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Since 1999 there has been a continuous development of non-destructive head check inspection. Especially in case of modern rail inspection systems, high demands on a fast, detailed detection and classification of defects called for improved testing methods. Due to the large amount of different rail types and profiles, the adaptation and optimization of algorithms is still in progress. Additional data analysis is under devel-opment for combined eddy current and ultrasonic inspection methods. This presentation gives an over-view of further enhancement and linking of testing systems as well as data processing. Main foci of the development are an improved sensitivity and an increased reliability of the testing results. Also, additional information can be obtained like determination of local hardness and roughness of the rail as well as an enhanced resolution for locating of defects which will be part of the presented work.
For more than 60 years ultrasonic rail inspection is used as non-destructive testing method to ensure the safe operation of rail tracks. Constantly increasing traffic density and heavy loads have been the motor for the development of new test equipment from handheld devices to rail inspection trains. (Krull 2003)Up to the present most of the system solutions feature conventional ultrasonic transducers housed in wheel-type and slide-type probes. Different tasks have to be carried out during an in-service inspection for flaws in the rail head, rail web and rail foot as well as rolling contact fatigue (Heckel 2018). The more tasks the inspection system has to perform, the more probes are needed. Compared against standard ultrasonic testing methods the application of array probes offers advantages and flexibility by the electronic steering possibilities to control the transmitted and received sound fields. This allows to increase functionality by software while decreasing the number of probes needed in hardware in parallel. One drawback in application of phased array probes is that the repetition frequency of the subsequent measurements will be reduced by the number of virtual probe functions each phased array probe has to perform. This may limit the range of use for phased array probes in high speed applications. To overcome these limits special designs for array probes and signal processing are necessary.
Rail inspection performed by ultrasonic rail inspection trains is a complex and challenging process. A large number of variables and parameters given by the environment, the track and the testing-system have an influence on the overall performance of the inspection and the inspection result. Typically the parameter vary in a combination depending on the track condition.
To evaluate the individual influence of each relevant variable, simulation tools can be used. Therefore the entire inspection process has to be transferred into a model using combined modelling techniques.
The goal of this work is to model an instrumented ultrasonic test run with a rail inspection train with the parameters varied by a script over a virtually driven distance.
Non-destructive testing for surface crack detection and head check depth quantification at the gauge cor-ner of railway tracks can be achieved using eddy current methods. With the extension of the tested zone to the running surface, rail defect signal types other than head checks can be measured. Due to their most-ly irregular shape, a quantitation based on a calibration against regular test cracks of varying depth may not be linear. Estimates of the expected influence of more complex crack patterns may be obtained by a finite element simulation of sufficiently simple limiting cases, like two displaced or intersecting cracks or a simply branched or flexed crack. As a first step, a 3D finite element model of the HC10 eddy current probe distributed by Prüftechnik Linke und Rühe (PLR), Germany was built and verified against meas-ured results from an (easily fabricated) reference block with isolated long cracks.
Non-destructive testing for surface crack detection and head check depth quantification at the gauge corner of railway tracks can be achieved using eddy current methods. With the extension of the tested zone to the running surface, rail defect signal types other than head checks can be measured. Due to their mostly irregular shape, a quantitation based on a calibration against regular test cracks of varying depth may not be linear. Estimates of the expected influence of more complex crack patterns may be obtained by a finite element simulation of sufficiently simple limiting cases, like two displaced or intersecting cracks or a simply branched or flexed crack. As a first step, a 3D finite element model of the HC10 eddy current probe distributed by Prüftechnik Linke und Rühe (PLR), Germany was built and verified against measured results from an (easily fabricated) reference block with isolated long cracks.