RoadRailer Air Brake Fault Localization ECE 480 Design Team 8 Tia Twigg Marcelo de Castro Saurav Shrestha Abdulaziz Najm Dilo Benjamin

Introduction: RoadRailer system:  Bi-modal transportation  Trailers  Bogies  Air ride system lifts trailer so bogie can roll under it  Tires lift to clear rails

Introduction: Assembling the train:  Trailers and bogies are connected to form the train  The glad-hands connect the air brake lines from the trailers to the bogies

Project Goals: Hardware:  Develop a system to detect leaks or obstructions in air brake hoses Software:  Develop back-end software to compare incoming data with established baseline

Design Specifications: Objectives:  Air tight hose connector  Accuracy within ±0.1 psi  Transmit and receive signals from multiple sensors  Display data from all sensors on one screen Constraints:  Durable and weather proof  Independent power source  Easy to install, maintain and operate

Design Solutions: Hardware  Air tight  Installed in a non- destructive way into the existing system using glad-hands Glad-hand rose adaptor

D ESIGN S OLUTIONS Sensor  Independent power source  Pressure range 100 psi with ± 0.1 psi accuracy  Operating temperature : -40°C to 85°C  Wireless range 1.5 km Base Station  Easy to install and operate  ZigBee protocols

Design Solutions Sensor  Pressure range 100 psi with 0.1 psi accuracy  Operating temperature: -20 °F to 120 °F  Independent power source  Battery life 2 months  Wireless range 1.5km  Cost Base Station  ZigBee protocols  secure data connections  Collision avoidance  Support for multiple network topologies such as mesh networks

LOOKING BACK AT PROJECT GOALS  Wireless communication between sensors Solution Remote Antenna  improve line-of-sight and signal strength

P RESSURE S ENSOR 1 T EST A PPLICATION  Provides a packet of information for one pressure sensor in real-time.  Packet of information includes primary pressure, battery voltage, strength of received signal and module temperature.  User role: Connect receiver to the computer;  use X-CTU software to enable wireless communication  enter sensor serial number and number of counts in PS1 Test Application.

P RESSURE S ENSOR 1 T EST A PPLICATION

M ULTI T EST A PPLICATION  Collects same packet of information as that of PS1 Test Application in real time.  Used to collect information from multiple sensors.  User role: PS1 Test Application user role + enter sampling period (seconds)

M ULTI T EST A PPLICATION

B ACK - END P ROCESSING A PPLICATION  Designed and added a back-end processing application in Multi-Test Application and PS1 Test Application.  User Role: Multi Test 1/PS1 Application Role + enter a range for normal pressure value.  PS1 Back-end Processing: Separate plots for each sensors. User will set limit for each of the sensors.  Multi Test Back-end Processing: Application will make individual graphs for each sensor’s pressure in one plot.  Both back-end processing application will flash message in real-time if the incoming pressure reading is outside the range.

MULTI TEST BACK-END PROCESSING APPLICATION

PS1 BACK-END PROCESSING APPLICATION

Suggestions for future design improvements  Better functionality for purchased sensors  Practical tests of device on the actual pressure system  Finding alternative solutions for the wireless range  Further develop Backend Process

Tests  Notes and Assumptions Clamp Hose 50 psi Not instantaneous Reading  Setup Nitrogen Tank 5 Glad hand connectors 2 pressure sensors Pressure gauge 1 leaky hose

Tests  Procedure Simulate the actual system Connect via glad hands Create restriction Turn on the pressure tank  Results Restricted side pressurized slower Leak affected the restricted side Once the tank was turned off, restricted side dropped pressure faster due to leak

Demonstration  Pressurized with no restriction/ leaks  Pressurized with restriction/ leak

Conclusion  Designed an adapter for the glad-hand connectors  Pressure sensors installed in the adapter will transmit pressure information wirelessly  Sensor operates in harsh environments – from rain to desert storms  Developed a back-end software to display out of rage pressure readings  Tested the device in the laboratory to determine functionality

Questions?