Application of the digital image correlation method for diagnosing the condition of railway parts

Abstract

One of the main factors contributing to accidents in railway transport are fatigue fractures of rails, wheel axles and other critical parts of the rolling stock. Despite the widespread use of various physical control methods (eddy current, ultrasonic, magnetic), the causes of accidents are, as a rule, missing defects in the structural elements of the car bogie. The paper considers the application of the digital image correlation method to measure the spatial distribution of deformations. The results of laboratory tests of railway parts using this method are presented. The possibility of visualizing fatigue cracks in the test specimens is demonstrated. The results can be in demand both by scientific research organizations of the railway industry when solving expert problems, and by production and repair enterprises when carrying out regular diagnostic procedures.