Laser-air, hybrid, ultrasonic testing of railroad wheels
US6862936B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 8, 2003 |
| Grant date | Mar 8, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 8, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2291/2696
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A remote, non-contact system for detecting a defect in a railroad wheel as the wheel is stationary or moving along a railroad track includes; (1) a pulsed, laser light source for generating an ultrasonic wave in the wheel, the ultrasonic wave having a direct portion and reflected and transmitted portions if the direct portion encounters a defect in the wheel, (2) an optical component in the path of the light from the light source for forming the light into a specified illumination pattern so that the generated ultrasonic wave has a specified wavefront, (3) an air-coupled transducer or a group of transducers for sensing the acoustic signal emanating from the wheel that results from the ultrasonic wave traveling through the wheel, and (4) a signal processor, responsive to the sensed acoustic signal, capable of distinguishing whether the sensed signal has a component that indicates the existence of a reflected portion in the ultrasonic wave, wherein the presence of such a component in the acoustic signal indicates the existence of a defect in the railroad wheel.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.