PROJECT REPORT

ON

“Automatic Railway Gate

Controller Using Magnetic Sensor”
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR

THE REWARD OF THE DEGREE

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SUBMITTED BY

UNDER THE ESTEEMED GUIDANCE OF

INTERNAL GUIDE EXTERNAL GUIDE

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Kashi Institute Of Technology (KIT)
(Affiliated to A.K.T.U., Uttar Pradesh)
Varanasi-221307
2014-2018

Kashi Institute Of Technology(KIT)

Varanasi-221307

Department of Mechanical Engineering

 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this is a project report entitled

“Automatic Railway Gate Controller”

Is a bonafide work done by

Of final year, Mechanical Engineering branch submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirement for the award of B.Tech, degree of the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam Technical University (AKTU), 2014-2018

Project Guide Head of the

Department

Principal
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is our privilege to express our deep gratitude and indebtedness to

our Management & Principal Mr. …………….. of Kashi Institute of
Technology,Varanasi for their moral support.

We thank …………….., Professor & Head of Mechanical Engineering

Department, for his valuable suggestions and cooperation in the completion
of the mini project.

We solemnly offer our sincere gratitude to our internal guide, Mr………….

Department of Mechanical Engineering, whose constant encouragement and
cooperation has made this project successful.

We express our heartful thanks to those who have directly or indirectly

helped us in carrying out this mini project successful.
Last but not least we are thankful to our parents. who have stood behind us
at all the stages of the mini project.

Project associates

ABSTRACT

This project work aims at the design, development, fabrication and

testing of working model entitled “Automatic Railway Gate Controller”. It is
basically related to Radio communication and signaling system. An Automatic
Railway gate controller is unique in which the railway gate is closed and
opened or operated by the Train itself by eliminating the chances of human
errors.

The largest public sector in India is the Railways. The network of

Indian Railways covering the length and breath of Indian Railways covering
the length and breath of our country is divided into nine Railway zones for
operational convenience. The railway tracks crises-cross the state Highways
and of course village road along their own length. The points or places
where the Railway track crosses the road are called level crossings. Level
crossings cannot be used simultaneously both by road traffic and trains, as
this result in accidents leading to loss of precious lives.

INDEX

S.No List of contents

01 Introduction

1.1 Introduction
 1.2 Block diagram

02 System

2.1 Overview

2.2 Architecture

2.3 Flow Chart

03 Magnetic Sensor

3.1 Introduction to Magnetic sensor

3.2 Advantages & Applications.

04 Relay

4.1 Introduction to Relay

4.2 Advantages

05 Motor

5.1 Introduction to Motor

5.2 Advantages & Applications

06 Buzzer

6.1 Introduction to Buzzer

6.2 Advantages & Applications

07 Regulated Power Supply

7.1 Regulated Power Supply & Features

08 Conclusion

09 Bibliography
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Aim of this project is to control the unmanned rail gate automatically
using embedded platform. Today often we see news papers very often about
the railway accidents happening at un- attended railway gates. Present
project is designed to avoid such accidents if implemented in spirit. This
project is developed in order to help the INDIAN RAILWAYS in making its
present working system a better one, by eliminating some of the loopholes
existing in it. Based on the responses and reports obtained as a result of the
significant development in the working system of INDIAN RAILWAYS,
This project can be further extended to meet the demands according to
situation. This can be further implemented to have control room to regulate
the working of the system. Thus becomes the user friendliness.
 In this project Magnetic Sensor plays the main role. The program for
this project is embedded in this Reed Magnetic Sensor and interfaced to all
the peripherals. The motors are used for the purpose of gate control
interfaced with sensors and relays.

Features:

 There is no time lag to operate the device

 Accuracy.

BLOCK DIAGRAM
 Relay MOTOR
Switch
REGULATED
Reed Magnetic
POWER SUPPLY
Sensor

Buzzer

Fig 1. 1.1 Block Diagram of AUTOMATIC RAILWAY GATE

CONTROLLER
 CHAPTER 2
SYSTEM

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Sensor based railway gate automation system is developed to automate the

process of opening and closing of gate at the railway level crosses. The
system detects the arrival and the departure of train for the gate operation
using different types of sensors. The proposed system uses three infrared
sensors to identify the arrival and departure of trains. The system also
implements obstacle sensor which detects any obstacle on the track and
controls the operation of the train. Sensors and servo motors are
programmed using Arduino micro-controller. The major components used in
the automation of railway gate at the level gates are sensors.

