An FBG-based sensor tailor-made for wind pressure monitoring of high-speed trains

In recent years, high-speed trains are rapidly developed in China, and the maximum speed was over 480 km/h in a test ride. With the increasing speed of trains, we can take less time from one place to another; but the safety and comfortableness are concerned not only by the designers but also by the train passengers. In comparison with trains with a running speed less than 200 km/h, the wind effect on high-speed trains is significant, and the aerodynamics of high-speed trains such as the aerodynamic force during normal running, meeting with another train, running in the tunnel, is widely investigated by researchers. Apron boards are located at the lower side of a car body to reduce the air resistance. But the aerodynamic force applied on the apron board is unknown and researchers can only use an assumed value in their simulation. The Fibre Bragg grating (FBG) is a new kind of sensors and has been used in many areas such as bridges, buildings, planes, and dams. FBG sensors with the advantages of immunity to electromagnetic interference, non-corrosion, light weight, and small size are suitable to be used in high-speed trains to measure temperature, strain, acceleration, and inclination. In this study, an FBG wind pressure sensor is specifically designed and tested by installing on the inside and outside of the apron board of high-speed trains. The results show that the FBG pressure sensor can measure the wind pressure of high-speed trains with high resolution.