228. NON-CONTACT ULTRASONIC RAIL DEFECT DETECTION SYSTEM PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT AND FIELD TESTING

Department: Structural Engineering
Faculty Advisor(s): Francesco Lanza di Scalea

Primary Student
Name: Robert Ronald Phillips
Email: rrphilli@ucsd.edu
Phone: 858-534-5279
Grad Year: 2011

Abstract
Recent train accidents, increasing tonnage and aging of the rail transportation infrastructure have reaffirmed the need to improve the current rail inspection technologies, which has consisted primarily of ultrasonic wheel testing. One of the recent developments in rail inspection is the use of ultrasonic guided waves in the 20 kHz-1 MHz range and non-contact probing techniques. This paper first reports theoretical studies of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in rails based on a Semi-Analytical Finite Element approach. The paper then describes the latest version of the University of California-San Diego/Federal Railroad Administration (UCSD/FRA) rail defect detection prototype which is based on non-contact guided wave testing and real-time statistical pattern recognition for defect detection and classification. The system specifically targets transverse head cracks such as Transverse Fissures and Detail Fractures. It is also expected to be sensitive to longitudinal head cracks such as Vertical Split Heads and mixed-mode cracks such as Compound Fractures. The system was field tested in March 2008 at speeds of up to 10 mph with excellent results under changing environmental conditions. Plans are in place for further improvements including higher test speeds up to 40 mph and installing the system in an FRA Research Car for technology demonstration

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