Defect Detection and Location in Switch Rails by Acoustic Emission and Lamb Wave Analysis: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

An acoustic emission (AE) based approach is proposed in this study to identify and locate newly initiated defects or the propagation of existing defects in railroad switch rails. Defect-induced AE signals are identified through frequency analysis, as frequencies of these signals are much higher than those induced by structural vibration. Continuous wavelet transform (CWT) is employed to analyze the Lamb wave dispersion of the detected signal, so that two characteristic points can be selected on the CWT contour map to locate the defect. Using this approach, defects in a damaged switch rail can be located using a single sensor.

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Acoustic Emissions; Acoustics; Defects; Structural Dynamics; Surface Waves; Ultrasonic Waves; Vibration Analysis; Wavelet Transforms; Characteristic Point; Continuous Wavelet Transform; Continuous Wavelet Transforms; Feasibility Studies; Frequency; Frequency Analysis; Rail Inspections; Structural Vibrations; Acoustic Emission Testing; Lamb Wave

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0003-682X

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Apr 2016

Link to Full Text

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