ULTRASONIC CHARACTERIZATION OF RESIDUAL STRESS AND TEXTURE IN CAST STEEL RAILROAD WHEELS

An ultrasonic technique has been used to characterize the state of residual stress and texture in the rims of cast steel railroad wheels. Orthogonally polarized shear-horizontal (SH) waves are propagated through the thickness of the rim in pulse-echo mode. The (normalized) difference of arrival times of these waves (acoustic birefringence) depends upon both texture and stress. The birefringence, B was measured with two transducers: an electromagnetic-acoustic transducer (EMAT) and a piezoelectric transducer made of PZT. Two wheels were tested. The wheel had a sawcut, which locally relieved the residual (hoop) stress. Measurement of the birefringence at the sawcut allowed us to estimate the contribution of texture, which the authors subtracted from values of B at stressed locations. Values of hoop stress obtained with the EMAT and PZT transduce agreed to within 10 MPa, for transducers placed on the center of the back face of the rim.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Pub. in Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, Chapter 6B, v2 p1567-1575 1987.
• Corporate Authors:

  National Institute of Standards and Technology

  National Engineering Lab, Fracture and Deformation Division
  Boulder, CO  United States  80302
• Authors:
  • Clark, A V
  • Fukuoka, H
  • Mitrakovic, D V
  • Moulder, J C
• Publication Date: 1987

Media Info

• Pagination: 9 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Railroad cars; Residual stress; Texture; Ultrasonic tests; Wheel rims; Wheels
• Old TRIS Terms: Rims
• Subject Areas: Highways; Railroads; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00476628
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 31 1988 12:00AM