On October 1-4, 2023 OKOndt GROUP attended Railway Interchange 2023 - the largest North American railway event. This time the exhibition took place in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA (Indiana Convention Center) and brought together over 700 exhibitors and more than 8, 000 visitors who are the major influencers in the industry. Thank you to everyone who was with us at the RI 2023!

The OKOSCAN 73HS system of combined rail testing is designed for:

  • ultrasonic (UT) and eddy-current (ET) testing of railway track at a speed up to 40 km/h and detection of all the defects specified in the UIC 712 R (International Union of Railways Code of Rail Defects);
  • measurement of defect parameters and saving the testing results in the database.


The OKOSCAN 73HS system includes:

  • Railroad wheeled trolley equipped with positioning system and track width adjustment control;
  • Tilt adjustment control and immersion transducer units positioning system;
  • Lifting/lowering mechanism for eddy-current probes;
  • Ultrasonic rail test unit;
  • Eddy-current rail test unit;
  • Auxiliary equipment (a tank for coupling fluid equipped with a pump, level meters, pipelines and valves, air compressor);
  • Hardware and software complex computer system;
  • Complete kits of manual ultrasonic and eddy-current testing equipment for rails;
  • Spare parts supply package;
  • Technical documentation.
OKOSCAN 73HS the high-speed rails testing system
  • Flaw detection trolley

The trolley is a support steel structure with wheels, alignment system (pneumatics), trolley lifting and lowering mechanism (electric monorail hoist), positioning system of ultrasonic transducers and eddy-current probes (ECP) and water supply system for UT wheels.

The flaw detection trolley provides precise positioning and movement of ultrasonic transducers and eddy current probes. Pneumatic equipment mounted on the trolley is used for automatic adjustment of the trolley to the track width. Also, this equipment allows to ensure positioning of each ECP on its own tested area.

Main advantages of the trolley:

  • capabilities of testing the curves with a radius of less than 200 meters;
  • automatic positioning and alignment on the track;
  • ease of maintenance;
  • capability of controlling the suspension system.
  • Ultrasonic rail test unit

Ref. Ultrasonic modification of OKOSCAN 73HS

  • Eddy current rail test unit

 

The eddy-current test unit consists of:

  • eddy-current probes - 16 pcs;
  • switches - 2 pcs;
  • Eddycon D eddy-current flaw detectors - 2 pcs;
  • track gauge (traveled distance sensor) - 1 pc;
  • PC with preinstalled software - 1 set.
Wheel probe of the high-speed rails testing system OKOSCAN 73HS

The eddy-current unit of the system provides for eddy-current examination of the working surface of the rail head and of the rail edge for the following types of flaws (defects):

  • transversal fatigue cracks (International Defect Code (UIC) 211);
  • quenching cracks (International Defect Code (UIC) 2223);
  • active face delamination (International Defect Code (UIC) 2222);
  • wheels sliding areas (International Defect Code (UIC) 225).

  • Eddy Current Probes

High-speed eddy current system for rails testing OKOSCAN ET 73HS is equipped with 16 ECPs - 8 ECPs per rail.

Features and technical specifications of ET equipment in the system:

  • the central operating frequency is 200 kHz,
  • orientation of the detected defects - transverse, at an angle relatively to the rail axis,
  • use of fixing bogies made of wear-resistant material,
  • individual suspension bracket for each bogie to unambiguously position the probes on various rail profiles,
  • clearance between the working surface of ECP and the rail surface to prevent mechanical damage of the probes.

All the ECPs are positioned on the rails so that 100% testing of the working edge and the running surface is ensured.

  • Eddy Current Flaw Detectors

High-speed eddy current system for rails testing OKOSCAN ET 73HS is equipped with two multi-channel eddy-current flaw detectors Eddycon D.

Characteristics and advantages of Eddycon D flaw detectors.

OKOSCAN ET 73HS design provides for the capability to install the flaw detectors both on the flaw detector trolley and in the cab of the rail road vehicle.

  • Specialized Software

For ultrasonic testing

Ref. Ultrasonic modification of OKOSCAN 73HS

For eddy-current testing

High-speed eddy current system for rails testing OKOSCAN ET 73HS is supplied with pre-installed software that consists of:

Software for setting up the flaw detectors

Software for control and analysis of the current data

Software for viewing the testing results

System for an automated high-speed testing of rail in service OKOSCAN 73HS, view from above
The wheel and the wheel probe of the high-speed testing of rail in service OKOSCAN 73HS
The wheel and the wheel probe of the high-speed testing of rail in service OKOSCAN 73HS

Main technical specifications of the system

Detection efficiency parameters

Parameters of tested areas and of the flaws detection efficiency

Product model

OKOSCAN 73 HS

Flaw detector type

Double rail

Areas of testing

  • Rail gauge corner
  • Rail running surface

Quantity of ECPs of the flaw detector

16

Quantity of ECPs per rail

8

Area of coverage of the probe

6 mm

Probe operating frequency

200 kHz

ECP protection from mechanical damage and wear

Ceramic protector

Testing speed

Up to 40 km/h

Assessment of the cracks vertical component depth (for 25⁰ angle of the crack progression)

From 0.7 mm to 3.4 mm

Eddy current channel

Eddycon D

Specialized software

- Setting program

- Testing program

- Results viewing program

Data record and storage

PC’s hard drive

Operating PC

Laptop – for setting and testing programs

Desktop – for results viewing program