Smart Rail Wheel Inspection by Innovative Matrix UT Technology
Tracks
Transportation
| Tuesday, October 22, 2024 |
| 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM |
| 213/214 - Campfire & Deep Dive |
Details
Rail wheels are one of the most safety critical components for safe train travels. Any failure can lead to catastrophic events. For this reason, international railway standards require non-destructive inspection by means of ultrasound testing (UT) on a regular basis. Increasing loads, train speeds, traffic density, sustainability needs and safety standards require even increased testing necessities. Furthermore, the inspection of train wheels is complex due to the large variety of wheel geometries, deviations in the materials and heavy influence of the way a rail wheel has been used, such as variation in mileage. Moreover, extended inspection areas up to a full body inspection define many different defect positions, which are to some part difficult to access. This article describes industrial solutions, which allow the full-body inspection of train wheels including face, flange, web and tread for volumetric defects (from 2 mm diameter) and surface cracks (from 5 mm length and 1 mm depth). In the latest upgrade, these systems can be now equipped with matrix probes. At the beginning of the article basic principles and general probe configurations will be discussed. The main part of this article is then dedicated to highlight the positive impact of the implementation of matrix probes. Besides a reduction of the form factor due to the decreased number of probes, matrix probes allow a direct coupling check thus fundamentally amending the existing state-of-the-art. Other advantages refer to improved settings for a higher reliability of the system. Finally, it is outlined in which way matrix probes provide additional functionalities to extend the current state-of-the-art towards a smart inspection. Last, but not least, this technology has the potential of making the evaluation and decision making for the operator easier and faster.
Speaker
Frank Kahmann
Senior Product Manager
Waygate Technologies
Smart Rail Wheel Inspection by Innovative Matrix UT Technology
Presentation Description
Rail wheels are one of the most safety critical components for safe train travels. Any failure can lead to catastrophic events. For this reason, international railway standards require non-destructive inspection by means of ultrasound testing (UT) on a regular basis. Increasing loads, train speeds, traffic density, sustainability needs and safety standards require even increased testing necessities. Furthermore, the inspection of train wheels is complex due to the large variety of wheel geometries, deviations in the materials and heavy influence of the way a rail wheel has been used, such as variation in mileage. Moreover, extended inspection areas up to a full body inspection define many different defect positions, which are to some part difficult to access. This article describes industrial solutions, which allow the full-body inspection of train wheels including face, flange, web and tread for volumetric defects (from 2 mm diameter) and surface cracks (from 5 mm length and 1 mm depth). In the latest upgrade, these systems can be now equipped with matrix probes. At the beginning of the article basic principles and general probe configurations will be discussed. The main part of this article is then dedicated to highlight the positive impact of the implementation of matrix probes. Besides a reduction of the form factor due to the decreased number of probes, matrix probes allow a direct coupling check thus fundamentally amending the existing state-of-the-art. Other advantages refer to improved settings for a higher reliability of the system. Finally, it is outlined in which way matrix probes provide additional functionalities to extend the current state-of-the-art towards a smart inspection. Last, but not least, this technology has the potential of making the evaluation and decision making for the operator easier and faster.
Biography
Frank Kahmann is a physicist, with broad experience. In over 30 years in industry he held various management positions in technology focused companies from start-up support, mid-sized to large company.
