Prospects for the application of the spectral acoustic method of non-destructive testing

Abstract

One of the important ways of ensuring traffic safety is the timely withdrawal of wagons from operation for the production of current uncoupling repairs. To increase the efficiency and reliability of wagon diagnostics non-destructive instrumental control of wagons is extremely relevant and necessary. The paper investigates the prospects of using the spectral acoustic method of non-destructive testing for operational control of technical objects in transport. To assess the prospects of using this method, full-scale studies of the dependence of technical objects’ spectral characteristics on varying degrees of their damage were carried out. The performed studies have shown the exceptional prospects of the spectral acoustic method for solving problems of non-destructive testing of railway transport facilities. The scope of application of the method can be extended not only to operational non-destructive testing of wagons, but also to the input control of components, for example, wheel sets, at car repair enterprises. The cheapness of the proposed methodology is captivating. The acoustic signal required to construct the spectrum can be recorded by a smartphone or a cell phone of any model, and subsequently processed using any computer technology interfaced with the phone. The next stage of scientific research in this direction is supposed to accumulate and study the spectral characteristics of various objects of railway transport. There is already an agreement with the car repair companies of the East Siberian Railway, whose employees have expressed keen interest in testing the proposed method.