Diagnostics and Monitoring
of Railway Automation and Remote Control Power Supply Devices
Alexey Poroshin,
engineer and post-graduate student at
“Automation and Remote Control
on Railways” Department,
Emperor Alexander I
St. Petersburg State Transport University
poroshinscb@yandex.ru
Vitaly Shatokhin,
PhD, head of Research Laboratory at
“Automation and Remote Control
on Railways” Department,
Emperor Alexander I
St. Petersburg State Transport University
vital@crtc.spb.ru
Abstract
This article is devoted to the research of diagnos-
tics and monitoring of power supply devices of rail-
way automation and remote control. The analysis of
failure statistics of power supply devices in recent
years has been carried out and the most vulnerable
elements of power supply systems have been identi-
fied on its basis. Objects are described, the state of
which must be diagnosed in the input devices, in
switchgears, as well as the diagnostic parameters of
the battery and the backup power station; the princi-
ples of determining their technical condition are
presented. The authors for the first time proposed
technical solutions for increasing the survivability of
power supply devices in case of poor-quality exter-
nal power supply. The article also presents possible
solutions for the implementation of diagnostics of
monitored facilities, which save time spent by per-
sonnel on maintenance to reduce operational costs,
improve the reliability of the power supply of auto-
mation and remote control, which will improve the
safety, uninterrupted operation and efficiency of the
transportation process.
1. Introduction
Efficiency, continuity and quality of the transpor-
tation process on the railways depends on the set of
many factors, including the quality of the operation
of railway automation and remote control (RARC)
devices. One of the main components necessary for
the operation of GAT devices are power supply sys-
978-1-5386-3299-4/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
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Alexander Nikitin,
DSc, chief of
“Automation and Remote Control
on Railways” department
Emperor Alexander I
St. Petersburg State Transport University
nikitin@crtc.ru
Alexey Kotenko,
DSc, chief of
“Management of Maintenance Works” Department,
Emperor Alexander I
St. Petersburg State Transport University
algenko@gmail.com
tems. Since constructive, schematic and technologi-
cal capabilities of power supply system’s reliability
increase are limited, the obvious solution of problem
is to develop methods and means of functionality
test, equipment failures detection and organization of
continuous remote monitoring of power supply de-
vices (PSD) technical condition, i.e. the application
of technical diagnostics and monitoring systems
(TDMS) [1].
2. Failure analysis
of power supply devices
In order to identify the shortcomings in the de-
velopment, production and technical operation of
RARC systems and devices, train traffic safety has
been analyzed annually in recent years to assess the
safety of train traffic in the automation and remote
control department and the reliability of the RARC
devices. According to statistics, most of the RARC
failures are on outdoor equipment, but its operation
depends on the quality and uninterrupted power sup-
ply. Analyzing the distribution of RARC failures
over the past five years, it can be seen that the share
of failures of PSD is small, however, the number of
detained trains at their one failure is one of the most
significant (more than 5 detained trains per one fail-
ure) and, therefore, the damage for the transportation
process is great [2]. This once again underscores the
importance of maintaining the operability of the
PSD, and hence the need to introduce systems of
technical diagnostics and monitoring.
A large share of failures of power supply units is
 associated with a violation of installation and electri-
cal contact at the terminals, low-quality maintenance,
failure of the constituent elements of the power sup-
ply unit, such as:
– batteries;
– switching equipment;
– circuit breakers;
– voltage monitoring relays.
According to statistics in recent years, the num-
ber of failures of switching equipment is increasing.
The main cause is the loss of electrical contact in the
power contact systems, which is caused by aging of
the contact surfaces. The cases of the power wires
burning off at the terminals of the starters and circuit
breakers are revealed. It is obvious that such over-
heating does not occur instantaneously, but this cir-
cumstance remains unnoticed, which indicates the
untimely detection of faults, which could be avoided
with the help of TDMS. Each failure of this kind
leads not only to a malfunction in the traffic sched-
ule, but also can lead to a fire.
In the modern computer-based interlockings, new
generation power supplies have become widely used,
which differ from the previous systems by circuit
design, a modern component base, including a mi-
croprocessor one, the algorithm of operation, sup-
plemented by diagnostic and monitoring systems and
uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Compliance
with the requirements for maintenance and monitor-
ing is the basis for ensuring their reliability. The
most important component of the UPS are batteries.
