A Study on the Applicability of Energy Harvesting Technology for the Sensor Network of Railroad System by Thermal Deviation

Abstract — In this study, we verified the applicability of the energy harvesting technology to the railroad system for real-time wireless sensor networks. The origin of the power for this technology is found in the concept of energy harvesting, which resources thermal deviation occurring when a train runs. For this, we measured the temperature generated on the axle box bearing from the train’s running environment by using a high-speed train, analyzed the thermal deviation and calculated the estimated energy harvesting power for the sensor network of the railroad system. The thermal deviation occurred in the axle box bearing when a train runs; the deviation was approximately 12.97 ∼ 14.68 ℃. We calculated in the assumption of the basic thermo element of the axle box bearing area, which is the area of the temperature sensor attached on the axle box bearing. Theoretically, the energy harvesting power of 63.8mW can be obtained and thus by using the energy harvesting power it will be possible to operate the wireless sensor network for railroad monitoring