Load measuring elastomeric rail pad

摘要

A load bearing resilient elastomeric rail pad operates as a load transducer to measure the weight that the pad supports as a vehicle passes over the pad. Rail pads are installed between the foot of a conventional railway rail and its' supporting sleepers for achieving shock and vibration isolation. The load measuring rail pad is formed firstly by dividing the thickness of the conventional pad into two halves 6, 7 and sandwiching a set of thin pressure sensors 8 between them. There may be four sensors arranged in a rectangular pattern, allowing the effects of rail pitch and roll to be either detected or cancelled. Low friction sheets may be included to resist in plane shearing effects. The sensors function via changes in their electrical properties such as resistance with applied pressure. They specifically do not function by fibre optics or the transmission of light.