Assessment of ultrasonic NDT methods for high speed rail inspection

This article reviews some new ultrasonic rail inspection methods emerging in recent years. It focuses on the state of the art for guided wave technologies and their potential use for used for rail inspection. It considers ultrasound transduction options including EMATs, air coupled, pulsed laser and wheel probe guided wave methods. It compares performances in terms of frequency ranges, energy delivered, ultrasonic wave modes excited, sensitivity, potential speeds of inspection, inspection regions, transducer angle and positioning. The advantages and disadvantages of each transduction modality for possible use in high speed railway are discussed. It is concluded that an EMAT and laser method, or their combination has the potential to provide a new tool for higher speed rail in-service inspection.