Laser vibrometer measurement of guided wave modes in rail track

• A method of individual modes of propagation in rail track was demonstrated.
• Small displacements (∼0.2 nm) were measured at 400 m using a laser vibrometer.
• Modes that propagate large distances were identified for monitoring applications.
• The measurement process can be used to improve the model of the propagating modes.

The ability to measure the individual modes of propagation is very beneficial during the development of guided wave ultrasound based rail monitoring systems. Scanning laser vibrometers can measure the displacement at a number of measurement points on the surface of the rail track. A technique for estimating the amplitude of the individual modes of propagation from these measurements is presented and applied to laboratory and field measurements. The method uses modal data from a semi-analytical finite element model of the rail and has been applied at frequencies where more than twenty propagating modes exist. It was possible to measure individual modes of propagation at a distance of 400 m from an ultrasonic transducer excited at 30 kHz on operational rail track and to identify the modes that are capable of propagating large distances.