Development of a Non-contact Remote Ultrasonic System for the Non-destructive Inspection of Railroad Tracks

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PI: Francesco Lanza di Scalea, University of California, San DiegoNSF Proposal # 0084249"Development of a Non-contact Remote Ultrasonic System for the Non-destructive Inspection of Railroad Tracks"Project AbstractThis proposal is aimed at the development of a new-generation ultrasonic system for the nondestructive evaluation of railroad tracks in-service. The proposed approach makes use of new developments in the areas of non-contact and remote ultrasonic testing, namely laser ultrasonics and gas(air)-coupled ultrasonics, to provide a more powerful and efficient tool for rail inspection than currently available methods. The three-year project will be performed in three-phases that include the following activities: 1) development of the inspection approach, 2) assessment of the inspection system capability for defect detection and 3) determination of the system potential for field inspection. The development of a non-contact and remote sensoring system is expected to dramatically increase the effectiveness of ultrasonic testing for rail inspection. The implementation of fiberoptic technology will enhance the flexibility in positioning the ultrasonic probes. In turn, this will allow for the inspection of virtually any locations of the test rail. The unique features of laser ultrasound generation, in terms of simultaneous production of different wave modes and excitation of a broad frequency content, will allow to target a variety of defect types, sizes and positions. Besides contributing to ensuring the safety and structural soundness of the Nation's existing railroads, the research will have a broader impact. It will provide fundamental advances toward a better understanding and use of non-contact ultrasonic technologies for a number of advanced inspection applications. A few examples of these applications include any type of process control of materials during manufacturing, inspection of components at extreme temperatures and inspection in vacuum environments such as in space.