics and disturbances. In addition, in order to realize LuGre model-based friction compensation, the modified dual-observer structure for estimating immeasurable friction internal state is developed. Therefore, a prescribed motion tracking transient performance and final tracking accuracy can be guaranteed. Since the system model uncertainties are unmatched, the recursive backstepping design technology is applied. In order to solve the conflicts between the sliding mode control design and the adaptive control design, the projection mapping is used to condition the RLSE algorithm so that the parameter estimates are kept within a known bounded convex set. Finally, the proposed controller is tested for tracking sinusoidal trajectories and smooth square trajectory under different loads and sudden disturbance. The testing results demonstrate that the achievable performance of the proposed controller is excellent and is much better than most other studies in literature. Especially when a 0.5 Hz sinusoidal trajectory is tracked, the maximum tracking error is 0.96 mm and the average tracking error is 0.45 mm. This paper constructs an adaptive robust controller which can compensate the friction force in the cylinder.

Modeling and Tracking Control for Piezoelectric Actuator Based on a New Asymmetric Hysteresis Model

This paper presents a new asymmetric hysteresis model and its application in the tracking control of piezoelectric actuators. The proposed model is based on a coupled-play operator which can avoid the conventional Prandtl-Ishlinskii(CPI)model's defects, i.e., the symmetric property. The high accuracy for modeling asymmetric hysteresis is validated by comparing simulation results with experimental measurements. In order to further evaluate the performance of the proposed model in closed-loop tracking application, two different hybrid control methods which experimentally demonstrate their performance under the same operating conditions, are compared to validate that the hybrid control strategy with proposed hysteresis model can mitigate the hysteresis more effectively and achieve better tracking precision. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed modeling and tracking control strategy can realize efficient control of piezoelectric actuator.

Dynamics Modeling and Robust Trajectory Tracking Control for a Class of Hybrid Humanoid Arm Based on Neural Network

In order to solve the problem of trajectory tracking for a class of novel serial-parallel hybrid humanoid arm（HHA）, which has parameters uncertainty, frictions, disturbance, abrasion and pulse forces derived from motors, a multistep dynamics modeling strategy is proposed and a robust controller based on neural network（NN）-adaptive algorithm is designed. At the first step of dynamics modeling, the dynamics model of the reduced HHA is established by Lagrange method. At the second step of dynamics modeling, the parameter uncertain part resulting mainly from the idealization of the HHA is learned by adaptive algorithm. In the trajectory tracking controller, the radial basis function（RBF） NN, whose optimal weights are learned online by adaptive algorithm, is used to learn the upper limit function of the total uncertainties including frictions, disturbances, abrasion and pulse forces. To a great extent, the conservatism of this robust trajectory tracking controller is reduced, and by this controller the HHA can impersonate mostly human actions. The proof and simulation results testify the validity of the adaptive strategy for parameter learning and the neural network-adaptive strategy for the trajectory tracking control.

Modeling and Trajectory Tracking Control for Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicles

This paper studies the trajectory tracking problem of flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles(FWMAVs)in the longitudinal plane.First of all,the kinematics and dynamics of the FWMAV are established,wherein the aerodynamic force and torque generated by flapping wings and the tail wing are explicitly formulated with respect to the flapping frequency of the wings and the degree of tail wing inclination.To achieve autonomous tracking,an adaptive control scheme is proposed under the hierarchical framework.Specifically,a bounded position controller with hyperbolic tangent functions is designed to produce the desired aerodynamic force,and a pitch command is extracted from the designed position controller.Next,an adaptive attitude controller is designed to track the extracted pitch command,where a radial basis function neural network is introduced to approximate the unknown aerodynamic perturbation torque.Finally,the flapping frequency of the wings and the degree of tail wing inclination are calculated from the designed position and attitude controllers,respectively.In terms of Lyapunov's direct method,it is shown that the tracking errors are bounded and ultimately converge to a small neighborhood around the origin.Simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Model update mechanism for mean-shift tracking

In order to solve the model update problem in mean-shift based tracker, a novel mechanism is proposed. Kalman filter is employed to update object model by filtering object kernel-histogram using previous model and current candidate. A self-tuning method is used for adaptively adjust all the parameters of the filters under the analysis of the filtering residuals. In addition, hypothesis testing servers as the criterion for determining whether to accept filtering result. Therefore, the tracker has the ability to handle occlusion so as to avoid over-update. The experimental results show that our method can not only keep up with the object appearance and scale changes but also be robust to occlusion.

