Due to the long history of railroad companies around the world, varying means of examination according to the specifications for the different railroad components have been carried out based on the general industrial progress of the country. For more than 50 years the application of customized ultrasonic techniques for the examination of railroad components has increased, in comparison to conventional ultrasonic techniques used until to the end of 20th century. In this traditional atmosphere some accidents have disturbed the silent harmony of companies involved in the production of critical parts. More than ever high speed modern trains require modern and advanced examination techniques. For practical application new ultrasonic techniques have been developed and optimized in co-operation with the German Railroad Company. In the present contribution the inspection of railroad axles will be described. The ultrasonic technique used for the examination is the phased array technique. The optimization of the phased array probes for the different geometries of the axles given was completed using a computer model for directivity calculations. In relation to the limited accessibility between wheel and brake angles of incidence for shear waves in the range between 28° and 72° are necessary.
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