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

In India the maximum speed at which a train moves is 91.82 km/hr and the
minimum speed of a passenger/goods train is 59 km/hr. Hence the ideal
distance at which the sensors could be placed to detect the arrival of the
train is 5 km from the level cross and the departure of the train is 1 km and
thus the gate will not be closed for more than 8 minutes. Our paper proposes
a system which uses magnetic sensors, and one buzzer (B1). In real time,
the Sensors are placed on the track at a distance of 5 km and 1 km on both
sides of the level crossing. The magnetic sensor is used to detect the
presence of an obstacle between the railway gates. The system also uses
motors to control the operation of the gates. The buzzer is used to indicate
the arrival of the train within a stipulated time. Sensor S1 detects the arrival
of a train. Once it detects a train, it sends a signal to buzzer B1 and buzzer is
triggered ON. The train then travels to S2. When the train nears S2, motors
are powered ON. The motors starts and the gate G1 begin to close & gate G2
begin to open. After the train passes the gates and nears S3, a signal is
again sent to the buzzer B2 and buzzer is triggered ON. The train then
travels to S4. When the train nears S4, motors are powered ON. The motors
starts and the gate G1 begin to open & gate G2 begin to close.

FLOW CHART

Start

Magnetic
Sensor S1, S2
are activated
 No

Train
Departur
e
Detected

Yes

Motor
activated
Gates open &
closed
Accordingly

Close
 CHAPTER 3
MAGNETIC SENSOR

2.1 INTRODUCTION TO MAGNETIC SENSOR:

In a typical reed switch, the two contacts (which look like metal reeds) are
made from a ferromagnetic material (that means something as easy to
magnetize as iron), coated with a hardwearing metal such as rhodium or
ruthenium (to give them a long life as they switch on and off), and sealed
inside a thin glass envelope filled with an unreactive gas (typically nitrogen)
to keep them free of dust and dirt. Sometimes the glass has an outer casing
of plastic for even greater protection. Typically, the contacts are made from a
nickel-iron alloy that's easy to magnetize (technically, we say it has a high
magnetic permeability) but doesn't stay that way for long (we say it has a
low magnetic retentivity). They take some time to respond to changes in the
magnetic field (we say they have quite a bit of hysteresis)—in other words,
they move quite slowly and smoothly. Generally both contacts move (not just
one) and they make a flat, parallel area of contact with one another (rather
than simply touching at a point), because that helps to extend the life and
reliability of the switch.

Working of Magnetic Sensor:

Reed switches come in two main varieties called normally open (normally
switched off) and normally closed (normally switched on). The key to
understanding how they work is to realize that they don't just work as an
electrical bridge but as a magnetic one as well: magnetism flows through
them as well as electricity.

Normally open

As you bring a magnet up to the reed switch, the entire switch effectively
becomes a part of a "magnetic circuit" that includes the magnet (the dotted
line in the artwork shows part of the magnetic field). The two contacts of the
reed switch become opposite magnetic poles, which is why they attract and
snap together. It doesn't matter which end of the magnet approaches first:
the contacts still polarize in opposite ways and attract one another. A reed
switch like this is normally open (NO) (normally off), unless a magnet is
positioned right next to it, when it switches on, allowing a current to flow
through it.

Take the magnet away and the contacts—made from fairly stiff and springy
metal—push apart again and return back to their original positions.

Normally closed
You can also get reed switches that work the opposite way: the two contacts
are normally snapped together and when you bring a magnet up to the
switch, spring apart. Reed switches like this are called normally closed
(NC) (normally switched on), so electricity flows through them most of the
time. The easiest way of making one is to take a normally open switch and
fix a magnet permanently to its glass case, flipping it over from its open to
its closed state (as in the second frame in the normally open animation up
above). This entire unit (normally open reed switch with magnet attached)
becomes our normally closed reed switch. If you bring a second magnet up
to it, with a magnetic field of opposite polarity to that of the first magnet,
this new field cancels out the field of the first magnet so we have, in effect,
exactly what we had in the first frame of the normally open animation: a
reed switch with two contacts sprung apart.

