Solar Powered Fault Detection System for Railway Tracks

Indian Railways has one of the world's largest networks. Train movement is always reliant on railway rails alone. If one of these rails develops a crack, it becomes a huge issue. Many railway accidents occur as a result of the presence of a crack. The most difficult aspect of a railway analysis is detecting structural faults. If these flaws aren't addressed early on, they could lead to a series of derailments, resulting in a significant loss of life and property. The proposed railway track error detection system detects faulty railway tracks automatically and without the need for human intervention. This project intends to create a solar based autonomous railway track crack detection vehicle that uses a microcontroller and ultrasonic sensors to detect cracks along its journey. The ultrasonic sensor detects the fracture and objects, sending the information to the microcontroller, which quickly stops the train. Solar panels are utilized in this vehicle to absorb solar energy [1], which is then transformed into electrical energy, which is then used to charge a lead acid battery, which then provides the necessary power to a DC motor. This energy is subsequently sent to the DC motor, which drives the wheels. Sensors are utilized to detect cracks, and if a crack is detected, the system will halt and sound an alarm.