Page 326 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 5

Mayoral, Juan. Jiménez, Pablo Lorenzo. Fernández-Sánchez, Gonzalo. Jardí, Ignacio.

1. Introduction and Objectives

The applications of the satellites have been developed in different fields, from applications
in agriculture, for the control of the crops, through the maritime control of boats, allowing
their constant location in zones of high danger, to the control of fires, droughts, flooding or the
control of pollutants in the atmosphere.(Duncan, Prados, & Lamsal, 2014)
Within the field of engineering, different applications have been developed, such as the control
of surface movements in tunnel covers or slope movements (Guzzetti, Cesare Mondini, &
Manunta, 2012), or applications to improve the layout of roads (Copernicus, 2014), but the
low resolutions available until relatively recently have prevented a greater contribution to this
field.
With the development of satellites, obtaining resolutions lower than the meter, together with
the development of image processing and the evolution of radar, this technology becomes an
important field of research for the future.

This research includes the following tasks: to study new ways of optimising the conservation
and maintenance of railway infrastructure using aerospace technology, more specifically via
satellites. The main objective is to find a way of optimising resources for the conservation and
maintenance of railways by using artificial satellites.

To this end, intermediate objectives are established that allow us to reach the main one. Firstly,
it will be necessary to carry out a study of the current operation of railway maintenance, in
order to establish railway's needs. Within the rail system, we focus on those parts that can be
measured from satellites.
In addition, we seek a better understanding of the different types of existing satellites and
the possible applications offered by each of them. In this way, the aim is to compare the
maintenance needs with the possibilities offered by satellites in the control and maintenance
of railway tracks to show future practical applications.

2. Methodology

In order to achieve the objectives set, an analysis of conventional railway maintenance will be
carried out. Based on this analysis, the elements to be controlled and the measuring ranges
used in maintenance operations are determined.
On the other hand, we study the different capacities offered by artificial satellites, establishing
also the measuring ranges. Different visits have been made to expert aerospace centres based
on the visualisation and control of satellite data in the Madrid sector (AirBus, European Space
Agency ESA, academy), as well as interviews with experts and search for technical information
in the aeronautical sector.
Finally, a comparison matrix is developed to determine which satellite technologies could be
implemented.

3. Results

3.1 Railway maintenance

The standard UNE-EN 13306: 2011 defines maintenance as the combination of all technical,
administrative and management actions, during the life cycle of an element, intended to
preserve or return it to a state in which it can perform the function required.

324 360.revista de alta velocidad