The main causes of battery failures are:
a) Battery failure due to prolonged loss of feed-
ers;
b) failure of batteries for production reasons.
The failures of the battery are mainly due to the
operating conditions and production reasons, which
include non-compliance with the rules of perfor-
mance of work, failure to comply with the mainte-
nance and installation technology. For these reasons,
not only the battery capacity decrease, but also bat-
tery could be damaged without the possibility of
their recovery (damage to the plates, failure of the
integrity of the cans) and, as a result, their premature
aging and failure. It is important to note that most of
the causes that cause failures of power supplies can
be eliminated through the introduction of TDMS.
To ensure the continuity of the transportation
process, to quickly detect and eliminate failures is
less important, than to prevent them, not allowing
abnormal situations in the algorithm of the responsi-
ble process. For prediction of a technical condition
the such thing as a pre-failure state is important. This
is such an operable state of the object when at least
one of the parameters characterizing its ability to
perform the specified functions reaches the boundary
value determined by the normative technical and
design documentation (NTDD), in which the opera-
bility of the object can not be guaranteed [3]. Allo-
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cating a subset of the pre-failure states allows to de-
tect the approach of operability to the boundary
states, and in time to react and prevent the failure,
which ultimately contributes to the survivability of
the system and the organization of a secure and unin-
terrupted train traffic.
3. Objects and principles of diagnosing
power supply devices
A modern power supply unit (Fig. 1) is a set of
equipment from input and distribution devices and
uninterruptible power supply systems, whose pur-
pose is to provide a continuous power supply of
railway automation and remote control systems and
deviceswith the necessary for their reliable function-
ing quality of electricity. Diagnostic objects that
could be identified in the RARC PSD are listed be-
low. For directly external power sources (power sup-
ply feeders) voltage, currents and the quality of the
supplied electric power must be monitored. On inter-
lockings belonging to a special group of the first
category, where a reserve autonomous power plant
(RAPP) is used as the third energy source, it is nec-
essary to monitor its condition by the following pa-
rameters: voltage, current, and frequency of the cur-
rent at the output of the RAPP, fuel level in the tank,
oil level in the engine, coolant temperature. In the
input devices it is necessary to monitor the state of
the device for protection against impulse overvoltag-
es and switching devices. In switchgears, it is neces-
sary to monitor the status of contactors implementing
automatic reserve input, voltage monitoring relay
and protective devices. In the uninterruptible power
system (UPS), the main object of diagnosis is the
battery. The following parameters must be monitored
by TDMS means: voltage, charge current and dis-
charge current, temperature, capacity. It is important
to measure the temperature both inside the cabinet
and outside – in the room of the power supply unit. It
is also necessary to monitor the operability of the
converters (rectifiers, inverters, converters) and cool-
ing fans in the UPS. In addition, an important object
of diagnosis is insulation resistance of cables, instal-
lation and galvanically isolated from the ground de-
vices.
The technical condition of the above-described
PSD objects is determined using the basic principle
of technical diagnostics – the principle of deviations
or the so-called Salisbury principle [4].The external
object acts on the diagnostic object (DO), the meas-
uring equipment evaluates the external action and
calculates the actual value of the diagnostic parame-
ter of the object. In this case, the value of the diag-
nostic parameter does not yet provide an assessment
of the technical state of the object. To determine the
state of an object, you need to know not only the
actual values, but also the corresponding reference
values. For this purpose, the mathematical model,
 evaluating the external impact, according to the data
from the measuring equipment and using a specific
set of formulas, calculates which value of the diag-
nostic parameter will be inherent in a good, well-
adjusted DO for a given external action and external
conditions – the reference value. Thus, the evalua-
tion of the technical condition of DO is determined
by the diagnostic symptoms – the difference between
the actual and the reference values of the diagnostic
parameters.
Diagnostics of discrete objects is carried out us-
ing a threshold element [5] that compares the value
of the supplied reference voltage with the specified
(reference) and, depending on the state of the DO,
generates a signal of a logical one or a logical zero.
Information from discrete objects comes mainly
from "dry" contacts, in order to exclude the influence
of diagnostic equipment on the regular work of de-
vices.
