This project examined a method for remotely detecting cracks in moving freight car axles. The objective of this project was to determine if Laser Air-coupled Hybrid Ultrasonic Technique (LAHUT) inspection methodologies developed for detecting flaws and defects in rail and railroad car wheels could be applied to wayside detection of cracks in freight railroad car axles.
This project included adapting LAHUT inspection methodologies for remotely detecting cracks in axles of test railcar wheelsets. The project included developing procedures required to apply the LAHUT methods to detect axle cracks, followed by designing and conducting a proof-of-concept (POC) demonstration. Potential benefits include improved safety of railroad operations by removing cracked railcar axles from service prior to failure.
The results of the POC demonstration performed by TTCI support the feasibility of using laser-based ultrasonic inspection to detect flaws in the axle body, both statically and dynamically. These results indicate that this inspection technique could form the basis of a wayside system to detect cracks in the axle.
The revised Final Report for this project, addressing comments from committee members’ reviews, was submitted in August 2006. This project is completed.
