Mr. Sean Eugene Hansen Profile

Sean Eugene Hansen

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Proceedings Article | 9 April 2010 Paper

On-track testing of a power harvesting device for railroad track health monitoring

Sean Hansen, Abolfazl Pourghodrat, Carl Nelson, Mahmood Fateh

Proceedings Volume 7650, 76500Y (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.848831

KEYWORDS: Sensor networks, Safety, Lamps, Data acquisition, Energy harvesting, Sensors, Prototyping, Mathematical modeling, Solar energy, Resistance

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A considerable proportion of railroad infrastructure exists in regions which are comparatively remote. With regard to the cost of extending electrical infrastructure into these areas, road crossings in these areas do not have warning light systems or crossing gates and are commonly marked with reflective signage. For railroad track health monitoring purposes, distributed sensor networks can be applicable in remote areas, but the same limitation regarding electrical infrastructure is the hindrance. This motivated the development of an energy harvesting solution for remote railroad deployment. This paper describes on-track experimental testing of a mechanical device for harvesting mechanical power from passing railcar traffic, in view of supplying electrical power to warning light systems at crossings and to remote networks of sensors. The device is mounted to and spans two rail ties and transforms the vertical rail displacement into electrical energy through mechanical amplification and rectification into a PMDC generator. A prototype was tested under loaded and unloaded railcar traffic at low speeds. Stress analysis and speed scaling analysis are presented, results of the on-track tests are compared and contrasted to previous laboratory testing, discrepancies between the two are explained, and conclusions are drawn regarding suitability of the device for illuminating high-efficiency LED lights at railroad crossings and powering track-health sensor networks.

Proceedings Article | 7 April 2009 Paper

Power harvesting for railroad track safety enhancement using vertical track displacement

Carl Nelson, Stephen Platt, Sean Hansen, Mahmood Fateh

Proceedings Volume 7288, 728811 (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.815544

KEYWORDS: Safety, Sensor networks, Prototyping, Light emitting diodes, Sensors, Remote sensing, Power supplies, Head, Data acquisition, Resistors

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A significant portion of railroad infrastructure exists in areas that are relatively remote. Railroad crossings in these areas are typically only marked with reflective signage and do not have warning light systems or crossbars due to the cost of electrical infrastructure. Distributed sensor networks used for railroad track health monitoring applications would be useful in these areas, but the same limitation regarding electrical infrastructure exists. This motivates the search for a long-term, low-maintenance power supply solution for remote railroad deployment. This paper describes the development of a mechanical device for harvesting mechanical power from passing railcar traffic that can be used to supply electrical power to warning light systems at crossings and to remote networks of sensors via rechargeable batteries. The device is mounted to and spans two rail ties such that it directly harnesses the vertical displacement of the rail and attached ties and translates the linear motion into rotational motion. The rotational motion is amplified and mechanically rectified to rotate a PMDC generator that charges a system of batteries. A prototype was built and tested in a laboratory setting for verifying functionality of the design. Results indicate power production capabilities on the order of 10 W per device in its current form. This is sufficient for illuminating high-efficiency LED lights at a railroad crossing or for powering track-health sensor networks.

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