Obtaining flaw images by the SAFT method taking the variable velocity of sound in a test object into account

A modification of the SAFT method for obtaining flaw images in test objects containing three regions with different velocities of sound (SV) is proposed. Complex composite welded joints and repair welds are classified as objects in which the SV in a welded joint may differ from the velocity in a parent metal by >5%; therefore, a high-quality image of flaws can be obtained by taking different SVs into account. To solve this problem, a method for obtaining a test object with three regions with different SVs is proposed. The delays of propagating ultrasonic pulses were calculated using the Fermat principle. The results of reconstructing flaw images in a 300 welded joint from echo signals obtained as a result of numerical simulation by the finite-element method are presented. The images obtained by the SAFT method without taking different SVs into account are displaced from their true position, thus they do not allow determination of their coordinates and location. Consideration of different SVs allows one to obtain unshifted reflections of flaw images and, hence, evaluate the types and dimensions of flaws more accurately.     

Determining the flaw type from images obtained by the C-SAFT method with account for transformations of wave types upon reflections of ultrasonic pulses from the irregular boundaries of a test object

The application of antenna arrays (AAs) for obtaining flaw images during automated non-destructive testing is considered. The conventional technique of using an AA as a phased AA has a number of drawbacks. An alternative approach is proposed in which echo signals are registered using an AA operating in the double scanning mode, and a modified algorithm of the combined SAFT, which takes into account multiray ultrasound propagation with consideration of transformations of wave types upon reflections from irregular boundaries of a test object, is used to obtain flaw images. The results of testing a specimen with a model of a volumetric flaw in the form of a 2-mm-diameter side hole drilled at a depth of 12 mm and a specimen with a crack model with a tip at a 12-mm depth are presented. Both specimens have rough bottoms. The obtained images allow determination of not only the dimensions and locations of flaws, but also their type.     

On-line and off-line wheel/rail contact algorithm in the analysis of multibody railroad vehicle systems

An on-line and off-line hybrid contact algorithm for modeling wheel/rail contact problems is developed based on the elastic contact formulation. In the hybrid algorithm developed in this investigation, the off-line tabular search is used for predicting the location of tread contact points, while the on-line iterative search is used for predicting flange contact points. By so doing, a computationally efficient procedure is achieved while keeping accurate predictions of contact points for severe contact scenarios such as sharp curve and turnout negotiations. The use of the proposed hybrid algorithm can eliminate the time-consuming on-line iterative search for the second points of contact. Since the location of the second point of contact is pre-computed by the contact geometry analysis, the occurrence of two-point contact can be predicted by using the look-up table at the one-point contact configuration. A flange climb simulation demonstrates that the proposed hybrid contact search algorithm can be effectively used for modeling wheel/rail contacts in the analysis of general multibody railroad vehicle systems. This paper was presented at the 4th Asian Conference on Multibody Dynamics(ACMD2008), Jeju, Korea, August 20–23, 2008. Hiroyuki Sugiyama received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005. Dr. Sugiyama is currently an Assistant Professor at Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan. His research interests include the development of computer formulations for contact problems in vehicle systems and the large deformation problems of constrained multibody systems. Kohei Araki received his BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Osaka City University in 2006. Mr. Araki is currently a Master’s student at Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan. His research interest is in the modeling of wheel/contact problems in railroad vehicle dynamics. Yoshihiro Suda received his Doctoral degree from the University of Tokyo in 1987. Dr. Suda is currently a Professor at the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. His research interests are in the dynamics of railroad vehicles and automobiles, in-telligent transportation systems (ITS) and personal mobility vehicles. He is currently serving as an Associate Editor of the IMechE Journal of Multi-Body Dynamics.     

Applying the Algorithm of Calculation in the Frequency Domain to Ultrasonic Tomography

Applying ultrasonic-tomography systems makes it possible to precisely determine the shape and dimensions of flaws with the aim of establishing the degree to which the flaws influence safe operation of tested objects. This problem is solved by using special algorithms that make use of echo-signals recorded by an ultrasonic transducer to generate synthesized images of flaws in the sample. The use of phased arrays in ultrasonic tomography is explained by their ability to provide exhaustive data about the internal structure of a test object, thus allowing formation of the high-quality synthesized images of flaws in the object. Increasing the speed of ultrasonic tomography by using phased arrays necessitates the development and implementation of fast data-processing algorithms. In this connection, of interest are calculation algorithms in the frequency domain, which ensure the high speed of producing synthesized images. An ultrasonic-tomography algorithm is proposed that is based on calculations in the frequency domain. The algorithm takes the complex nature of the propagation of ultrasonic waves into account and is connected with the presence of media with different acoustic properties (e.g., in the case of immersion tests). Possibilities offered by the algorithm are investigated by computer simulations using the licensed CIVA 2016 software package and experimentally.     

