Gantner Instruments’ Tech Note:
October 2021,
MARIETTA, GA ~
For a large railway operator, Gantner Instruments continuously monitors a railway bridge using displacement transducers to detect deflection in bridge support elements.
The challenge was the tight schedule to provide a solution with no possibility to power the measurement system from any local grid. In combination with the demand to generate fast and precise measurement data with every passing train, the power supply system had to be designed with great care. After analysis of the local region’s weather data from the past 5 years, two solar panels were selected along with a high-quality Lithium-Ion battery. This carefully selected combination of products guarantees several days of measurement autonomy, even under harsh environmental conditions including low temperature and solar radiation during the winter season.
The entire process from first customer interaction to the installation and commissioning of the off-grid measurement system took only 3 months. Gantner Instruments was responsible for the complete system design of the measurement cabinet as well as the simulation and design of the solar-powered off-grid system. After 2 weeks of full-scale testing at Gantner Instruments’ headquarters located in Schruns, the complete measurement system was delivered on-site.
Thanks to close cooperation with the customer during all project phases, both the installation and commissioning of the complete measurement system were executed within one day. With the Gantner Cloud system now in operation, data is collected with every passing train while live measurement values and system status information is accessible for railway crew with just a few
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