Automatic axle heat monitoring and controlling in railways using microcontroller

In recent years, the ranges of sensing technologies are expanding rapidly, whereas sensor devices are becoming cheaper. This led to a rapid expansion in condition monitoring of systems, structures, vehicles, machinery etc.,using sensors. Key factors are the recent advances in networking technologies such as wireless communication and mobile ad hoc networking coupled with the technology to integrate devices. WSN can be used for monitoring the railway infrastructure such as bridges, rail tracks, track beds, and track equipment along with vehicle health monitoring such as chassis, bogies, wheels, and wagons. Condition monitoring reduces human inspection requirements by means of automated monitoring, reduces maintenance with te help of detecting faults before they escalate and improves safety and reliability. This is vital for the development, upgrading, and expansion of railway networks. Overheated axle boxes and blocked brakes are the most important and immediate causes for the hazardous conditions in railway operation. A hot box may cause the axle box casting to break and leads the train to derail. So the heat of the axle has to be measured and analyzed regularly. In practice, INDIAN railways each of the axle’s heat will be measured and noted manually by a person. In order to measure the heat of each axle with high efficiency we are putting forth a new methodology called AUTOMATED AXLE HEAT MEASUREMENT.