Investigation of the behaviour of selected ultrasonic guided wave modes to inspect rails for long-range testing and monitoring

You are here: Homepage > Search

Investigation of the behaviour of selected ultrasonic guided wave modes to inspect rails for long-range testing and monitoring

Gharaibeh, Y. / Sanderson, R. / Mudge, P. / Ennaceur, C. / Balachandran, W.

Long-range ultrasonic testing uses guided waves in the kilohertz range to inspect many metres of an elongated component from a single point of access. This has considerable advantages for the rapid testing of long lengths for the detection of potentially harmful defects. This technique is well developed for structures that have a simple geometry, such as plates, rods, and pipes. The aim was to identify suitable ultrasonic-guided wave modes that can detect common types of defects in each part of a rail as the head, web and foot. The investigation was carried out using finite-element analysis and was validated experimentally. The findings demonstrated the ability to detect transverse defects as small as 2 mm and 5 mm in the head and foot, respectively. It is possible to generate specific wave modes in the head, web, and foot of the rail, which propagate in each part of the rail with little propagated energy into the other parts. The excitation parameters predicted by the model allowed the selected modes to be successfully generated in a rail specimen. The ability of the selected wave modes to detect transverse defects in each part of the rail agreed with the predicted sensitivity. The model maybe used as a means of further investigation of the ability of guided waves to detect defects in rails under more realistic conditions, such as in the presence of sleepers and securing clips. The availability of this model provides the basis for the design of a robust testing method for the detection of defects in rails.