RAIL

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the technical field of rail flaw detection, especially relates to the temperature of the ultrasonic wheel for railway flaw detection.

Background Art

From time to time, a railway rail develops detrimental defects. Such defects can result in catastrophic rail failures and can lead to serious safety risks. Rail operators identify these rail defects by non-destructive inspections, including using an ultrasonic wheel. However, the ultrasonic wheel may produce unnecessary heat when it is operated at a high speed or in hot dry weather. On the other hand, the ultrasonic wheel may produce coldness or ice under cold weather. The unstable temperature of the ultrasound wheel may lead to inaccurate diagnosis, unnecessary delay, or overlooked defects.

The US patent US9429545B2 uses a rolling search unit for performing an ultrasonic inspection of a railroad rail, comprising: a tire; at least one ultrasonic transducer suspended within the tire, and a heat exchanger suspended within the tire, wherein the tire is substantially filled with a liquid, and wherein the heat exchanger is adapted to receive a flow of a heat transfer medium from an external source for regulating a temperature of the liquid. However, the rolling search unit of US9429545B2 is complicated and does not cool down the running surface of the wheel directly. Another example is the European patent EP1999463B 1, which discloses a system for the detection of defects in rails, the system comprises a mist accelerator for accelerating the droplets forming the mist towards the rail after the generation of the mist. The mist generator is arranged to expose one or both of the rail and the source of ultrasonic waves to a mist of liquid, thus enabling the formation of an ultrasound-transmissive interface between the rail and the source of ultrasonic waves. Nonetheless, it does not have the purpose of controlling the temperature of the ultrasonic wheel. Technical Problem to be Solved

The present invention aims at changing the temperature of an ultrasonic wheel by providing temperature-controlling medium toward the ultrasonic wheel for railway flaw detection.

Summary of the Invention

The following summarizes some aspects of the present invention to provide a basic understanding of the technology discussed. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the invention, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of all aspects of the invention nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the invention in a summary form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

A first aspect of the present invention provides a system for controlling the temperature of an ultrasonic wheel which is used for detecting defects in a rail, the ultrasonic wheel contacting the rail, the ultrasonic wheel comprising: a source of ultrasonic waves for emitting ultrasonic waves onto the rail, a detector for detecting ultrasonic waves reflected or scattered by the rail, characterized in that the system comprises an ejector for ejecting temperature-controlling medium toward the ultrasonic wheel.

In a second aspect of the present invention according to the first aspect, the ejector includes: a nozzle for forming the temperature-controlling medium into drops and ejecting the drops toward the ultrasonic wheel, and an electromagnetic actuator for controlling the frequency and pressure of the ejection of the temperature-controlling medium.

In a third aspect of the present invention according to the second aspect, the ejector includes a housing and a linear support, the linear support supporting the nozzle and the electromagnetic actuator in the housing, the electromagnetic actuator controlling the nozzle.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention according to the first or second aspect, wherein the temperature-controlling medium is transmitted into the electromagnetic actuator and the nozzle and is ejected out of the nozzle toward the ultrasonic wheel. In a fifth aspect of the present invention according to any one of the preceding aspects, the temperature-controlling medium includes gas, liquid, dry ice, or the combination thereof.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention according to any one of the preceding aspects, the ejector ejects the temperature-controlling medium toward and along the rotation direction of the ultrasonic wheel.

In a seventh aspect of the present invention according to any one of the preceding aspects, the ejector is attached to a vehicle.

In an eighth aspect of the present invention according to any one of the preceding aspects, the ultrasonic wheel includes a measuring means for measuring the temperature of the ultrasonic wheel.

In a ninth aspect of the present invention according to any one of the preceding aspects, the system includes a temperature control system for controlling the temperature, volume and size of the temperature-controlling medium for the ultrasonic wheel.

In a tenth aspect of the present invention according to the ninth aspect, the temperature control system includes: a container for holding the temperature-controlling medium, a heat exchanger for changing the temperature of the temperature-controlling medium, a control valve for controlling the volume of temperature-controlling medium, and a programmable controller for analyzing the temperature whether it is too high or too low based on a desired temperature and controlling the control valve and the ejector to deliver the temperature-controlling medium toward the ultrasonic wheel with a desired temperature, size, frequency, and pressure of the temperature-controlling medium.

