To address problems such as independent detection and monitoring of railway transporation vehicles, tracks and bridges, lagging collaborative evaluation, difficulty in systematic fault identification, poor real-time performance of service condition assessment, and challenging collaborative maintenance of the vehicle-track-bridge system, a research team led by Professor Fang Yu from School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering at Shanghai University of Engineering Science (SUES) has collaborated with School of Urban Railway Transportation, Tongji University, Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co., Ltd., and China Railway Shanghai Design Institute Group Co., Ltd.
Supported by key projects including the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the team completed the scientific and technological innovation achievement “Key Technologies and Applications for Detection/Monitoring of Service Conditions in railway transporation Vehicle-Track-Bridge Systems”, which was awarded the Second Prize of the Shanghai Science and Technology Award.
Professor Fang Yu, team leader, is a selectee of the Shanghai Oriental Talent Program. He serves as Dean of School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering and Director of the Rehabilitation Equipment Technology Innovation Center at SUES, and holds leadership roles in Shanghai Mechanical Engineering Society and Shanghai Technology Transfer Association. With extensive experience in teaching, scientific research, and engineering practice in the field of intelligent equipment and precision inspection, his honors include a Second Prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award, multiple Shanghai Teaching Achievement Awards, the 2024 Second Prize of the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award, and the Golden Bridge Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution from the China Technology Market Association. He has led over 20 major research projects with cumulative funding exceeding 10 million yuan, published more than 50 papers in prestigious journals including IEEE Transactions, and holds over 20 authorized invention patents.
Innovation 1: Spatial Dynamic Analysis Method for Vehicle–Track–Bridge Coupling
The team revealed the coupled dynamic response characteristics of vehicles, tracks and bridges, and identified the mapping relationship between bridge deformation and track geometric irregularities under complex conditions. This method enables refined calculation of coupled dynamic responses, solving the problem of accurate characterization of the service conditions of the vehicle-track-bridge system under complex line conditions.
Vehicle–Track–Bridge Coupled Dynamics Analysis Method
Mapping of Bridge Deformation to Track Geometric Irregularities in Complex Environments
Innovation 2: Integrated Detection & Monitoring System for Vehicle–Track–Bridge Performance
The team developed wheel–rail condition monitoring and safety warning technology based on vibration–noise–image fusion, and invented a detection method for wheel–rail short-wave irregularities that achieves over 85% accuracy in wheel–rail force measurement. Using track–bridge integrated multi-source monitoring technology, they achieved 100% cable force detection, solving the challenge of collaborative acquisition of multi-source data for system service performance assessment.
Real-Time Train Monitoring and Safety Warnings
Innovation 3: Intelligent Monitoring Platform for Vehicle–Track–Bridge Systems
The team established a multi-dimensional, granular service condition evaluation indicator matrix and developed a system assessment method based on multi-source data fusion, enabling intelligent identification, comprehensive evaluation, and safety warning of vehicle–track–bridge service conditions. This addresses the long-standing challenges of low-dimensional indicators and difficult collaborative evaluation in railway transporation system condition assessment.
Vehicle–Track–Bridge Service Condition Intelligent Monitoring Platform
According to an evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Education’s Science and Technology Novelty Search and Evaluation Center, the research has reached an internationally leading level in technologies for detecting and monitoring the service performance of vehicle–track–bridge systems. They have effectively improved the safety operation guarantee capability of railway transporation, promoted the high-quality development of the railway transporation industry, and produced significant economic and social benefits.
The award-winning achievements include 45 published academic papers and 23 authorized invention patents. The technologies have been applied in major projects such as the Shanghai railway transporation Jiamin Line and the health monitoring system of the main bridge of Anhui Province's Taiping Lake Mega Bridge, generating an estimated economic impact of RMB 406 million.
