Executive Summary : | A profound onboard system is developed for structural health monitoring (SHM) of the rail track and damage detection. The system uses Guided waves (GW) which are transmitted in to the rail material. PZT (Pb-lead Zirconate Titanate) patches are used here which act as actuator/sensors fixed on a continuous welded rail track and a standard track respectively. The test has to be performed in the laboratory and the data are obtained around a welded zone or to detect cracks and defects. The behavior of lamb waves would be characterized by comparing the response from the experiment and FEM model. An in-situ test shall be conducted and demonstrates the practicality and effectiveness of Guided Wave based SHM for rail tracks without the interruption of operation. The strategic technique that was established based on the findings for efficient damage and fault detection would be turned into a portable gadget. Guided Wave as SHM Technique Guided waves have good permeability and better sensitivity to small damage is preferred for SHM. In this project response for experimental on continuous welded track with induced crack is studied along with a FEM model of a standard rail to validate the result. The data acquired from the experimental setup are processed and are compared with the FEM analysis. A damage detection methodology will be formulated based on the results after validation will be proposed for the Indian Metro track. Objective Produce a crack detection onboard SHM device for Indian Metro Railway track 1) Characterization of various type of flaws/defect for detection for example surface, subsurface crack, RCF, void, cracks etc. on a defective rail. 2) Realization of the Onboard experimental setup for the SHM of the Railway track. 3) Successful acquiring of data from the experimental setup with a defective rail or induced defect on the rail. 4) Development of the FEM model for simulating the physical environment for guided waves based flaw detection system. 5) Pioneering the validation for flaw detection 6) Formulation of a strategic methodology for the severity of the detected flaw/defect. 7) Optimization of the results for the practical environment for the real time detection for onboard defect detection. 8) Development of the portable detection device mountable on the metro tracks. This project is a pioneer with explicit deliverables which could increase the safety of the trains from fatal accidents which occurs due to the breakages of the railway track. |