Trains are one of the important means of passenger and cargo transport. Railways are used heavily and since most of them were built a long time ago, they needed to be inspected regularly to enhance safety. Rail track inspection involves examining rail tracks for defects that could lead to serious accidents. Railroad defects can be caused by many effects including residual stresses, dynamic effects, rail or wheel contact stresses, shear stresses and thermal stresses.
Tongue lipping, gauge corner cracking and squats are the defects that result from contact stresses or contact failure. Corrosion, seams, transverse fissures, inclusions and wheal burn are other kinds of surface and internal defects. The presence of water and other liquids on railway tracks may result into crack propagation.
Defects can be found on various parts of a railroad including the web, head, switchblades, foot, bolt holes and welds. Most flaws occur in the head but the entire rail has to be inspected. Many different methods are used to detect defects in rails. The most popular method is ultrasound. The other methods used are radiography, magnetic flux leakage, magnetic particle inspection, electromagnetic acoustic transducer and eddy current inspection.
Engineers use inspection techniques in different ways. They may use probes and transducers in a handheld setup or a hand pushed trolley. They use probes and transducers when inspecting a precise location or a small section of the rail. They often use these devices to follow up on areas that rail inspection cars have been used to inspect.
Handheld devices are useful for inspecting railway tracks that are used heavily since it is relatively easy to remove them. Nonetheless, using these devices is considered to be tedious and slow when thousands of miles of track need to be inspected. Rail inspection cars are more convenient to use when thousands of miles of railroad have to be inspected.
Railroad inspection cars use several non destructive testing techniques. Induction and ultrasound testing methods can be used in cars, which operate at speeds exceeding 30 miles per hour. These vehicles are equipped with high speed computers, which utilize advanced programs to recognize patterns. They also have storage space, tool cabinets, and workbenches.
Engineers also use specialized laser scanners to inspect railroad. In most cases, they use these devices to measure the rail gauge. Once they identify potential problems, they hire work crews to fix the problems. Notification is given to all trains that are using the railway that it is being rectified. Speed limits and special warnings are also given to train crews.
In most cases, trains that are scheduled to use a particular stretch of railroad are requested to use alternate routes. If the repairs that need to be performed are extensive such as tie replacement, crossing repairs or switch repairs, train traffic can be halted until the repairs are complete. If a derailment has taken place, the recent track inspections are examined to determine if a pre existing defect may have contributed to the accident. In some cases, repeated problems may occur on a certain stretch of rail track. In such a case, special inspections are carried out to examine the problem and seek to resolve it.
Tongue lipping, gauge corner cracking and squats are the defects that result from contact stresses or contact failure. Corrosion, seams, transverse fissures, inclusions and wheal burn are other kinds of surface and internal defects. The presence of water and other liquids on railway tracks may result into crack propagation.
Defects can be found on various parts of a railroad including the web, head, switchblades, foot, bolt holes and welds. Most flaws occur in the head but the entire rail has to be inspected. Many different methods are used to detect defects in rails. The most popular method is ultrasound. The other methods used are radiography, magnetic flux leakage, magnetic particle inspection, electromagnetic acoustic transducer and eddy current inspection.
Engineers use inspection techniques in different ways. They may use probes and transducers in a handheld setup or a hand pushed trolley. They use probes and transducers when inspecting a precise location or a small section of the rail. They often use these devices to follow up on areas that rail inspection cars have been used to inspect.
Handheld devices are useful for inspecting railway tracks that are used heavily since it is relatively easy to remove them. Nonetheless, using these devices is considered to be tedious and slow when thousands of miles of track need to be inspected. Rail inspection cars are more convenient to use when thousands of miles of railroad have to be inspected.
Railroad inspection cars use several non destructive testing techniques. Induction and ultrasound testing methods can be used in cars, which operate at speeds exceeding 30 miles per hour. These vehicles are equipped with high speed computers, which utilize advanced programs to recognize patterns. They also have storage space, tool cabinets, and workbenches.
Engineers also use specialized laser scanners to inspect railroad. In most cases, they use these devices to measure the rail gauge. Once they identify potential problems, they hire work crews to fix the problems. Notification is given to all trains that are using the railway that it is being rectified. Speed limits and special warnings are also given to train crews.
In most cases, trains that are scheduled to use a particular stretch of railroad are requested to use alternate routes. If the repairs that need to be performed are extensive such as tie replacement, crossing repairs or switch repairs, train traffic can be halted until the repairs are complete. If a derailment has taken place, the recent track inspections are examined to determine if a pre existing defect may have contributed to the accident. In some cases, repeated problems may occur on a certain stretch of rail track. In such a case, special inspections are carried out to examine the problem and seek to resolve it.
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