Underfloor testing system

The UFPE is an automated ultrasonic and eddy-current testing system for examining wheel rims on fitted railway wheel sets. The wheels can be tested in reprofiled and non-reprofiled conditions. The maximum axle load is 24 tonnes. The system has been designed to prevent such fitted parts as brake discs, brake rods and gearboxes from negatively affecting the tests being carried out. The various vehicle attachments mean that there is no dedicated side on the wheel set on to which the testing system can be fitted. That’s why four systems are used to test running surfaces, two complete testing systems for each wheel disc. One system is located in the direction of travel in front of the wheel disc and the other behind it. Depending on accessibility, testers must decide which testing system they wish to use on each side before commencing the tests.

The entire testing process – from lifting the wheel set to lowering it, including the recording of measured values, analysis and presentation of the results – is performed automatically. It is possible to test wheel sets in diameters ranging from 640 millimetres to 1,200 millimetres. The results are displayed as bar charts. Each probe is assigned a track over 360°. Fourteen ultrasonic probes and four eddy- current probes are used for each wheel disc during each test. Errors are highlighted in colour in the bar at the position at which they were detected. The testing time for wheel sets that don’t have any defects is less than 10 minutes. The test results are automatically saved with the wheel-set number and any additional information relating to the test.