This project developed and demonstrated a portable, hand-held device to probe railway wheels for cracks. The concept uses electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) technology and digital signal processing techniques. The EMAT sensor consists of two non-contacting electromagnetic coils: a transmitting coil to propogate an ultrasonic wave into the wheel, and a receiving coil to receive an ultrasonic echo signal from the wheel. These echo signals will be processed and interpreted to detect defects such as cracks, voids, and splits in the flange, plate, or tread of the wheel.
Potential advantages of this technology are that it can see beneath surface defects, rust, grease, and surface flaws. It will be designed to inspect both mounted and removed wheels. Current wheel crack detectors are too large for use in the field. The portability of this device would enable field use, e.g., for yard inspections. The software and display would be designed to characterize defects for easy decision making rather than just displaying a waveform, which is often difficult to interpret. The approach included the design and development of hardware and software, and the prototype was tested using wheels with known defects.
The final report for this IDEA project can be found at:
