DYNAMIC RAIL LONGITUDINAL STRESS MEASURING SYSTEM

摘要

A system and method for dynamically and non-destructively measuring the longitudinal stresses in a rail section (67) of a continuous rail track (7) includes an ultrasonic transmitter (3) which transmits a signature coded pulse (5) pattern through a rail section (67). The rail section (67) alters the pulse pattern (5) dependent upon the longitudinal stress within the rail. The altered pulse pattern is then received by a receiver (9) and passed to a processor (11), which, in conjunction with signals from a rail height detector (83), a rail temperature detector (91), and a rail splice detector (73), dynamically determines the longitudinal stresses in the rail section (67) as a function of the received pulse characteristics and calculates a stress free temperature (SFT) of the rail (7). A rail marker (97) marks sections (67) of the rail (7) having unacceptable SFT values. Stress and related rail data are recorded on a data log (95). A position sensor provides milepost positions to three decimal places.