Tensioncam's connected solution increases safety on the railways

2024-05-23 News

Bulten’s subsdiary TensionCam, which offers solutions that enable businesses to measure and monitor clamp loads in critical screw joints, using connected sensor technology, is now carrying out pilot projects with the Swedish Transport Administration.

In January 2023, Bulten became the majority owner of tech company TensionCam, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. TensionCam offers solutions that enable businesses to measure and monitor clamp loads in critical screw joints, using connected sensor technology. This means that changes and patterns in the collected data can be monitored in real time. This in turn enables better maintenance planning, while also indicating whether any measures beyond regular maintenance are required. Customers can be found in a range of industries including wind power, railways, and water treatment.

The solution is based on many years’ experience and work in the field of clamp loads, combined with the benefits offered by sensor technology. Various pilot projects have begun during the year, the aim being to step up a gear and take the next step in commercializing the offering.

 

Pilots pave the way for a new approach to maintenance

Two of the pilot projects in 2023 have been for the Swedish Transport Administration, focusing on rail tracks near Ängelholm and Landskrona, both in southern Sweden. Railway maintenance is something that requires both human and financial resources on a recurring basis.

In the projects, TensionCam’s technology has been tested in combination with a new type of connecting plate to secure the clamp load in its bolt joint. Connecting plates are used when a rail ruptures and are attached to the rail before a permanent repair is in place. The working hypothesis is that the newly developed connecting plate has sufficient bearing capacity and clamp force to allow the rail to take the same load as before the rupture, and at higher train speeds than before. The projects will be completed in 2024.

TensionCam is being used to perform measurements that show the clamp load in the bolt joint, and thus gauge changes over time. Jonas Nilsagård, CEO of TensionCam, explains: “TensionCam enables preventive maintenance, which means greater predictability and the ability to carry out maintenance before a problem arises. This helps not only to lower costs, but also improve punctuality for the Swedish Transport Administration. The solution also makes it possible to detect loose bolts, which enables proactive prevention of delays and accidents.”

TensionCam sees huge potential in the future as attitudes toward maintenance change. Something that has always been governed by established routines and working methods can now instead reap the benefits of technology and connected data. In conclusion, Jonas Nilsagård adds: “We’re solving a common problem that many businesses struggle with, i.e. costly, timeconsuming maintenance. With TensionCam, customers themselves can collect data, which is then analyzed and processed in order to achieve more precise, planned maintenance.”

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