00983179

Monograph

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...ail/hsr-39final_report.pdf

The inability to accurately and reliably determine the condition of a railway wheel leads to a number of negative consequences, ranging from time and effort wasted servicing wheels that do not need it (either because they were actually good, or because they are too flawed to return to service) to accidents caused by flawed wheels. Current ultrasonic inspection technologies have a number of key flaws mostly due to their need for a liquid or gel couplant and for fixed-location power sources. This Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) project developed a prototype for an electromagnetic acoustic transduction (EMAT) based Portable Wheel Flaw Detection Gauge. The resulting prototype demonstrated the ability to reliably, repeatably, and accurately determine the condition of a railway wheel's tread or flange with a portable, rugged device, with the potential to do the same to other wheel components. During this project the following were created: designs for signal pulsers, preamplifiers, power supplies, sensor heads, and many other necessary components, as well as incorporating multiple signal analysis algorithms, an expert system to identify types of flaws, and a graphic user interface.

This HSR-IDEA project was conducted by International Electronic Machines, Albany, NY. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

HSR-IDEA Project 39

English

31 p.

2004-11

High-Speed Rail IDEA Program Project Final Report

Figures; Photos; Tables (2)

Accuracy; Acoustic detectors; Algorithms; Electromagnetic devices; Expert systems; Flaw detection; Graphical user interfaces; Prototypes; Railroad cars; Technological innovations; Wheels

Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) (Program)

Repeatability

Bridges and other structures; Highways; Railroads; Vehicles and Equipment

TRIS, TRB

Dec 1 2004 12:00AM