The principle of Salisbury is also embedded in
the algorithm for diagnosing of analogue objects of
PSD – voltages and currents of feeders, switching
currents of points, etc. An analog-to-digital converter
is used to measure the insulation resistance. Meas-
urement of insulation is made, as a rule, at a measur-
ing voltage of 500 V. Since the process of aging of
isolation refers to slow processes, in practice, the
program method of sequential interrogation of the
measured circuits is often used. Analogous switches
Figure 1. Power supply unit structure
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are used for the organization of software-controlled
connection of measuring circuits. They also perform
the function of normalizing the level of the measured
signal and exclude a dangerous influence on the ob-
jects of monitoring from the measuring circuits and
directly from the switch itself.
4. Improving the diagnosis process
In order to increase the survivability and fault
tolerance of power supply systems, some measures
are taken to improve the diagnostic process. Particu-
lar attention should be paid to the most important
component of the UPS – the battery. According to
statistics, the causes of battery failures are mainly
due to operating conditions. Most of these can be
prevented by using TDMS. Approximately half of
battery failures are caused by a decrease of capacity
due to premature aging because of non-compliance
of the temperature regime of operation. The devia-
tion of the temperature of the battery from the pass-
port values by several degrees can significantly
shorten the life of the battery, so it is important to
monitor the operating temperature of the battery by
means of the TDMS, and, if necessary, to form
commands for the switching-on of fans in the cabinet
and air conditioners in the room.
 Deep discharge is critical for the battery – below
1.8V per cell, so it is necessary to monitor the volt-
age level on the battery and recharge them in a time-
ly manner. In a high-voltage battery, to ensure the
accuracy of the voltage measurement, each element
must be monitored. For low-voltage batteries, one
can check not every element, but the battery as a
whole, which is economically more attractive; but to
ensure the reliability of the result of monitoring, it is
necessary to evaluate the battery health with the help
of a symmetry control unit (SCU). If asymmetry of
the arms of the battery is higher than the set value,
SCU forms a signal to the operational personnel
about the battery failure.
Information on the voltage on the battery is not
enough, the most important and difficult question is
the problem of determining the actual capacity of the
battery and the operating time for a particular dis-
charge intensity. The problem of determining the
actual capacity of the battery is that the more the
battery load, the less the percentage of energy that is
being supplied. The reason for this phenomenon is
due to the fact that the current flows inside the bat-
tery due to ionic conductivity, and during a fast dis-
charge some part of the ions does not have time to
leave the electrode into the electrolyte (or enter from
the electrolyte into the electrode) during the dis-
charge, which limits the capacitance of the battery.
The mathematical model of the battery discharge
process was described by the German scientist Wil-
helm Peukert [6]. He empirically established that the
ratio betweenthe discharge current Idis and the battery
discharge time T (from fully charged to fully dis-
charged); it is a constant ratio and can be described
by the formula (1):
ɋɪ ൌ ‫ ܫ‬௡ ൉ ܶ, (1)
where Cp – Peukert capacity (constant ratio for
this battery);
n – Peukert exponent;
Ɍ – battery discharge time.
The Peukert exponent is always greater than one;
the larger n, the less the capacity of the battery to
give full capacity under increased load. It is usually
calculated by measuring the discharge time (T1 and
T2) for two different currents (I1 and I2). For rough
calculations, tables or discharge schedules provided
by the battery manufacturer can be used. Since Cp is
a constant, the following equation could be writ-
ten(2):
ɋɪ ൌ ‫ܫ‬ଵ௡ ൉ ܶଵ =‫ܫ‬ଶ௡ ൉ ܶଶ ,
where‫ܫ‬ଵ and‫ܫ‬ଶ – the currents of the discharge of
the battery in the first and second experiments,
ܶଵ ƒ†ܶଶ – the values of the total discharge time
for the currents I1 and I2, respectively.
We represent formula (2) in the form:
ூభ೙ ் ‫ܫ‬
 ൌ  మ.
ூమ೙ ்భ
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After logarithm of both parts of formula (3), we
obtain the formula for calculation the exponent of
Peukert (4):
೅
୪୭୥ሺ మ ሻ
೅భ
݊ൌ ಺భ . (4)
୪୭୥ሺ ሻ
಺మ
Based on the knowledge of the values of the
Peukert exponent n and the Peukert capacitance Cp,
it is possible to calculate the battery operating time
under a certain load by the formula:
ܶ ൌ ɋɪ Ȁ‫ ܫ‬௡ . (5)
Integration of the above-described equations in
the mathematical model of TDMS of the PSD will
make it possible to judge the real operating time of
the battery at a certain value of the discharge current.
