Conference proceeding
UCSD/FRA Non-contact Ultrasonic Guided-Wave System for Rail Inspection: An Update
SENSORS AND SMART STRUCTURES TECHNOLOGIES FOR CIVIL, MECHANICAL, AND AEROSPACE SYSTEMS 2011, v 7981(1), pp 798113-798118
01 Jan 2011
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The University of California at San Diego (UCSD), under a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D) grant, is developing a system for high-speed and non-contact rail defect detection. A prototype has been designed and field tested with the support of Volpe National Transportation Systems Center and ENSCO, Inc. The goal of this project is to develop a rail defect detection system that provides (a) better defect detection reliability (including internal transverse head defects under shelling and vertical split head defects), and (b) higher inspection speed than achievable by current rail inspection systems. This effort is also in direct response to Safety Recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the disastrous train derailments at Superior, WI in 1992 and Oneida, NY in 2007 among others. The UCSD prototype uses non-contact ultrasonic probing of the rail head (laser and air-coupled), ultrasonic guided waves, and a proprietary real-time statistical analysis algorithm that maximizes the sensitivity to defects while minimizing false positives. The current design allows potential inspection speeds up to 40 mph, although all field tests have been conducted up to 15 mph so far. This paper summarizes (a) the latest technology development test conducted at the rail defect farm of Herzog, Inc. in St Joseph, MO in June 2010, and (b) the completion of the new Rail Defect Farm facility at the UCSD Camp Elliott Field Station with partial in-kind donations from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- UCSD/FRA Non-contact Ultrasonic Guided-Wave System for Rail Inspection: An Update
- Creators
- Stefano Coccia - University of California, San DiegoRobert Phillips - University of California, San DiegoClaudio Nucera - University of California, San DiegoIvan Bartoli - Drexel UniversitySalvatore Salamone - University at Buffalo, State University of New YorkFrancesco Lanza di Scalea - University of California, San DiegoMahmood Fateh - Federal Railroad AdministrationGary Carr - Federal Railroad Administration
- Contributors
- M Tomizuka (Editor)C B Yun (Editor)Giurgiutiu (Editor)J P Lynch (Editor)
- Publication Details
- SENSORS AND SMART STRUCTURES TECHNOLOGIES FOR CIVIL, MECHANICAL, AND AEROSPACE SYSTEMS 2011, v 7981(1), pp 798113-798118
- Series
- Proceedings of SPIE
- Publisher
- Spie-Int Soc Optical Engineering
- Number of pages
- 8
- Grant note
- The National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) DTFR53-02-G-00011; FR-RRD-0001-10-01-00 / U.S. Federal Railroad Administration Mahmood Fateh from the FRA Office of Research and Development ENSCO, Inc
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering; Sport Management (Center for Sport Management)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000294447800033
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-79956315427
- Other Identifier
- 991019173525904721
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
- Engineering, Multidisciplinary
- Optics