In an eleventh aspect of the present invention according to any one of the preceding aspects, each drop of the temperature-controlling medium is of the size between 0. 1 mm and 100 mm and is ejected onto the rail with the frequency of at least 100 doses per second and with the pressure of between 10 and 300 bar.

In a twelfth aspect of the present invention according to any one of the preceding aspects, the temperature-controlling medium is designed to cover at least 50-80% of the running surface of the ultrasonic wheel. In a thirteenth aspect of the present invention according to any one of the preceding aspects, the system includes multiple ejectors.

A fourteenth aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling the temperature of an ultrasonic wheel which is used for detecting defects in a rail, the method comprising: the ultrasonic wheel measuring the temperature of the ultrasonic wheel, the ultrasonic wheel transferring the temperature to a programmable controller, the programmable controller analyzing the temperature whether it is too high or too low based on a desired temperature, the programmable controller instructing a heat exchanger to change the temperature of a temperature -controlling medium, and the programmable controller controlling an ejector to deliver the temperature-controlling medium toward the ultrasonic wheel with a desired temperature, size, frequency, and pressure of the temperature-controlling medium.

Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 shows an illustrative view of the system of the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows an illustrative view of the ejector of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows an illustrative view of the flow of the temperature-controlling medium of the ejector of Fig. 2 during the operation of the system.

Fig. 4 shows an illustrative view of the heat flow of the ultrasonic wheel and the rail during the operation of the ejector.

Fig. 5 shows an illustrative view of the system of the present invention on a vehicle.

Fig. 6 shows the workflow of the method for controlling the temperature of an ultrasonic wheel which is used for detecting defects in a rail.

Detailed Description

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the invention.

Please refer to Figs. 1-5 together. The present invention provides a system 3 for controlling the temperature of an ultrasonic wheel 31. The system 3 includes the ultrasonic wheel 31, a temperature control system 34, and an ejector 33. The ultrasonic wheel 31 is used for detecting defects in a rail 1. The ultrasonic wheel 31 is in contact with the rail 1. The ultrasonic wheel 31 comprises: a source of ultrasonic waves 311 and a detector 312. The source of ultrasonic waves 311 for emitting ultrasonic waves onto a rail 1. The detector 312 for detecting ultrasonic waves reflected or scattered by the rail 1. The ejector 33 is used for ejecting temperature-controlling medium 32 toward the ultrasonic wheel 31 based on the instruction from the temperature control system 34. The temperature-controlling medium 32 may be gas, liquid, dry ice, or the combination thereof, or any kind of cooling or warming materials. So, the ultrasonic wheel 31, a temperature control system 34, and an ejector 33 interact with each other.

The vehicle 2 is provided with the system 3. The ejector 33 is attached to a vehicle 2 (Fig. 5). In other embodiments, the ejector 33 can be mounted on a mounting platform of a bogie of the vehicle 2 or on a bogie of the vehicle. The vehicle 2 can be a train, a roadrail vehicle, an inspection car, or any vehicle. The ejector 33 includes a nozzle 331, an electromagnetic actuator 332, a housing 333, a linear support 334, and an inlet 335. The nozzle 331 forms the temperature -controlling medium 32 into the drops and ejects the drops toward the ultrasonic wheel 31. Namely, the nozzle 331 changes the dimension of the drops. For example, each of the drops may be of a size between 0.1 mm and 100 mm. The electromagnetic actuator 332 controls the nozzle 331 and is used for controlling the frequency and the pressure of the ejection of the temperature-controlling medium 32. For example, the drops are ejected onto the rail 1 with a frequency of at least 100 doses per second and with a pressure of between 10 and 300 bar. The electromagnetic actuator 332 is controlled by a programmable controller 344 (PC or PLC) and is an electromagnetic device that is used to supply remote working movement in order to switch, move or activate the nozzle 331. In another embodiment, the electromagnetic actuator 332 can be a solenoid actuator. The linear support 334 supports the nozzle 331 and the electromagnetic actuator 332 in the housing 333. The linear support 334 is disposed between the nozzle 331 and the electromagnetic actuator 332. The housing 333 acts as a tube for accommodating and transporting the medium from the electromagnetic actuator 332 to the nozzle 331. The housing 333 may be formed into a shape of a cylinder or any shape. In another embodiment, the housing 333 may be omitted and the temperaturecontrolling medium 32 is transmitted into the electromagnetic actuator 332 and the nozzle 331 and is ejected out of the nozzle 331 toward the ultrasonic wheel 31. In another embodiment, the inlet 335 can be provided at the side of the ejector 33, at the rear end of the ejector 33, or at any position of the ejector 33.

