RAIL INSPECTION

The Eddy Current Solution

A document outlining the emergence of the eddy current NDT inspection

method as an important part of rail maintenance and safety.

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1. The Inspection Problem

The early detection of conditions in rail that may lead to a break is now a critical
activity in the maintenance of rail worldwide. Understanding of these mechanisms is
constantly improving and the evolution of a range of complementary NDT
techniques now means that the engineer has a better choice than ever of tools for the
task.

In addition to the maintenance of the rail, there is a growing requirement for

inspection techniques on the rolling stock itself. The rapid inspection of axels, wheels
and bogies is essential for the safe operation of the rail network.

This document aims to give you a brief overview of the different NDT inspection
methods currently used on railways around the world. Eddy Current NDT will be
introduced as a new method of complementing these inspections along with why
and where this inspection method is needed to ensure rail integrity.

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2. NDT Inspection Solutions

NDT Inspections have been used for a number of years to check our railway tracks
for a range of faults. There are a variety of methods available for use, the most
common of which are mentioned below.

2.1 Visual Inspection

This form of inspection is widely used, but produces the poorest results of all the
methods. It is now becoming widely accepted that even surface cracking often cannot
be seen by the naked eye.

2.2 Ultrasonic Inspection

Ultrasonic Inspections are common place in the rail industry. It’s a relatively well
understood technique and was thought to be the best solution to crack detection.

However, Ultrasonics can only inspect the core of materials; that is, the method
cannot check for surface and near-surface cracking where many of the faults are
located. This is where eddy currents come in.

2.3 Eddy Current Inspection

Eddy Currents are most effectively used to check for cracking located at the surface
of metals such as rails. Figure 1 shows the different inspection areas covered by eddy
currents and ultrasonic.

It is important to emphasise at this stage that ultrasonics and eddy currents are
complementary inspection methods and should not be used exclusively of one
another.

Eddy Current Ultrasonic

(ET) (UT)

Probe

No Couplant
needed Couplant

EC Inspection Area

UT Inspection Area
Metal

Fig. 1 – The different inspection areas covered by ET & UT

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Table 1 – Comparison between Eddy Current and Ultrasonic Inspection

Eddy Current Ultrasonic

Good at detecting surface defects
Near sub-surface defects reasonable to
detect
Deep sub-surface defect detection is
impossible
Probes are less sensitive to flaw
orientation
No couplant needed, stable results
Probe can be made wide and profiled to
cover wear face
Faster inspection speeds
Poor at detecting surface defects
Near sub-surface defects difficult to
detect
Good sub-surface defect detection
Signal is strongly influenced by flaw
orientation
Couplant is needed between probe and
material causing variable results
Defect must be on probe centre line
Slow inspection speeds

2.4 Magnetic Particle Inspection

MPI is also used in the rail industry but there are a number of problems inherent
with the technique.

• The surface of the rail or component must first be cleaned of all coatings, rust and
so on.
• To get a sensitive reading, contrast paint must first be applied to the rail,
followed by the magnetic particle coating.
• The same inspection must then be carried out in two different directions at a very
slow overall speed.
• On top of this, the end results will be less sensitive than those achieved with
eddy currents.

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3. Type of Cracking & Where It Occurs

A number of main areas have been identified where cracking occurs (see figure 2):

• Rail Heads
• Switch Blades
• Bolt Holes
• Foot of the Rail
• Thermite Welds

Head
Rail
Web

Foot

Figure 2 – cracking in rails

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4. Inspection of Rail Heads

4.1 Contact Stresses

Cracking can be found in the head of all types of track, but is predominantly found
on highly canted curves where stresses develop due to the extra pressure and wear
of the wheel on the rail (see Figure 3).

Wheel
Area of high stress prone to developing
cracking on and near the surface of the
rail head
Rail
Head

Figure 3 – Contact Stresses on Tight Curved Track

4.2 Water & Lubricants

Water from rain, snow or dew can become trapped in defects in the rail along with
oil and diesel. When a wheel runs over a track with entrapped fluid in a crack, a very
high localised press at the crack tip will cause the crack to grow (see Figure 4).

Direction of Traffic

Crack Tip

Figure 4 – Trapped Fluids Causing Cracking to Worsen

As the wheel approaches the crack the mouth opens up to draw water in. Then, as
the wheel passes over the crack it closes up the entrance of the crack mouth, trapping
water inside so that the crack tip stays open allowing further growth.

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4.3 Tongue Lipping
Tongue lipping develops because surface-breaking cracks are already present on the
rail. Stresses caused by trains passing over the rail cause the crack to develop into a
tongue which will continue to grow (see Figure 5).

