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Nondestructive testing is
common in the railroad industry

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for a variety of applications

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including the inspection of rail.

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Modern rails are typically made

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of very high-quality steel alloy

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that is hot rolled into a shape

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similar to structural I-beams.

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Once the rail is formed,

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the sections are joined
together by either

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welded or bolted connections
to form a track.

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Over time, rails can
develop discontinuities

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originating from overlooked
manufacturing defects

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or from in-service use.

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Ultrasonic testing is used to detect

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discontinuities in rail sections

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as well as motive power
and car equipment.

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There are several methods
used to conduct

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rail inspections,
the most common being

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the “walking stick”
and inspection car method.

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The “walking stick” is a
mobile testing device

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that is pushed by an
operator while test data

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is visually interpreted on a monitor.

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The inspection car is self-propelled

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and operates at high-speed
along a designated route.

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It utilizes many technologies
including ultrasonic testing

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to detect possible flaws

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or discontinuities in the rail.

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Once the data are
collected and analyzed,

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a verification operator following
behind the car

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will confirm any possible
flaw indications

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using a hand-held flaw detector.

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Discontinuities typically occur

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in the head and web of the rail

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and less commonly in the base.

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The geometry of the head
and web

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significantly impact the echo pattern

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seen by a straight beam transducer

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located on the rail head.

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For this example, we will use

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a 5MHz straight beam
contact transducer

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such as the A109S-RM

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connected to an EPOCH 650
flaw detector

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for the inspection.

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Since most rail is made of steel,

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we can input an approximate
material velocity

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of 0.2320 inches per
microsecond

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and adjust other parameters
as necessary.

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To detect discontinuities

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first place the transducer

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on a presumed good location and

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adjust the gain so that we can

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clearly see the backwall.

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Then we scan along the part

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to look for defects,

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On our live A-scan display

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defects are represented
by echoes that occur

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prior to the backwall echo.

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Please note, angle beam transducers

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may be required to
detect discontinuities

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at an incline.

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These are just a few
of the railroad industry applications

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where Olympus products can help

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enhance your inspection process.