In these two artworks, I've massively exaggerated the movement of the

contacts. Real reed switches have contacts that are only a few microns
(millionths of a meter) apart—roughly ten times thinner than a human hair—
so the movement isn't visible to the naked eye. Don't expect to see the
blades moving as you bring your magnet up close!

ADVANTAGES OF Magnetic Sensor:

 Simple and reliable reed switch sensing and actuation capabilities

 Low-profile designs offer ease of integration

  Requires zero power for operation

 Durability and performance over extended service life

 Low weight prevents mass loading of sensitive electronics

 Low price point per unit

 High performance with low overall cost of ownership

 Relative ease of customization

Applications:

 Automotive & Transportation Market.

 Marine and Boat

 Dishwasher Spray Arm Detection

 Security Control for Appliance Door Detection

 Water Flow Sensor

 Measuring the Quantity of a Liquid or Gas

 Baby doll position sensor

 Electronic board game position sensor

 Mechanical movement sensing

 Model train

 Video game peripherals

 Portable defibrillators
CHAPTER 4
RELAY
Relays

Description:
A relay is an electrically operated switch. Current flowing through
the coil of the relay creates a magnetic field which attracts a lever and
changes the switch contacts. The coil current can be on or off so relays have
two switch positions and most have double throw(changeover) switch
contacts as shown in the diagram.

Relays allow one circuit to switch a second circuit which can be completely
separate from the first. For example a low voltage battery circuit can use a
relay to switch a 230V AC mains circuit. There is no electrical connection
inside the relay between the two circuits, the link is magnetic and
mechanical.

The coil of a relay passes a relatively large current, typically 30mA for a 12V
relay, but it can be as much as 100mA for relays designed to operate from
lower voltages. Most ICs cannot provide this current and a transistor is
usually used to amplify the small IC current to the larger value required for
the relay coil. The maximum output current for the popular 555 timer IC is
200mA, enough to supply a relay coil directly.

The relay's switch connections are usually labelled COM, NC and NO:

 COM = Common, always connect to this, it is the moving part of the

switch.

 NC = Normally Closed, COM is connected to this when the relay coil

is off.

 NO = Normally Open, COM is connected to this when the relay coil

is on.

Connect to COM and NO if you want the switched circuit to be on when the
relay coil is on.

Connect to COM and NC if you want the switched circuit to be on when the
relay coil is off.

Relay features:

You need to consider several features when choosing a relay:

1. Physical size and pin arrangement

If you are choosing a relay for an existing PCB you will need to ensure
that its dimensions and pin arrangement are suitable. You should find
this information in the supplier's catalogue or on their website.

2. Coil voltage
The relay's coil voltage rating and resistance must suit the circuit
powering the relay coil. Many relays have a coil rated for a 12V supply
but 5V and 24V relays are also readily available. Some relays operate
perfectly well with a supply voltage which is a little lower than their
rated value.
 3. Coil resistance
The circuit must be able to supply the current required by the relay
coil. You can use Ohm's law to calculate the current:

For example: A 12V supply relay with a coil resistance of 400 passes a
current of 30mA. This is OK for a 555 timer IC (maximum output current
200mA), but it is too much for most ICs and they will require a transistor to
amplify the current.

4. Switch ratings (voltage and current)

The relay's switch contacts must be suitable for the circuit they are to
control. You will need to check the voltage and current ratings. Note
that the voltage rating is usually higher for AC, for example: "5A at
24V DC or 125V AC".

5. Switch contact arrangement (SPDT, DPDT etc)

Most relays are SPDT or DPDT which are often described as "single
pole changeover" (SPCO) or "double pole changeover" (DPCO). For
further information please see the page on switches.

Advantages of relays:

 Relays can switch AC and DC, transistors can only switch DC.

 Relays can switch higher voltages than standard transistors.

 Relays are often a better choice for switching large currents (> 5A).

 Relays can switch many contacts at once.

CHAPTER 5
MOTOR
STEPPER MOTOR

3.1 Introduction to stepper motor:

A stepper motor (or step motor) is a brushless, synchronous electric motor
that can divide a full rotation into a large number of steps. The motor’s
position can be controlled precisely, without any feedback mechanism (see
open loop control). Stepper motors are similar to switched reluctance motors
(which are very large stepping motors with a reduced pole count, and
generally are closed-loop commutated).