Rail Head

Crack
present

Breakage
risk
develops
Tongue
forms

Crack
grows

Figure 5 – Tongue Lipping Developing from Existing Cracks

Ultrasonic inspections cannot reliably detect the cracks that cause tongue lipping due
to their shape, size and angle. However, eddy currents can. This means that the
cracking that causes tongue lipping can be identified early enough for preventative
action to be taken.

Companies such as Railtrack in the UK carry out grinding on all their tracks to try
and pre-empt the problem of tongue lipping. However, this raises a number of
important questions all of which eddy current inspection can answer:

i. When should the grinding take place?

Regular eddy current inspections will identify when grinding will need to
take place. Without inspecting the track first, expensive and time consuming
grinding could be carried out for no reason.

ii. How often should it take place?

Currently many tracks are ground according to a schedule. However, this
doesn’t take into consideration factors that may cause more or less cracking to
develop than is usual. E.g. environmental conditions, increased traffic,
abnormal side loading etc.

iii. Has it solved the problem of cracking?

Without the use of eddy currents it cannot be determine whether grinding of
the rails has even solved the problem. That is, it cannot be guaranteed all the

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 cracking has been successfully remove. A quick post-grinding test will
confirm success or highlight where extra works needs to be carried out.

4.4 Squats
Squats and tongue lipping have a number of factors in common. Both start as
surface-breaking cracks and are bought about by similar causes. The difference is
that squats usually develop at a point where high contact stresses occur as a result of
a local irregularity in the rail head e.g. at a worn weld.

Advantages of eddy current inspection:

• Faster than visual inspection
• Can identify cracking at a much earlier stage than ultrasonic testing allowing
preventative measure to be carried out

4.5 Wheel Burn

Wheel burns are the result of frictional heating produced by a spinning wheelset. The
effect of very rapid heating produced by the spinning wheel and subsequent rapid
cooling is to change the structure of the rail head top layer into ‘martensite’. The
presence of the martensite layer makes the rail un-testable ultrasonically. This layer
is also very brittle with the result that it tends to spall off very easily. Additionally,
the railhead surface irregularity will significantly increase dynamic impact forces
and the likelihood of rail breakage will be raised.

Although these areas cannot be tested ultrasonically, eddy current inspections can be
applied. The screen shot (figure 6 below ) shows a Locator 2s instrument with a
WideScan probe clearly picking up cracking within an area of wheel burn.

Figure 6 – Signal showing the detection of a crack in an area of wheel burn

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5. Inspection of Switch Blades

Switch blades are subject to a tremendous amount of stress due to the relatively thin
section of metal carrying the weight of transport usually supported by much thicker
track rail.

Cracking is usually found along the top of the blade, and along the sides.

As with thermite welding, a WideScan probe can be used for the head of the rail,
while a WeldScan probe is suitable for the sides. The WideScan inspection trolley has
a spring mechanism that lets it automatically adjust to the increasing blade width.

WideScan probe follows

changing diameter of blade head
Switch Blade

Cross Section of
Switch Blade
WeldScan probe
inspects sides of blade

Figure 7 – Inspection of switch blades using WideScan and WeldScan probes

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6. WideScan Probe – the eddy current solution

As the stresses discussed so far are occurring on and near the surface of the material,
it is virtually impossible to detect cracking with ultrasonics and relatively
straightforward with eddy current. This capability has been enhanced with the
development of the patented WideScan probe.

The probe is contoured to the surface of the rail and runs along the surface
transmitting results back to an eddy current instrument via a probe and cable. The
instruments are able to store the information which can then be downloaded onto a
computer for future analysis and records (figures 8&9).

Figure 8 – WideScan probe Figure 9 – Locator 2s eddy current

runs down a rail instrument displays the results

Figure 10 – Phasec 2s and a WeldScan probe being used manually on a section of rail

Figure 10 shows Phasec 2s and a WideScan probe being used by hand to check a
section of rail. The equipment can, however, be attached to an inspection trolley (see
figure 11) or vehicle that runs along the track.

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Figure 11 – Trolley-mounted WideScan probe

The WideScan probe is unique due to the large surface area it covers. This means that
it can detect cracking over the entire rail head in just one sweep. It doesn’t matter
where on the head the cracking is as long as it’s surface breaking.

For more information about WideScan, Locator 2s and Phasec 2s, please see our
product specific datasheets or visit www.hocking.com/products.

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7. Inspection of Welded Areas

7.1 General Welds

Welds are ground after welding which can
lead to a slightly different profile around
the weld than from that of the rest of the
rail. The resulting change in rail profile has
been found to have a significant effect on
the contact stresses between rail and wheel,
resulting in rolling contact fatigue.
Subsequent cracking has been found at the
edges of the weld or in the body of the weld
itself.

