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Sept 2021: Railroad NDT

Thu, Sep 09

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Zoom

Join us for our monthly meeting presented by Anish Poudel!

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Sept 2021: Railroad NDT
Sept 2021: Railroad NDT

Time & Location

Sep 09, 2021, 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM PDT

Zoom

About the Event

Presentation Title: Railroad NDT

Speaker: Anish Poudel, Principal Investigator - Nondestructive Evaluation, Transportation Technology Center, Inc

Presentation Summary: Transportation Technology Center Inc. (TTCI) sponsored by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) has researched, helped develop and tested an automated cracked wheel detection system (ACWDS) capable of inspecting wheels on moving trains. The system implements arrays of spring-loaded ultrasonic probes aligned within a segment of a special track. Validation of the system was performed using the heavy axle load (HAL) test train (consist of about 120 cars; each car weighs 39-ton axle load) at Transportation Technology Center (TTC). This train operates nightly at the high tonnage loop (HTL) located at the facility for accelerated service testing (FAST), TTC near Pueblo, CO, and accumulates service wear at a rapid rate. Bi-weekly inspections using the ACWDS detect wheel defects and, once the wheels are alarmed by the ACWDS, conventional hand-UT tests were conducted to confirm the ACWDS findings. To date the verification hand scans have been in close agreement with the ACWDS reports. Some of these wheels were tracked over time to gain insight into crack growth rates. Others were removed if deemed a safety risk to operations. 

Speaker Bio: Anish Poudel is the Principal Investigator for Nondestructive Evaluation within the Research and Development department of the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. Dr. Poudel holds a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Mechanical Engineering with the focus on NDE. At TTCI, Dr. Poudel currently provides technical leadership and manages various on-site and off-site inspection and detection research projects both in North America and overseas. In this role, he is playing a key role and serve as a technical lead in the research, development, and testing of advanced NDE and automated wayside inspection technologies for nondestructive characterization of railroad components to optimize their safety, integrity, and life costs.

Dr. Poudel brings over 10 years of research, development, and testing experience in the field of NDE for different applications. He has authored over 80 technical publications and presentations in the field of NDE and have 1 patent.

Dr. Poudel currently serves as the Board of Directors member in the American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT). He is also the Chair of the ASNT Research Council. He has served in various leadership roles within ASNT in the past.

Dr. Poudel has received numerous prestigious recognition both in the field of NDE and railway research. He was the recent recipient of the 2019 International Heavy Haul Association Emerging Railway Professionals Award. He has also received the 2018 ASNT Mentoring Award and 2014 ASNT Young NDT Professional Award.

Prior to joining TTCI, Dr. Poudel was a laboratory supervisor and full-time instructor at the department of mechanical and engineering processes at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

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