Automatic Railway Wheelset Inspection System by Using Ultrasonic Technique

As one of the most important transportation, the safety of railway is paid much attention to. The quality of wheel should be checked periodically, especially in high-speed application. Normally, Non Destructive Testing (NDT), such as ultrasonic inspection method, is applied on wheels to find the defect. A stationary automatic railway wheelset inspection system by using ultrasonic technique is described in this paper. The phased array ultrasonic technique and wheel defect inspection method is described in detail. Specially designed line is installed for wheelset transportation. Wheelset lifting and rotating device is used for wheelset loading, unloading and rotating. A steel frame with complicated mechanical structure and ultrasonic devices are designed for wheelset defect detecting. System ultrasonic performance, system working flow, system control networking, data processing and results displaying are also described in the paper. Now, the system is installed in Chinese EMU maintenance center for disassembled wheelset inspection and the safety of wheels is well protected.