Imaging of flaws with allowance for multiple reflections of ultrasonic pulses from plane-parallel boundaries of a tested object

The possibility of applying coherent methods to imaging of flaws in objects with plane-parallel boundaries during ultrasonic inspection is considered. A version of the SAFT method for obtaining flaw images on the basis of one or several echo signals measured in the transceiver mode and the correlation imaging method are considered. A variant of using the maximum-entropy method for obtaining flaw images from measured echo signals is proposed. A substantial advantage of the maximum-entropy method over the SAFT and correlation methods is demonstrated. The results of numerical experiments in which images were obtained with the use of the aforementioned methods are presented. It is shown that the obtainment of high-quality flaw images requires knowledge of the velocity of ultrasound propagation and the object thickness with a low error (no worse than 0.5%). For this purpose, additional measurements must be performed, e.g., in the dual-probe operating mode, which will allow determination of the velocity of sound and the thickness of the tested object. The results of using these methods for obtaining images in model experiments are presented     

基于背景差分的高铁钢轨表面缺陷图像分割

高铁钢轨表面图像具有光照变化、反射不均、特征少等特点,使得缺陷自动检测极为困难。为了在高速运动过程中,从复杂的钢轨表面图像中分割出缺陷,根据钢轨表面图像具有沿钢轨方向像素值基本不变的特征,建立钢轨表面图像背景模型,提出了基于背景差分的钢轨表面缺陷检测算法,主要包括钢轨区域提取、背景建模差分、阈值分割和图像滤波4个步骤,其主要特点是将视频监控中的背景差分法推广到缺陷图像分割领域,同时借助自适应阈值分割和滤波技术,在一定程度上,解决了铁轨表面缺陷分割过程中图像光照变化、反射不均、特征少等不利因素的影响。实验仿真和现场测试结果均表明,该方法对块状缺陷能很好地识别,召回率和准确率分别达96%和80.1%。     

Reconstruction of flaw images by the C-SAFT method from echo signals measured by an antenna array in the triple-scanning mode

The application of antenna matrices (AMs) for obtaining flaw images during automated nondestructive ultrasonic testing is considered. The conventional technique of using an AM as a phased AM (PAM) has a number of drawbacks. One of them is related to the small number of AM elements and consists in a low frontal resolution of the thus-formed images. Scanning with an AM operating in the double scanning mode, viz., the so-called triple-scanning mode, allows coherent summation of partial images for each position and obtaining a resulting image with a frontal resolution that cannot be attained with a PAM. In order to test the serviceability of the proposed algorithm in the CIVA program, echo signals reflected from a crack model with a height of 6 mm and a length of 30 mm in a tested object, which simulated a welded joint of a pipeline with a conventional diameter of 800 mm (дy800), were calculated. The results of the reconstruction of images of model objects in the form of a drilled side hole with a diameter of 6 mm at a depth of 15 mm in a CO-2 specimen and a fatigue crack in a welded joint of a д y800 pipeline are presented. To reduce the influence of reverberation noise, a B-type median template was subtracted from echo signals. The flaw images that were reconstructed in numerical and model experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.     

Increasing the signal-to-noise ratio in ultrasonic testing of repair welds using the technology of thinned antenna arrays

To test objects of materials with a high level of structural noise, use of thinned antenna arrays (TAAs) that have a large spatial aperture and consist of a small number of elements that are positioned from one another at a distance larger than the wavelength is proposed. A TAA moves over the surface of a tested object and echo signals are recorded during transmission and reception by different pairs of piezoelectric plates. For each transmitter-receiver pair, the measured echo signals are used to reconstruct partial images, which are then coherently added together to form the final image, by the SAFT method. A procedure for calibrating each piezoelectric plate of the TAA in order to determine the coordinates of its center for efficient coherent summation of partial images has been developed. The calibration procedure reduces the requirements for the accuracy of the arrangement of the piezoelectric plates of the TAA on a prism. The use of the technology of TAAs allows one to obtain images of flaws in repair welds with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that is 12 dB higher than the SNR for an image obtained using the technique for a single-element transducer. The results of testing specimens of 800 pipelines with repair welds in weld seams are presented. The efficiency of this method is shown in comparison to the method in which a single-element piezoelectric transducer is used.     

