The purpose of this project was to conduct field testing to investigate the feasibility of detecting defective rail vehicle bearings using rail-mounted accelerometers.  The objective of this project was to test the technology under normal operating conditions to determine if the bearing signal detected by the accelerometers on the rail has sufficient signal to noise ratio to allow for detection of bearing defects. 

The project investigators worked with Norfolk Southern Corporation to conduct the field test on a continuously-welded-rail (CWR) railroad track that allowed the test vehicle to travel up to 50 mph.  This project includee the test planning, test design, equipment preparation, field testing, data collection, data analysis, and documentation.