An improved fiber tracking algorithm based on fiber assignment using the continuous tracking algorithm and two-tensor model

This study tested an improved fiber tracking algorithm, which was based on fiber assignment using a continuous tracking algorithm and a two-tensor model. Different models and tracking decisions were used by judging the type of estimation of each voxel. Thismethod should solve the cross-track problem. This study included eight healthy subjects, two axonal injury patients and seven demyelinating disease patients. This new algorithm clearly exhibited a difference in nerve fiber direction between axonal injury and demyelinating disease patients and healthy control subjects. Compared with fiber assignment with a continuous tracking algorithm, our novel method can track more and longer nerve fibers, and also can solve the fiber crossing problem.

Comparative Study of Trajectory Tracking Control for Automated Vehicles via Model Predictive Control and Robust H-infinity State Feedback Control

A comparative study of model predictive control(MPC)schemes and robust Hstate feedback control(RSC)method for trajectory tracking is proposed in this paper.The main objective of this paper is to compare MPC and RSC controllers’performance in tracking predefined trajectory under different scenarios.MPC controller is designed based on the simple longitudinal-yaw-lateral motions of a single-track vehicle with a linear tire,which is an approximation of the more realistic model of a vehicle with double-track motion with a non-linear tire mode.RSC is designed on the basis of the same method as adopted for the MPC controller to achieve a fair comparison.Then,three test cases are built in CarSim-Simulink joint platform.Specifically,the verification test is used to test the tracking accuracy of MPC and RSC controller under well road conditions.Besides,the double lane change test with low road adhesion is designed to find the maximum velocity that both controllers can carry out while guaranteeing stability.Furthermore,an extreme curve test is built where the road adhesion changes suddenly,in order to test the performance of both controllers under extreme conditions.Finally,the advantages and disadvantages of MPC and RSC under different scenarios are also discussed.

Trajectory tracking of powered parafoil based on characteristic model based all-coefficient adaptive control

One of the primary difficulties in using powered parafoil(PPF) systems is the lack of effective trajectory tracking controllers since the trajectory tracking control is the essential operation for PPF to accomplish autonomous tasks. The characteristic model(CM) based all-coefficient adaptive control(ACAC) designed for PPF systems in horizontal and vertical trajectory control is proposed. The method is easy to use and convenient to adjust and test. Just a few parameters are adapted during the control process. In application, vertical and horizontal CMs are designed and ACAC controllers are constructed to control vertical altitude and horizontal trajectory of PPF based on the proposed CMs, respectively. Result analysis of different simulations shows that the applied ACAC control method is effective for trajectory tracking of the PPF systems and the approach guarantees the transient performance of the PPF systems with better disturbance rejection ability.

STOCHASTIC SIMULATION OF TROPICAL CYCLONE TRACKS IN THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC REGION WITH CLASSIFICATION MODEL

Accurate simulation of tropical cyclone tracks is a prerequisite for tropical cyclone risk assessment.Against the spatial characteristics of tropical cyclone tracks in the Northwest Pacific region,stochastic simulation method based on classification model is used to simulate tropical cyclone tracks in this region.Such simulation includes the classification method,the genesis model,the traveling model,and the lysis model.Tropical cyclone tracks in the Northwest Pacific region are classified into five categories on the basis of its movement characteristics and steering positions.In the genesis model,Gaussian kernel probability density functions with the biased cross validation method are used to simulate the annual occurrence number and genesis positions.The traveling model is established on the basis of the mean and mean square error of the historical 6 h latitude and longitude displacements.The termination probability is used as the discrimination standard in the lysis model.Then,this stochastic simulation method of tropical cyclone tracks is applied and qualitatively evaluated with different diagnostics.Results show that the tropical cyclone tracks in Northwest Pacific can be satisfactorily simulated with this classification model.