Design of Railway Journal Box Embedded with FBG Sensor to Monitor Temperature and Acoustic Emission Signal

Railway journal box is designed to monitor the temperature and acoustic emission signal from the axle continuously. Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) sensors are embedded inside of the journal box cover. Three types of journal box cover are designed such as front elbow coupler type, side hose type and side coupler type. Sensors and optical fiber are located on the predetermined positions engraved inside of the cover. Optical fiber egresses out of the surface and is protected in the protection tube. Among the three types of journal box cover, the side coupler model could be used most effectively.

Thermocouple Protection Tube Options for Aluminium Casthouses

Thermocouple Protection Tubes (TCPTs) are utilised to allow continuous temperature monitoring in harsh and demanding environments for remote monitoring and process control. Choice of optimum TCPT for an application is dependent on a thorough understanding of the operating environment, characteristics of the TCPTs available and an assessment of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the different options, including the cost of the particular thermocouple being protected.

Exergy Analysis on the Life Cycle of Ceramic Parts

Exergy is a measure which can commonly deal with the quantification of the variety of resources, products and energy coming in and going out the manufacturing systems. In this study, exergy analysis was conducted on ceramics and steel heater protection tube used in aluminum casting, and the amount of exergies consumed through their life cycle were calculated. In the production stage, ceramic heater tube consumes much higher exergy than the steel one does, however, analysis throughout the life cycle including production, operation and waste in seven years shows that exergy consumption for the ceramic tube is less than that of the steel tube.