Safe operation and economic efficiency of rail transport are the basic requirements for maintenance strategies of any railway company. To meet the steadily growing requirements hereby and for further developments and optimisation, it is necessary to systematically collect reliable data on the current state of the railways. Such information is usually obtained by regular non-destructive examination. Actions needed to maintain the system in good condition cover the complete range from precautionary measures up to full re-railing. Over the last few decades, rail transport has developed rapidly. Currently, it is very important to move passengers and goods to their destinations as quickly as possible. These changes have increased the stress on transport routes and, as a consequence, the predominant types of rail damage are more often traffic-induced. Test methods used today must match these changes. Therefore, it is essential that non-destructive test methods are developed further and, where they have reached their limits, new test strategies should be sought. The findings indicate that rolling contact fatigue with consecutive head checks develops preferentially in rail sections that have experienced operational work-hardening. Such hardening can be identified by instruments measuring the increased hardness values with respect to the base material. Eddy current testing was initially introduced with the aim to detect head checks and determine their damage depth. Because the material texture influences eddy current flow in the test objects very strongly, variations in hardness can easily be visualised using this method. Thus, in principle, it is possible to predict places where head checks will emerge later. This knowledge may be very helpful in improving our understanding of head check emergence under real conditions. This knowledge may also help in developing new and effective precautionary maintenance strategies.
Eddy current test method for early detection of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) in rails
Wirbelstrommprüfverfahren zum frühen Nachweis der Wälzermüdung in Schienen
Insight ; 52 , 7 ; 361-365
2010
5 Seiten, 15 Bilder, 5 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
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