基于全局特征与局部特征的图像分级匹配算法研究及应用

移动机器人基于拓扑地图导航时要求图像特征提取与匹配算法具有高的精度和鲁棒性、良好的实时性,针对此,提出了基于全局特征和局部特征的图像分级匹配算法。首先对输入的待匹配图像应用改进的形状上下文算法提取全局特征与图像库中图像进行遍历粗匹配,得到与当前待匹配图像相似度最高的3幅图像并构建临时图像库;然后利用改进的SIFT算法提取输入图像局部特征与临时图像库中3幅图像的局部特征进行精确匹配,最终得到与待匹配图像相似度最高的图像作为匹配结果输出。所提出的图像分级匹配算法将基于全局特征的改进形状上下文算法和基于局部特征的改进SIFT算法相结合,从而达到优势互补的目的。实验结果表明,该算法在机器人基于拓扑地图导航过程中有效地提高了图像匹配效率,缩短了运行时间。     

Prognostics Models for Railroad Tapered Roller Bearings with Spall Defects on Inner or Outer Rings

Abstract

Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) is one of the major causes of failure in railroad bearings used in freight service. Subsurface inclusions resulting from impurities in the steel used to fabricate the bearings initiate subsurface fatigue cracks, which propagate upwards and cause spalling of the rolling surfaces. These spalls start small and propagate as continued operation induces additional crack formation and spalling. Studies have shown that the bearing temperature is not a good indicator of spall initiation. In many instances, the temperature of the bearing increases markedly only when the spall has spread across major portions of the raceway. In contrast, vibration signatures can be used to accurately detect spall initiation within a bearing and can track spall deterioration. No monitoring technique can indicate the growth rate of a spall or determine residual useful life. Hence, the main objective of this study is to develop reliable prognostic models for spall growth within railroad bearings that are based on actual service life testing rather than theoretical simulations. The data used to devise the models presented here were acquired from laboratory and field testing that started in 2010. Growth models are provided for spalls initiating on the bearing inner (cone) and outer (cup) rings. Coupling these prognostic models with a previously developed vibration-based bearing condition monitoring algorithm will provide the rail industry with an efficient tool that can be used to plan proactive maintenance schedules that will mitigate unnecessary and costly train stoppages and delays and will prevent catastrophic derailments.     

Detection of flaws in the railhead by the mirror method under the condition of multiple reflection of ultrasonic oscillations

Issues of detection of flaws in the railhead by the echo and mirror methods are considered. The influence of the degree of rail wear on the path of propagating ultrasonic beams has been studied. It has been shown that, owing to multiple reflection of ultrasonic beams inside the railhead, transverse cracks can be reliably detected on both the working and nonworking faces of the railhead. Computer-simulation-based calculations are confirmed by data on detection of actual flaws in the railhead. The results are used in the development of sounding systems for AVIKON-type multichannel demountable ultrasonic flaw detectors for total inspection of rails.     

重轨图像增强与边缘提取的关键技术

针对重轨图像两个边缘像素特征不一致,传统边缘算子检测法难以精确提取边缘的问题,提出了一种新的边缘提取方法.该方法利用灰度强对比度拉伸算法对重轨表面和背景进行差异化拉伸增强边缘信息,削弱背景信息.运用最大方差比算法选取增强后图像的最佳阈值实现二值化.最后,运用递归连通域标识法定位边缘像素坐标,完成图像分割.对随机选取的30幅图像进行分析表明:处理后的图像边缘灰度特征明显增强,有效地抑制了表面纹理及虚假边缘.重轨表面像素宽度波动减少到-0.64％～0.34％.离散预处理算法通过遍历寄存器全局数组,减少分割时间至10.165 s.该方法在抗干扰性、准确性及时效性等方面优于传统边缘算子检测法,适用于在线工业检测系统.     

Prediction and compensation of motion accuracy in a linear motion bearing table

In the present research, a corrective machining algorithm is introduced to improve the motion accuracy of linear motion bearing tables. The algorithm commences with reverse analysis, in which the rail form error is estimated from the measured linear and angular motion errors. In the next step, the rail is remachined to reduce the estimated form error. Then, the motion errors are measured again, and the procedure is repeated until the measured errors are sufficiently small. A transfer function, which represents the bearing force variation of a bearing block with respect to the spatial frequency components of the rail form error, is used to describe the characteristics of the linear motion bearings. Computations are carried out via the Hertz contact theory. From the theoretical evaluation, it is evident that the magnitude of the normalized transfer function quantitatively represents the accuracy averaging effect at each spatial frequency and that motion errors are not affected by the preload and the stiffness of the bearings. It is also clear that the algorithm can be used to estimate the equivalent rail form error in terms of motion errors. As a practical application, the algorithm is utilized to improve the motion errors of an XY table with linear motion bearings. The experimental results show that the motion accuracy of a linear motion bearing table can be improved to about 1 μm of linear motion error and about 1-2 arcsec of angular motion error by applying the proposed algorithm.     

Application of the double-scanning method in ultrasonic nondestructive testing of metals for reconstruction of model defect images

The results of application of the double-scanning method for obtaining images of model defects during ultrasonic flaw detection in metals are presented. It has been shown in model experiments that, during reconstruction of flaw images, the amplitudes of parasitic reflections formed by echo signals, which were transformed and repeatedly scattered by inhomogeneities, decrease considerably. These properties of the double-scanning method may be useful in the practice of ultrasonic inspection of heavily loaded objects, especially in the case of the pressing problem of classifying the detected flaws. To identify the type of defects and determine their number accurately, it is desirable to use images obtained in both the double-scanning and transceiver modes. The images obtained during operation of a transducer in these two modes are compared.     