Fig no: 3.1.1 Basic stepper motor

Fundamentals of Operation:

Stepper motors operate differently from normal DC motors, which rotate

when voltage is applied to their terminals. Stepper motors, on the other
hand, effectively have multiple "toothed" electromagnets arranged around a
central gear-shaped piece of iron. The electromagnets are energized by an
external control circuit, such as a microcontroller. To make the motor shaft
turn, first one electromagnet is given power, which makes the gear's teeth
magnetically attracted to the electromagnet's teeth. When the gear's teeth
are thus aligned to the first electromagnet, they are slightly offset from the
next electromagnet. So when the next electromagnet is turned on and the
first is turned off, the gear rotates slightly to align with the next one, and
from there the process is repeated. Each of those slight rotations is called a
"step," with an integral number of steps making a full rotation. In that way,
the motor can be turned by a precise angle.

12

Stepper motor characteristics:

Stepper motors are constant power devices. As motor speed increases,

torque decreases. The torque curve may be extended by using current
limiting drivers and increasing the driving voltage. Steppers exhibit more
vibration than other motor types, as the discrete step tends to snap the rotor
from one position to another. This vibration can become very bad at some
speeds and can cause the motor to lose torque. The effect can be mitigated
by accelerating quickly through the problem speed range, physically damping
the system, or using a micro-stepping driver. Motors with a greater number
of phases also exhibit smoother operation than those with fewer phases.

Open-loop versus closed-loop commutation

Steppers are generally commutated open loop, i.e. the driver has no
feedback on where the rotor actually is. Stepper motor systems must thus
generally be over engineered, especially if the load inertia is high, or there is
widely varying load, so that there is no possibility that the motor will lose
steps. This has often caused the system designer to consider the trade-offs
between a closely sized but expensive servomechanism system and an
oversized but relatively cheap stepper.

A new development in stepper control is to incorporate a rotor position

feedback (eg. an encoder or resolver), so that the commutation can be made
optimal for torque generation according to actual rotor position. This turns
the stepper motor into a high pole count brushless servo motor, with
exceptional low speed torque and position resolution. An advance on this
technique is to normally run the motor in open loop mode, and only enter
closed loop mode if the rotor position error becomes too large -- this will
allow the system to avoid hunting or oscillating, a common servo problem.

Types & Applications:

There are three main types of stepper motors:

 Permanent Magnet Stepper

 Hybrid Synchronous Stepper
 Variable Reluctance Stepper

Two-phase stepper motors:

There are two basic winding arrangements for the electromagnetic

coils in a two phase stepper motor: bipolar and unipolar.

Unipolar motors:

A unipolar stepper motor has logically two windings per phase, one for
each direction of magnetic field. Since in this arrangement a magnetic pole
can be reversed without switching the direction of current, the
commutation circuit can be made very simple (e.g. a single transistor) for
each winding. Typically, given a phase, one end of each winding is made
common: giving three leads per phase and six leads for a typical two phase
motor. Often, these two phase commons are internally joined, so the motor
has only five leads.

Fig 3.2 Unipolar stepper motor coils

In the construction of unipolar stepper motor there are four coils. One
end of each coil is tide together and it gives common terminal which is
always
 14

connected with positive terminal of supply. The other ends of each coil are
given for interface. Specific color code may also be given. Like in my motor
orange is first coil (L1), brown is second (L2), yellow is third (L3), black is
fourth (L4) and red for common terminal.

By means of controlling a stepper motor operation we can

1. Increase or decrease the RPM (speed) of it

2. Increase or decrease number of revolutions of it
3. Change its direction means rotate it clockwise or anticlockwise

To vary the RPM of motor we have to vary the PRF (Pulse Repetition
Frequency). Number of applied pulses will vary number of rotations and last
to change direction we have to change pulse sequence.

So all these three things just depends on applied pulses. Now there are
three different modes to rotate this motor

1. Single coil excitation

2. Double coil excitation
3. half coil excitation

Unipolar stepper motors with six or eight wires may be driven using
bipolar drivers by leaving the phase commons disconnected, and driving the
two windings of each phase together [diagram needed]. It is also possible to
use a bipolar driver to drive only one winding of each phase, leaving half of
the windings unused [diagram needed].

Bipolar motor:

Bipolar motors have logically a single winding per phase. The current
in a winding needs to be reversed in order to reverse a magnetic pole, so the
driving circuit must be more complicated, typically with an H-bridge
arrangement. There are two leads per phase, none are common.

