Twim: A MATLAB toolbox for real-time evaluation and monitoring of traffic loads on railway bridges

Abstract

This paper describes Twim, a toolbox written in the MATLAB computer language. Twim is designed for monitoring bridge behaviour during train passages as well as for performing Bridge Weigh-In-Motion of railway traffic, both in real-time and offline. The algorithms calculate the static bogie loads and bogie distances, as well as the speed and acceleration of the train. Twim also includes visualization functions, automatic identification of known locomotives and an auto-calibration that uses locomotives with known bogie loads. The algorithms used place specific requirements on both the bridge type and the instrumentation of the bridge. These requirements are explained in the paper. The instrumentation of several bridges is described, and some of the interesting results gained through this instrumentation are presented.