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Integration of an Ultrasonic Sensor within a Robotic End Effector for Application within Railway Track Flaw Detection
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Jennifer Thompson
Applied Sciences, Volume: 14, Issue: 3, Start page: 1164
Swansea University Authors: LUKE CILIA, Christian Griffiths, Jennifer Thompson
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© 2024 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/app14031164
Abstract
The rail industry is constantly facing challenges related to safety with regard to the detection of surface cracks and internal defects within rail tracks. Significant focus has been placed on developing sensor technologies that would facilitate the detection of flaws that compromise rail safety. In...
| Published in: | Applied Sciences |
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| ISSN: | 2076-3417 |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65593 |
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| Abstract: |
The rail industry is constantly facing challenges related to safety with regard to the detection of surface cracks and internal defects within rail tracks. Significant focus has been placed on developing sensor technologies that would facilitate the detection of flaws that compromise rail safety. In parallel, robot automation has demonstrated significant advancements in the integration of sensor technologies within end effectors. This study investigates the novel integration of an ultrasonic sensor within a robotic platform specifically for the application of detecting surface cracks and internal defects within rail tracks. The performance of the robotic sensor system was assessed on a rail track specimen containing sacrificial surface cracks and internal defects and then compared against a manual detection system. The investigation concludes that the robotic sensor system successfully identified internal defects in the web region of the rail track when utilising a 60° and 70° wedged probe, with a frequency range between 4 MHz and 5 MHz. However, the surface crack investigation proved that the transducer was insensitive to the detection of cracks, possibly due to the inadequate angle of the wedged probe. The overall outcome of the study highlights the potential that robotic sensor systems have in the detection of internal defects and characterises the limitations of surface crack identification to assist in enhancing rail safety. |
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| Keywords: |
Flaw detection; rail inspection; robotic system; ultrasonic testing |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
This research received no funding. |
| Issue: |
3 |
| Start Page: |
1164 |