
Software-Guided Supersonic Air Blower Sweeps the Rails Clean - Shivetya
http://www.gereports.com/post/117523413230/this-software-guided-supersonic-air-blower-sweeps
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jlarocco
I'm surprised that hadn't been tried before.

I'm also curious how software plays into it. Is the computer and software
basically just a glorified on/off switch, or is it doing something more
intelligent than just blowing air?

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Animats
_" software that detects when the locomotive is slipping, and automatically
activates ARC to clean the rail."_

Modern heavy-duty Diesel-electric locomotives know exactly how much traction
they have at each wheel, and are constantly adjusting the drive power,
frequency, and phase for the AC motor in each wheelset to keep all the wheels
in sync. The locomotive controller has the info needed to turn the blower on
when needed. So that's the software component.

This works a lot like a sander. Locomotives have been dumping sand on the
rails ahead of the driving wheels when extra traction is needed for the last
century. Doing this with air has advantages - you can't run out of air, it's a
better way to get rid of water and leaves, and you don't get sand-choked
tracks.

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CarVac
Many ordinary shop air nozzles are supersonic; you can see they have a
convergent-divergent nozzle (or are an aerospike) like a "real" rocket. That's
not such a big deal.

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qq66
Why not just use a brush? Too much wear and tear on the rails?

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Anechoic
Too much wear and tear on the _brush_ , it would last about 100 yards before
you had to replace it.

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qq66
I would think you could have a cowcatcher-type metal wedge hovering ~1mm above
the rails to clear most of the mess, and then have a brush for the last 1mm.

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thedrbrian
That's going to catch every time the train hits a bump or goes up hill