Static friction effects using an H-bridge have been observed with

certain drive topologies because windings are better utilized, they are more
powerful than a unipolar motor of the same weight.
Applications:

 Computer-controlled stepper motors are one of the most versatile

forms of positioning systems. They are typically digitally controlled as
part of an open loop system, and are simpler and more rugged than
closed loop servo systems.
 In the field of linear actuators, linear stages, rotation stages,
goniometers, and mirror mounts. Other uses are in packaging
machinery, and positioning of valve pilot stages for fluid control
systems.

 In floppy disk drives, flatbed scanners, computer printers, plotters and

many more devices.
 CHAPTER 6
BUZZER

Buzzer

Introduction:
A buzzer is a mechanical, electromechanical, magnetic, electromagnetic,
electro-acoustic or piezoelectric audio signaling device. A piezo electric
buzzer can be driven by an oscillating electronic circuit or other audio signal
source. A click, beep or ring can indicate that a button has been pressed.

At Future Electronics we stock many of the most common types categorized

by Type, Sound Level, Frequency, Rated Voltage, Dimension and Packaging
Type. The parametric filters on our website can help refine your search
results depending on the required specifications.

The most common sizes for Sound Level are 80 dB, 85 dB, 90 dB and 95 dB.
We also carry buzzers with Sound Level up to 105 dB. There are several
types available including Electro-Acoustic, Electromagnetic, Electromechanic,
Magnetic and Piezo, among others.

Applications for Buzzers

Typical uses of buzzers include:

 Alarm devices

 Timers

 Confirmation of user input (ex: mouse click or keystroke)

 Electronic metronomes

 Annunciator panels

 Game shows

 Sporting events

 Household appliances
 CHAPTER 7
POWER SUPPLY

REGULATED POWER SUPPLY:

A variable regulated power supply,also called a variable bench power

supply,is one which you can continuously adjust the output voltage to your
requirements. Varying the output of the power supply is recommended way to
test a project after having double checked parts placement against circuit
drawings and the parts placement

This type of regulation is ideal for having a simple variable bench power
supply. Actually this is quite important because one of the first projects
a hobbyist should undertake is the construction of a variable regulated
power supply. While a dedicated supply is quite handy e.g 5V or 12V, it’s much
handier to have a variable supply on hand, especially for testing.
 CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION:

Automatic railway gate control system is centered on the idea of reducing

human involvement for closing and opening the railway gate which allows
and prevents cars and humans from crossing railway tracks. The railway gate
is a cause of many deaths and accidents. Hence, automating the gate can
bring about a ring of surety to controlling the gates. Human may make errors
or mistakes so automating this process will reduce the chances of gate
failures. Automation of the closing and opening of the railway gate using the
switch circuit reduces the accidents to a greater extend. The obstacle
detection system implemented reduces the accidents which are usually
caused when the railway line passes through the forest. Most of the times
greater loss has been caused when animals cross the tracks. The limitation of
this project is the use of IR sensors. Hence, any obstacle in the way of the
sensor will be detected. Another important limitation is that this project does
indeed close and open the gate but it cannot control the crossing of cars and
vehicles. It only controls the gate. To combat this problem pressure sensor
can be used as extension to the present work. We are using IR sensors but it
is better to use load sensors. We have not used load sensors because it was
not economically feasible. As a future scope of work, our system can be
implemented in real time by fixing the current limitations using new
technologies.
 CHAPTER 9
BIBLIOGRAPHY

REFERENCES:

[1] Pradeep Raj, “Increasing accidents in the unmanned level crossing of the
railways”, 2012.

[2] Xishi Wang, Ning Bin, and Cheng Yinhang, “A new microprocessor based
approach to an automatic control system.”, International Symposium on
Industrial Electronics, pp. 842-843, 1992.

[3] Jeong Y., Choon-Sung Nam, Hee-Jin Jeong, and Dong Shin, “Train Auto
Control System based on OSGi”, International Conference on Advanced
Communication Technology, pp.276-279, 2008.
[4] Atul Kumar Dewangan, Meenu Gupta, and Pratibha Patel, “Automation of
Railway Gate Control Using Micro-controller, International Journal of
Engineering Research & Technology, pp.1-8, 2012.

[5] http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/l293d.pdf

[6] Gunyoung Kim, Kyungwoo Kang, “Railway Gate Con trol System at
Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing in Korea”.