基于分枝定界法的装配线第一类平衡问题研究

在生产节拍给定的条件下,针对装配线平衡的数学模型,提出一种求解装配线第一类平衡问题的改进分枝定界法,该方法将较好的解存储起来,最后归纳可得到最优解的装配序列,避免了传统方法只能输出一个最优解的缺点。同时运用3种分枝规则加速寻找最优解;使用了两种定界方法的最大下界规则,节点控制规则和最大闲置时间规则被用来剪掉不能获得最优解的分枝,减小搜索空间。并且将影响算法性能的要素作了简要的分析,实验结果表明该算法具有良好的性能。     

Obtaining flaw images that take the effect of multiple ultrasonic pulse reflections from the boundaries of a test object into account

The problem of obtaining flaw images from echo signals multiply reflected from the boundaries of a test object and modifications of the FT-SAFT and SAFT algorithms for obtaining flaw images in a test object with plane-parallel boundaries are considered. The reason that a transducer operating on transverse waves in the transceiver mode cannot yield information on flaw location depth is stated. It is shown that the detecting signals in the double-scanning mode, obtaining a set of partial images by the SAFT method, and combining them into a final image allow one to solve this problem. To obtain a combined image, the moduli of partial images were summed and their median was calculated. Because of difficulties in determining the velocity of sound and the thickness of a particular object, the coherent summation, which is potentially the most efficient combining technique among the considered ones, does not allow one to obtain a high-quality image. The results of a numerical simulation of the procedure of obtaining images of point defects are presented. The results of model experiments aimed at obtaining an image of a 1-mm-deep groove in a 20-mm-thick metal slab are presented as well. It is shown that measuring echo signals in the double-scanning mode and obtaining images by the DS-M-SAFT method make it possible to determine the flaw location depth.     

Specific features of operation of fallen person detection algorithms based on a sequence of scene images

Specific features of operation of fallen person detection algorithms having a moderate computational complexity and based on a sequence of images obtained by stationary video surveillance cameras are analyzed. Approaches to enhancing the algorithm operation stability are proposed. One variant of obtaining a more reliable silhouette of the object is considered; parameters used in recognition of the object states are analyzed and selected. A method of increasing the detector stability is proposed. This method is based on identifying intervals of stability of the average values of parameters, which allows reliability of detection of the object states to be improved. Results of computational experiments are presented.     

A type-2 fuzzy expert system based on a hybrid inference method for steel industry

In this paper, a novel type-2 fuzzy expert system for prediction the amount of reagents in desulfurization process of a steel industry in Canada is developed. In this model, the new interval type-2 fuzzy c-regression clustering algorithm for structure identification phase of Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) systems is presented. Gaussian Mixture Model is used to generate partition matrix in clustering algorithm. Then, an interval type-2 hybrid fuzzy system, which is the combination of Mamdani and Sugeno method, is proposed. The new hybrid inference system uses fuzzy disjunctive normal forms and fuzzy conjunctive normal forms for aggregation of antecedents. A statistical test, which uses least square method, is implemented in order to select variables. In order to validate our method, we develop three system modeling techniques and compare the results with our proposed interval type-2 fuzzy hybrid expert system. These techniques are multiple regression, type-1 fuzzy expert system, and interval type-2 fuzzy TSK expert system. For tuning parameters of the system, adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system is used. Finally, neural network is utilized in order to reduce error of the system. The results show that our proposed method has less error and high accuracy.     

变工况下滚动轴承静电多传感器融合监测方法研究

滚动轴承是轨道车辆中最关键的部件之一,其质量好坏直接影响轨道车辆的运行.针对滚动轴承的故障监测,基于多传感器信息融合技术,采用多个静电传感器对滚动轴承进行同时监测,通过时域算法和复杂度度量算法对特征参数进行提取,并提出MWLOF检测算法.根据滚动轴承静电综合监测平台在不同工况下对滚动轴承进行监测试验,结果表明:考虑工况...     

无秤台连轨式轨道衡的研制与应用

现有轨道称重方式,大都是采用框架结构秤体的形式,一般都需要基础安装,土建安装工程量大、周期长且投入成本大。对正在使用或使用频繁的轨道,无法进行改造、安装而放弃,致使不少企业的这一工序无法进行称重计量。无秤台连轨式轨道衡的研制与应用解决了此难题。无秤台连轨式轨道衡的称重传感器安装在钢轨内侧,不需对称重轨的基础进行改动,只需将原轨道压块拆除,即可安装称重设备。安装快捷、轻便、维护方便、安装时间短且工作效率高。