ULTRASONIC RAIL TESTING AT THE ROLLING MILL

Studies have shown that fatigue defects which appear in rails in the track can always be traced back to segregations in the metal, inclusions or microcracks. Metallographic tests which show up these defects are lengthy, costly and must inevitably be restricted in scope because they involve destruction of the specimen tested. Consequently, it was necessary to find a non-destructive method of detecting these defects by sounding the whole length of the rail head. The ultrasonic method using echoes was chosen by SNCF and ORE. The Ralus equipment was designed to detect heteorogeneities which are particularly harmful to the performance of the rail in the track: non-metallic inclusions and flakes located in the critical zone of the rail-head where most fatigue defects originate. Studies have shown that the Ralus testing method does give a reasonable indication as to the quality of the rails.

• Corporate Authors:

  Temple Press Limited

  161-166 Fleet Street
  Longon EC4,   England 
• Publication Date: 1968-10-4

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 752
• Serial:
  • RAILWAY GAZETTE
  • Volume: 124

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Defects; Failure; Fatigue (Mechanics); Fatigue (Physiological condition); Inspection; Nondestructive tests; Railroad rails; Ultrasonic tests
• Old TRIS Terms: Rail failure
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00037457
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 24 1976 12:00AM