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

Two ongoing safety problems in cast steel railroad wheels are the buildup of residual stress in the rim and the growth of cracks in the tread. Electromagnetic-acoustic transducer (EMAT) technology shows promise for the nondestructive evaluation of both. The acoustoelastic effect generates a small but measurable acoustic birefringence in the presence of stress fields, while Rayleigh waves are sensitive to surface disruptions from flaws. Experimental investigations of both problems indicate that these noncontact inspection methods lend themselves to automated use in a railyard.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Published in Proceedings of IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium, Denver, Colorado, 14-16 October 1987, Volume 2, pp 1079-1082, 1988.
• Corporate Authors:

  National Institute of Standards and Technology

  Fracture and Deformation Division
  Boulder, CO  United States  80302
• Authors:
  • Clark, A V
  • Schramm, R E
  • Fukuoka, H
  • Mitrakovic, D V
• Publication Date: 1988

Media Info

• Pagination: 4 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cast steel; Defects; Railroad cars; Residual stress; Ultrasonic tests; Wheels
• Subject Areas: Highways; Railroads; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00477706
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 31 1988 12:00AM