Abstract
Infrared (IR) thermography technology is one of the leading non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques based on infrared detection. Infrared thermography, in particular, has the advantage of not only being used in non-contact mode but also provides full images, real-time inspection, and relatively fast results. These advantages make it possible to perform thermal imaging analysis of railway materials and/or components, such as brake disc simulation, monitoring of abnormal heat generation, and monitoring of temperature changes, during mechanical tests. This study introduces the current state of research on railway materials and/or components using IR thermography technology. An attempt was made to characterize the deterioration of electrical equipment of diesel electric locomotives using infrared thermal imaging techniques. In addition, surface temperature monitoring was performed during tensile testing of railway steels using a high-speed infrared camera. Damage evolution due to the hot spot generation of railway brake discs was successfully monitored using high-speed IR cameras. In this paper, IR thermal imaging technology, used as a non-destructive evaluation analysis in the railway field, was introduced, and the results of recent research are presented.
Highlights
With the increasing speed of railway vehicles, securing the driving safety of railway vehicles is becoming more important
Various types of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technologies are used during the regular maintenance of railway vehicles including ultrasonic testing (UT), magnetic particle testing (MT), radiography (RT), and infrared (IR) thermography [1,2,3,4,5]
Rectangular samples were prepared for the tensile test, and, because the material was polymer matrix composites (PMCs), steel tabs were attached in accordance with ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials) guidelines to avoid premature rupture of the grip portion that may occur when loading the specimen into the material testing machine [7]
Summary
With the increasing speed of railway vehicles (to date, the maximum speed of commercial railway vehicles reaches up to 350 km/h), securing the driving safety of railway vehicles is becoming more important. Infrared thermography technology is an advantage, providing fast full field and real-time inspection as well as contactless mode These advantages enable thermal imaging analysis of various railway components such as temperature monitoring of railway brake disc surfaces, abnormal heating observations, and mechanical test monitoring, etc. The main objectives of this study on the NDE of railway materials and components using IR thermography technology were to (1) introduce the current state of railway field applications using infrared thermography technology, (2) explore the failure mode and fracture mechanism of railway steel materials with the help of IR thermography technology, (3) monitor the temperature changes during brake operation of railway brake discs, (4) perform thermal imaging inspections on electrical devices of diesel electric locomotives, (5) conduct thermographic detection on railway bogies using infrared thermography technology, and (6) develop non-destructive evaluation tools for detecting defects in railway vehicle components
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