Wireless Remote Structural Integrity Monitoring for Railway Bridges

The technical objective of this Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) project was to develop a wireless acoustic emission system to monitor fatigue crack growth rates in steel bridges and to compare its performance with the hardwired technology currently used. The wireless prototype system performance compared favorably with the wired system during field tests on a CN steel railway bridge. A cost comparison that included estimated costs for hardware, installation, and interpretation/reporting by an NDT engineer revealed that the wireless system costs were about one-tenth of those for a comparable wired system. Acoustic Emission testing is a mature nondestructive testing (NDT) technology commonly used to detect fatigue cracks in pressure vessels, atmospheric storage tanks, and steel bridges. During an acoustic emission test, the tested structure must be stressed to stimulate fatigue crack growth. If a fatigue crack grows under stress, it will emit a sound wave, also known as an acoustic emission, that travels through the structure. Acoustic emission sensors and instrumentation are designed to detect sound waves emitted from active fatigue cracks while filtering out environmental noise. The rate and intensity of acoustic emission from fatigue cracks is used to characterize crack growth rate. The information may then be used by the bridge engineer to assess the requirement for maintenance action.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/archive/studies/idea/finalreports/highspeedrail/hsr-54final_report.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This HSR-IDEA project was conducted by WavesinSolids LLC, State College, Pennsylvania. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Hay, Thomas R
• Publication Date: 2007-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Glossary; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: 27p
• Serial:
  • High-Speed Rail IDEA Program Project Final Report
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acoustic emission tests; Costs; Cracking; Fatigue (Mechanics); Field tests; Monitoring; Nondestructive tests; Prototypes; Railroad bridges; Remote sensing; Steel bridges; Technological innovations; Wireless communication systems
• Identifier Terms: Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) (Program)
• Uncontrolled Terms: Structural integrity
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Finance; Highways; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01100798
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: HSR-IDEA Project 54
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 13 2008 9:07AM