For example, let's make a calculation for the
railway station "Dzheb" of Krasnoyarskaya Railway
(Russia), with a given power P = 10kW, where 4
lines of batteries are used, the capacity of which is
190Ah. Since this station has designed a low-voltage
power supply unit based on a 48V DC bus, it is pos-
sible to calculate the maximum current consumption
at the design stage:
௉ ଵ଴଴଴଴ௐ
‫ ܫ‬ൌ ൌ  ൎ ʹͲͲʏ;
௎ ସ଼௏
Since N = 4 battery lines are used, the discharge
currents of one battery line:
ூ
‫ܫ‬ଵ ൌ  ൌ 
ଶ଴଴஺
ൌ ͷͲʏ.
ே ସ
The above calculation was made for the worst
operating conditions (for the most loaded train situa-
tion, taking into account the power overload). Hav-
ing performed a series of measurements of the values
of the currents consumed by the devices during the
working day, we get that on average the discharge
current of the battery in the busiest hours of opera-
tion of the station is about 24.7 A and fluctuates
within +/- 25%, therefore, in case of power supply
failure and switching to battery, the maximum dis-
charge current does not exceed 31 A. Estimating the
actual discharge currents, two measurements of the
total discharge time were made to 10.8 V (up to 1.8
V per battery cell) of a similar battery with a capaci-
ty of 190Ah at currents I01 = 31 A, I02 = 15 A, the
following results were obtained: T01 = 3.13 h , T02 =
7.42 h. Using formula (4), we compute the Peukert
exponent:
் ଻ǡସଶ
Ž‘‰ሺ మሻ Ž‘‰ሺ ሻ Ž‘‰ሺ ʹǡͶ͸ሻ
்భ ଷǡଵଷ
݊ൌ ூଵ ൌ  ଷଵ ൌ ൌ ͳǤͳͻ
Ž‘‰ሺ ሻ Ž‘‰ሺ ሻ Ž‘‰ሺ ʹǡͲ͹ሻ
ூమ ଵହ
(2) Calculating the values of the Peukert exponential
n, one can calculate the operating time of the battery
under a certain load by the formula (5). For example,
at a discharge current I03 = 20 A, the operating time
of the battery under study is:
ʠ˓ ͳͻͲ
ܶ଴ଷ ൌ ௡ ൌ  ଵǤଵଽ ൌ ͷǡ ͵͹ሺ݄ሻ
ʹͲ
(3) Measuring the discharge time of the battery at the
discharge current I03 = 20 A, the results were close to
the calculated ones: the discharge time was T03 =
 5.05 h, therefore the relative error of the calculations
was about 6%.
However, usually the current changes over time,
there are long breaks in the battery operation, as well
as constant capacitance values and the Peukert expo-
nential change during operation of the battery, so
they must be periodically recalculated to obtain real
readings. The monitoring system described above is
quite complicated, but for systems with a roughly
constant in time load, this approach to determining
the real operating time of the battery should yield
fairly accurate results. Knowledge of the regularity
of the dependence of battery capacity on the dis-
charge current will allow one to more accurately plan
the required capacity and type of batteries in the
UPS.
Another most often failing element of a PSD is a
voltage and phase sequence check relay (VPSR),
because this device operates under harsh operating
conditions compared to other elements. A schematic
diagram of VPSR was drawn up (Fig. 2) and an
analysis of the failures of this device was made, the
results of which showed that 80% of failures consist
in imperfection of the power supply of the relay it-
self. This is due to the fact that the power supply
circuit of the voltage relay uses capacitors C1…C3
as an element that suppresses the excess voltage. The
advantage of this circuit is the small size, and the
disadvantage is the dependence of the output voltage
on the frequencies present in the input voltage spec-
trum. When the level of harmonic and interharmonic
components in the feeder voltage exceeds the level
regulated by standards, the capacitance has a low
resistance to high-frequency interference and the
voltage drop across the resistors R1…R3 is much
greater than the normative, which causes its over-
heating, charring and failure. Separating the power
circuits and measuring and powering the relay from
an uninterruptible power bus (UPB) can solve this
problem.
