Axle fatigue cracks present an increasing problem in the railroad industry. Service-induced flaws in axles and journals were the fifth leading cause of train accidents in North America between 1999 and 2001. Further, these flaws have been occurring at an increasing rate. Solutions to this problem are a high priority for the railroad industry. In order to decrease the threat of derailment associated with axle fatigue, a method must be designed to either eliminate stress risers, detect fatigue cracks before they reach a critical length, or both. The rail industry has been moving in the direction of using wayside inspection systems as a means of reducing maintenance costs associated with various types of defects and this effort focuses on using laser technology for such a detector. The development approach and testing of the cracked axle detection system included two stages. Stage 1 involved completing an extensive literature review to build on existing knowledge of laser ultrasonic principles and developing laboratory experiments using laser based ultrasonic inspection methods to reliably inspect the axle body for surface breaking fatigue cracks. Stage 2 involved the planning and conducting of a demonstration to prove that laser ultrasonic principles can be effectively applied to the inspection of an axle body in a dynamic environment. Stage 1 activities included several laboratory experiments using a high-energy pulsed laser to introduce ultrasonic wave modes into the axle body and an air-coupled transducer to monitor the ultrasonic waves. Experiments were conducted to determine the capability of each of the subcomponents and also determine component placement for the Stage 2 Proof of Concept (POC) demonstration.
Remotely Detecting Cracks in Moving Freight Railcar Axles. Final Report for Safety IDEA Project 08
2006
25 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Railroad Transportation , Optics & Lasers , Optical Detection , Crack detection , Railroad tracks , Lasers , Literature reviews , Laser ultrasonics , Investigations , Test axles , Data analysis , Investigator profiles , Implementation plans , Laser-based ultrasonic techniques , Cracked axle detection systems , Axle fatigue cracks , Wayside cracked axle detection systems , Safety IDEA project
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