Friday, April 18, 2014

Common Systems Used In Rail Track Inspection

By Essie Osborn


Catastrophic failures are a common problem in rail tracks that cause the occurrence of most railway accidents. With the increase in the number of railway accidents that occur yearly, researchers have developed various devices to be used when examining railways to check for flaws. Knowing some of the main rail track inspection systems is quite important.

Among the most common systems is the head checker that comes with certain mechanism that works to inspect rail edges for faults. The high-resolution digital line scan camera in the head checker enables it to check very small faults on the rails. These cameras work to capture and store information in certain database to ease the repair work.

Some people also use the joint checker to determine faults in rail fishplates and joints. Joint checkers are designed to operate at high speed to determine whether there are cracks or missing nuts or bolts on the fishplates. When creating these devices, manufactures install them with the ability to use a wheel encoder and digital line scan camera to detect errors on rails.

Railway inspectors also use digital crack recorders to examine rails for faults. The digital crack recorders are made to perfectly inspect the ballastless tracks and concrete sleepers for errors. When using these systems, you need to know that they work at high speeds to detect and check rails for cracks and other damages.

The railway check systems use an automatic inspection mechanism to check for any visible irregularities on the railway surface such as damaged concrete sleepers and missing fastening components. These systems come with laser distance sensors and scan cameras that work to examine the railway ballasts and sleepers. They usually work under high speeds to detect and form a track protocol concerning the obtained results.

Wire checkers are as well common systems used to determine the thickness of railway contact wires. Wire checkers come with infrared laser light illumination components and a couple of high-speed linear cameras that are used to scan wires to determine whether there are any faults. The design of these systems enables them to be used when taking both small and large measurements.

The use of the vegetation checker is also common when inspecting rails for damages. The vegetation checker is designed suitably to be used when measuring railway bed structures, track edges and areas. In most cases, this system is used to check railways for damages and record the results safely. This unit is created to operate speedily to create quick, accurate and safe results.

Another system available is the profile checker, which is created in such a way that people can use it to inspect the cross, and vertical sections of railways. Its design enables it to be utilized to measure the corrugation amplitude, gauge and profiles of the rails. Manufacturers fix this system with information checkers and data recorders to help enhance their performance. In some models of these systems, you would find high-tech mechanisms such as the distance sensors and scan cameras that improve their functionality.




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