NONDESTRUCTIVE CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF CONCRETE RAILROAD
TIES
Paul Fisk, NDT Corporation
CORPORATION
Nondestructive Concrete Testing Services 18 Years-600+ projects Developed Sonic/ultrasonic NDT
Equipment
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BACKGROUND
1.Union Pacific Railroad Call2.Test Out of Service Ties3.Test Siding Ties4.Test Plymouth Commuter Rail5.Comparison of Impact Velocity Results with AMTRAK Rating
Impact Velocity and Echo Measurements
Impact Velocity MeasurementsCompressional, Shear and Surface Wave VelocityModuli ValuesAverage Dynamic StrengthCrack Density
Impact Echo MeasurementsThicknessDelaminations
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Impact Velocity
Impact Echo
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Properties Detected by SONIC/ULTRASONIC Testing
Velocity Concrete Condition
(strength, cracking)Thickness Resonant
Frequencies Thickness Delamination
Signal Attenuation Delamination
Sample Test Data
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CONCLUSION
Sonic/ultrasonic results can be used to evaluate and document the current condition of concrete railroad ties
Ties can be classified as Functional Marginally Functional-should be retested in the near
future Non-Functional- take out of service
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Automated TestingEstimated 1 tie per sec
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SUMMARY
Sonic/ultrasonic pulse velocity data can be used to evaluate and document the current condition of concrete railroad cross ties
Ties classification correlates with systems currently used by rail roads
Automated Sonic/ultrasonic data acquisition is fast
(1 sec/tie)
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QUESTIONS ????
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