Power Rail Impact Analysis System (PRIAS)

PRIAS is a comprehensive technology that evaluates the health of your power rail system.  PRIAS, together with Conductix-Wampfler engineers, can find and diagnose power rail problems before they adversely impact your operation.  PRIAS will find:
  • Areas of Excessive Vehicle Demand. The system employs current transducers and a GPS to locate areas where collector shoes are drawing excessive current.
  • Collector Shoe Impact Points.  Accelerometers and a GPS are used to locate points where collector shoes are impacting flaws in the rail system. These can cause damage to the shoe and/or the rail.
  • Hot Spots.  PRIAS uses thermal image technology to identify loose or failing splices, cable connections, or rail sections

How a PRIAS Analysis is Conducted

1. Conductix-Wampfler engineers temporarily mount sensors, IR camera, GPS, and related equipment to a system vehicle.
 
2. The test vehicle is operated in a normal run-mode. The test vehicle should be run at normal system speed on a fully loaded guide way. Data collection is completed in between two and four loops of the system.
 
3. After collection, Conductix-Wampfler engineers analyze the data using PRIAS software. The program processes the data and identifies locations of excessive collector impacts, high vehicle demand, and hot-spots. These locations are identified with GPS locations or linear chainage to point our areas of concern on the guide way.
 
4. Conductix-Wampfler engineers load the data onto a GPS enabled PDA and assist system operator technicians with locating the problem areas.

5. Conductix-Wampfler engineers will comment on the causes of the identified problems and recommend the steps needed to correct the issues. See impact map below:
 
The map at the right shows areas with excessive current draw (red areas):






The graph above shows how PRIAS can zero in on specific rail areas, even individual shoes, to further analyze current demand.

 

Collector Shoe Impact Points

The map on the left shows the points where the collector shoes are hitting an imperfection point in the conductor rail system. It could be a loose splice, ill-fitting expansion section, or some other misalignment situation.  The impact map is uploaded into a hand-held PDA equipped with a GPS, which allows the user to find and inspect the impact points.  The color of the impact dots indicates the severity of the impact, as shown on the map key. The impact range values can be modified depending on the situation.

 

For more information about PRIAS, contact Kevin Jensen, Technical Services Group Manager:

(+1) 800-521-4888 or (+1) 402-339-9300 Ex. 285