Rail and Automotive

The integrity of rail and automotive assets is at the heart of safe and economical transport systems. With over 1.6 million freight cars in service throughout North America alone, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and individual railroad mechanical departments regulate routine assessments of railcars to detect mechanical and structural damage or defects. Every time a rail or tank car leaves an industrial facility, terminal or yard, FRA regulations require that the car be inspected. Similar regulations apply in Europe, Asia and around the globe.

The inspection of rail infrastructure includes:

• Axles – surface breaking defects, particularly on solid axles or in difficult-to-access regions like under earth-return brushes.
• Wheels – transverse cracking on wheel rims and flanges.
• Bogies – inspection without removing paint, and on internal weld through access holes.
• Rails – head checking where inclined cracks are clustered together as a result of Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF).
• All applications can take advantage of automated interpretation for both detection and depth sizing, and storage of all data for offline review and auditing.