In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasonic wheel 31 includes a measuring means 313 for measuring the temperature of the ultrasonic wheel 31. After receiving the temperature of the ultrasonic wheel 31, the temperature control system 34 controls the temperature, volume and size of the temperature-controlling medium 32 for the ultrasonic wheel 31 by analyzing the measured temperature in comparison to the desired temperature and then instructing the ejector 33 to deliver the medium toward the ultrasonic wheel 31. Specifically, the temperature control system 34 includes a container 341, a heat exchanger 342, a control valve 343, and a programmable controller 344. The container 341 holds the temperature-controlling medium 32. The heat exchanger 342 changes the temperature of the temperature-controlling medium 32. Sometimes the temperature-controlling medium 32 needs to be cooled in a hot weather whereas the temperature-controlling medium 32 needs to be warmed in freezing weather. The control valve 343 controls the volume of temperature-controlling medium 32. The programmable controller 344 analyzes the temperature whether it is too high or too low based on a desired temperature and controls the control valve 343 and the ejector 33 to deliver the temperaturecontrolling medium 32 toward the ultrasonic wheel 31 with a desired temperature, size, frequency, and pressure of the temperature-controlling medium 32.

Fig. 3 shows an illustrative view of the flow of the temperature-controlling medium 32 of the ejector 33 of Fig. 2 during the operation of the system 3. The temperature-controlling medium 32 enters the ejector 33 into the housing 333 through the inlet 335. The electromagnetic actuator 332 and the nozzel 331 squeeze the temperature-controlling medium 32 out of the ejector 33 toward the ultrasonic wheel 31.

Fig. 4 shows the heat flow of the ultrasonic wheel 31 and the rail 1 during the operation of the ejector 33. For example, when the system 3 is conducted under hot weather, the rail 1 produces high heat which may be transferred to the ultrasonic wheel 31 and affect the performance of the ultrasonic inspection of the system 3. The ejector 33 ejects the temperature-controlling medium 32 toward and along the rotation direction of the ultrasonic wheel 31. The temperature-controlling medium 32 may be designed to cover at least 50-80% of the running surface of the ultrasonic wheel 31. Hence, the temperaturecontrolling medium 32 directly cools down the heat on the running surface of the ultrasonic wheel 31 and indirectly cools down the heat inside the ultrasonic wheel 31. In a preferred embodiment, the system 3 includes additional multiple ejectors 33, 33’ to increase the heat dissipation effect of the system 3.

Fig. 6 shows the workflow of the method for controlling the temperature of the ultrasonic wheel 31 which is used for detecting defects in the rail 1. The method comprises the steps of:

SI: the ultrasonic wheel 31 measures the temperature of the ultrasonic wheel 31, S2: the ultrasonic wheel 31 transferring the temperature to a programmable controller 344,

S3: the programmable controller 344 analyses the temperature whether it is too high or too low based on a desired temperature,

S4: the programmable controller 344 instructs a heat exchanger 342 to change the temperature of the temperature-controlling medium 32,

S5: the programmable controller 344 controls the control valve 343 and the ejector 33 to deliver the temperature-controlling medium 32 toward the ultrasonic wheel 31 with a desired temperature, size, frequency, and pressure of the temperature-controlling medium 32.

To sum up, the present invention provides a system 3 and a method for controlling the temperature of an ultrasonic wheel 31 by providing temperature-controlling medium 32 toward the ultrasonic wheel 31 for railway flaw detection.

List of Elements

1 rail

2 vehicle

3 system

31 ultrasonic wheel

311 source of ultrasonic waves

312 detector

313 measuring means

32 temperature-controlling medium

33 ejector

331 nozzle

332 electromagnetic actuator

333 housing

334 linear support

335 inlet

34 temperature control system

341 container

342 heat exchanger

343 control valve

344 programmable controller

S1, S2,

S3, S4, step

S5