7.2 Thermite Welds

Thermic welding is used on sections of
continuously welded rail (CWR) where two Figure 12 – Hocking’s WeldScan
rails are welded together by means of an Probe inspecting a ferrous weld
exothermic reaction. This method introduces
a weak point in to the structure of the rail. As a rule they are very rough as the ‘flash’
(surplus weld) has not been removed and so could damage any fragile inspection
probe. However, ‘dressing’ (smoothing down) the weld can be time consuming and
expensive, but may also weaken the weld itself.

Hocking’s WeldScan range of probes (Figure 12) has been designed specifically to
test for surface breaking cracks in welds.

What makes the probe so special is its ability to test even very rough surfaces
covered with rust or coatings such as paint and oil.

Please see our product specific data sheets or visit www.hocking.com/products for
more information on WeldScan probes.

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8. Inspection of Bolt Holes

Bolt holes are positioned regularly along the length of the rail and are subject to
cracking due to the stresses placed upon them.

Rather than removing each bolt to inspect the hole underneath, an eddy current
WeldScan or Pencil probe can be used to inspect the area around the bolt to
determine whether any cracks are radiating from the area.

It’s important to note that no surface preparation is needed for this eddy current
inspection, unlike most other NDT methods, e.g. MPI.

If cracking is detected, the bolt can be removed and a special bolt-hole probe can be
used to check the hole itself for confirmation of cracking and to determine the size
and position of the crack (see figure 13).

Crack radiating
from bolt hole

Inspection Around Bolt

WeldScan
Probe

Bolt Bolt Hole

Inspection in Bolt Hole

Bolt Hole Probe

Figure 13 – Eddy Current inspection of bolt holes

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9. Inspecting the Rail Foot

Fatigue cracking due to the stress of trains travelling along the track often occurs
around the foot of the rail.

A special WideScan probe can be contoured so that it exactly fits the foot and checks
for surface-breaking, fatigue cracking. The probe cannot test the areas around the
clips or springs that attach the rail to the track, but a WeldScan can be used around
these areas.

The arrows in green (figure 14) show the areas of the foot where the WideScan probe
can inspect. The arrows in white show where WeldScan must be used.

Foot of Rail

Figure 14 – Inspection of the foot of the rail Spring

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10. Summary

Eddy current inspections form a vital part of checking rails for the cracks and faults
that can lead to serious accidents. Ultrasonic inspections alone do not cover all areas
the rail as the technique cannot ‘see’ surface and near-surface defects. As many of the
cracks appearing in rails are fatigue induced and thus surface-breaking, it is
important to employ eddy current inspection methods in order to detect them.

Throughout this document, solutions have been suggested for a number of

applications. Below is a summary of which eddy current probes we believe are the
most suited to those applications.

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11. Typical Rail Inspection Kit

Below are details of the typical eddy current equipment used in rail inspections. For
more details on any of the items, please contact Hocking at the numbers shown in
Section 12.

PRN Item
3K003 Locator 2s Starter Kit comprising of:

Locator 2 Single frequency

39I002
eddy current instrument

39DH01 Operating Manual

39A030 Lithium-ion battery pack

39A035 Battery Charger/Eliminator

Locator probe lead, Lemo 7
39A001
way to Microtech 1.5m long
RS232 Lead, Lemo 0B 5 way
39A024
to D Type 9 way
PC Supervisor Software CD
39A038
ROM Disc

Country
Power Cord, 2m long
Dependant

Plus:

On request Inspection Trolley

900P003 WideScan Probe

39A005 Lead for WideScan

800P04ND1P WeldScan Probe

WeldScan Probe with Right-
801P04ND1P
angled Tip

105P4 Pencil Probe

39A001 Lead for Pencil Probe

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12. Further Information

Further information about rail inspection:

• “Eddy Current Testing, A Solution to Detecting Rolling Contact Fatigue in Rail?”
– A paper presented at Asia Pacific Rail Conference 2003.

Further product information:

• WideScan Data Sheet
• Locator 2s Data Sheet
• Phasec 2s Data Sheet
• WeldScan Probe Data Sheet
• Probe Catalogue (includes information on Bolt Hole and Pencil Probes)

Please contact Hocking or visit our web site for more details:

Hocking NDT Ltd

129-135 Camp Road
St Albans
Hertfordshire
AL1 5HL
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1727 795500

Fax: +44 (0)1727 795400
Email: info@hocking.com
Web: www.hocking.com

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