DIⁱⁿ Judith Engel, board member of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG
The railway faces its greatest challenges in history. By 2030, Austria must cope with half of the current diesel and gasoline consumption. Accordingly, railway capacities need to be increased. ÖBB aims to double the efficiency of the rail system by 2040, with a target of increasing train kilometers from 160 million to 200 million by 2030.
1,447 steel bridges in the network of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG
With over 8,700 bridges in the network, including 1,447 steel bridges, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG faces significant challenges. Many steel bridges surpass a lifespan of 100 years, requiring reliable constructions, detailed condition predictions, and proactive maintenance in the realm of Predictive Maintenance.
Intensive research in the field of material fatigue
Railway traffic on steel bridges over a period of up to 100 years sooner or later leads to material fatigue. Additional findings based on monitoring, fracture mechanics and digitalisation are required in order to better understand this material fatigue, to be able to better estimate the service life of steel bridges, to better control the use of funds and to be able to offer a punctual railway network. As part of the COMET research programme, the Rail4Future project is working intensively with numerous partners on this topic.
Large-scale experiment on the dismantled structure of the Pinka River bridge
Among other things, bridge structures are stressed to failure on a one-to-one scale and the associated fracture mechanisms are observed. In mid-May, a large-scale test was carried out on the dismantled supporting structure of the Pinkabach bridge at the ÖBB bridge factory in St. Pölten - together with the partners HBK, TÜV AUSTRIA, AIT, FCP/VCE/Strucinspect, Schimetta and Graz University of Technology.
Anti-ageing, preventive check-ups, signs of fatigue
ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG board member Judith Engel stated during the event: "Anti-ageing, preventive examinations, signs of fatigue - that sounds like a personal health programme, but today we are talking about the ageing of our steel bridges. What we are talking about today is a research project to better predict the remaining service life, to investigate fatigue and ultimately, with the help of modern sensor technology, we want to know how and when failure occurs. The aim for our existing steel bridges is to extend their service life with a reliable and predictable condition, making the bridges fit for longer and also digital."
Accurate maintenance planning and increasing the life cycle
Christian Chimani, Head of the Centre for Low-Emission Transport at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, explained: "Steel and cement production are extremely energy-intensive processes. Extending and optimising the life cycle of transport infrastructure structures is therefore a crucial contribution on the road to climate-friendly mobility. Using innovative methods for condition assessment such as the local fibre-optic measurement of component deformations or the inclusion of axle loads currently measured on the track, we obtain comprehensive information that we integrate into digital simulation models of existing railway bridges. This enables accurate maintenance planning, significantly extends the life cycle of infrastructure structures and thus opens up enormous potential for CO2 savings."
Effective system for bridge inspection
Gerald Lackner, Product Manager of RISE at TÜV AUSTRIA, goes into more detail about the condition assessment of the bridge: "The topic of crack monitoring on bridge structures has been researched together with ÖBB for several years. TÜV AUSTRIA has succeeded in developing a lean, effective and mobile system for bridge inspection. RISE - Remote Inspection System Edge is specifically designed for the online long-term monitoring of cracks. The system serves as an effective safety measure for the continued operation of the bridge." Sensors record the acoustic emissions in the supporting structure triggered by material fatigue, which are processed in the on-site measuring system (RISE Core). The data is then sent to TÜV AUSTRIA, processed algorithmically and finally visualised for the bridge inspection with a status statement using a dashboard.
About ÖBB
As a comprehensive mobility and logistics service provider, ÖBB transported a total of 447 million passengers and more than 88 million tonnes of goods to their destinations in a climate-friendly and environmentally friendly manner in 2022. This is because 100 per cent of the electricity for trains and stations comes from renewable energy sources. With 95.5 per cent punctuality in passenger transport, ÖBB is one of the most punctual railways in Europe. With investments of more than three billion euros annually in railway infrastructure, ÖBB is building the railway system of tomorrow. Across the Group, around 42,600 bus and rail employees and an additional 2,000 apprentices ensure that more than 1.2 million travellers and around 1,230 goods trains reach their destinations safely every day. ÖBB is the backbone of public transport and, as Austria's largest climate protection company, brings people and goods safely and environmentally consciously to their destinations.