Controller
UPB
=24V
Power supply
VD1,2
D1-D6
To “logic” board
D2 D1 D4 D3 D6 D5
C1 C2 C3
R1 R2 R3
R4-R6
L1
Measuring
channels
R7-R9
L2
R10-R12
L3
L1 L2 L3
Figure 2. A schematic diagram of VPSR
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When creating modern systems of RARC, much
attention is paid to their noise immunity [7], this is
also true for PSD. The network voltage spectrum
contains a number of high-frequency components
[8]. The inertia and long sampling time of analog-to-
digital converters (ADCs) do not allow to evaluate
and respond in a timely manner to high-energy im-
pulse noise, and there have been cases of failures of
microelectronic PSD equipment, however, the feeder
monitoring device – VPSR –didnot reveal a deterio-
ration in the quality of power supply. The problem
consisted in the presence of pulsed high-frequency
jamming in the circuits of external power supply, the
duration of which is the nanoseconds, and VPSR,
because of the wide step of the discretization of
measurements, is not able to detect perturbation data.
In order to detect high-frequency impulse noise hav-
ing high penetrating power, a threshold comparator
is planned to be implemented in the future. The task
of this device will be to monitor the quality of elec-
tric power supply feeders. In the mathematical model
of the threshold comparator, the threshold levels of
the amplitude and duration of the interference will be
given, when exceeding the high-speed key elements
will occur, thereby the presence of high-frequency
impulse noise will be detected. Further, it is neces-
sary to assess the degree of possible interference
hazard for the equipment. Single high-frequency
interference of high amplitude can not damage the
equipment, since they have little energy, but the ef-
fect of the spectrum of these interference for some
long time interval is able to disable microprocessor
devices. If the impact of pulsed high-frequency noise
is observed for some prolonged time interval, then it
makes sense to switch to another power supply feed-
er. It should be noted that the problem of high-
frequency interference is relevant not only for the
railway industry, but also for modern medical
equipment, where the equipment is subject not only
to interharmonic interference, but also generates
them. Most modern power sources of medical
equipment are pulsed, in the basis of their work lies
the rapid switching of the power transistor. Conse-
quently, such power sources generate conductive and
radiated electromagnetic interference, for the sup-
pression of which, usually multicomponent filters are
used. Increase the efficiency of power supplies is
possible due to the use of carbide-silicon diodes, the
use of synchronous rectifiers, power factor correc-
tors, the use of multiresonance effects. All these ex-
pensive technologies allow to reduce the influence of
high-frequency noise, however, due to their high
penetrating power, one can not be completely sure of
the quality of electricity supply to the required stand-
ards. The lack of diagnostics of the quality of power
supply of medical equipment often leads to its
breakdown and failure, which again underscores the
need to create threshold comparators that identify the
excessive influence of electromagnetic components.
 According to the analysis of failures of the
RARC devices, the number of failures of switching
equipment (contactors and automata) in the PSD has
been increased in recent years. The main cause is the
deterioration of the electrical contacts, which leads to
the burning off of the power wires. It is obvious that
such overheating does not occur instantaneously, but
this circumstance remains unnoticed; that indicates
the untimely detection of faults, which can be avoid-
ed by monitoring the service life of switching
equipment and using thermal relays on contactors.
Information from dozens (at major stations of
hundreds) of diagnosed objects of the RARC is re-
ceived on the signaling electrician workstation [9],
and it is extremely difficult for the signaling electri-
cian to process such a data stream, therefore, the
software of the TDMS should not simply collect,
process, transmit and display information , but also
independently evaluate data. Based on the compari-
son of the obtained data with the reference data, the
software should indicate the "diagnosis" of the mal-
function and draw attention to the faulty object with
color and voice notification. The use of mnemonic
schemes will allow localization of the failure and
provide recommendations for its elimination.
5. Conclusion
Today, with the growing number of high-speed
directions, especially stringent requirements for the
quality and continuity of power supply are made to
power failure of such systems can lead to failures in
the transfer of critical information (speed, position of
the train on the site), which can critically affect the
safety of train traffic. The methods of improving the
diagnostic process proposed in this article will sig-
nificantly improve the reliability of both the power
supply system as a whole and its elements, will allow
to go deeper into the issue of diagnostics of RARC
power supply devices. At the same time, the possibil-
ities for solving diagnostic problems will be expand-
ed, which will allow detecting the pre-failure state of
the objects, which means timely replacement and
eliminating possible failures of the system. Thus, the
application of modern TDMS in conjunction with
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power supplies will ultimately ensure the safety,
continuity and efficiency of the transportation pro-
cess.
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