| Country: United Kingdom |
Alternating Current Field Measurement (ACFM) is a new system developed by Balfour Beatty Rail Technologies Ltd and TSC Inspection Systems for the detection and sizing of surface breaking defects in rail heads.
The system is capable of discriminating between different types of rail head defects and of giving a measurement of the crack pocket depth for all types of Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) including Gauge Corner Cracking.
Key Features and Benefits
- The ACFM Walking Stick is a hand propelled self contained inspection trolley which is walked along the track. The system is battery powered with an operating interval between charges of at least 5 hours continual use.
- A laptop computer provides a real time display to the operator as well as data storage for subsequent review and analysis by third parties.
- The system is designed specifically to put less reliance on the operator's decision and provides semi automated rating of defect severity, summary reports of largest defect in a particular length of rail and capabilities for downloading into client databases.
- The system offers significant safety and quality benefits for rail integrity, including:
Improved defect detection
Improved defect evaluation
Reduced risk of rail breaks
Improved maintenance and renewal planning
Verification of remedial actions (such as grinding)
Suitable Application Areas
- Plain rail inspection, including use as a primary inspection tool for the detection of the presence of surface breaking defects in the rail head.
- Use as a screening tool where cracks already identified by other methods can be inspected and their severity assessed.
- Capable of inspecting continuous welded or jointed rail.
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