Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Detection of mortar defects in ballastless tracks of high-speed railway using transient elastic wave method

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the multi-layered track structure, the defects of cement-emulsified asphalt (CA) mortar are hidden and difficult to detect. There is still no effective detection method yet. Thus, this paper discusses the feasibility of mortar defect detection by transient elastic wave method. First, a finite-element model (FEM) was created by the LS-DYNA for a section of the multi-layered structure of the ballastless tracks, and the features of elastic waves were investigated in ballastless tracks with and without defects. Then, three identification parameters were presented and the spectra of measuring points were analysed in detail. Moreover, the IE method was adopted to detect the defects in the entity models of ballastless tracks. It is shown that the internal defects of the mortar layer can be pinpointed by comparing the waveforms of various frequencies in the frequency domain, different peaks of resonance frequency, and diverse power density values.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Juanjuan R, Xiao L, Rongshan Y, Ping W, Peng X (2016) Criteria for repairing damages of CA mortar for prefabricated framework-type slab track. Constr Build Mater 110:300–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhu S, Cai C, Zhai W (2016) Interface damage assessment of railway slab track based on reliability techniques and vehicle-track interactions. J Transp Eng 142(10):04016041

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Qu H, Li M, Chen G et al (2016) Multi-bandwidth wavelet transform of impact echo signals for delamination detection of thin concrete slabs. J Civil Struct Health Monit 6(4):649–664

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Krause M, Dackermann U, Li J (2015) Elastic wave modes for the assessment of structural timber: ultrasonic echo for building elements and guided waves for pole and pile structures. J Civil Struct Health Monit 5:221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Subhani M, Li J, Samali B (2016) Separation of longitudinal and flexural wave in a cylindrical structure based on sensor arrangement for non-destructive evaluation. J Civil Struct Health Monit 6(3):411–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Chia-Tsung H, Yiching L (2016) Detecting debonding flaws at the epoxy-concrete interfaces in near-surface mounted CFRP strengthening beams using the impact-echo method. NDT E Int 83:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhou CS, Wang P, Hu ZP, Zhu H (2014) Numerical simulation of impact-echo method identify the depth of honeycomb damage in unballasted track. Appl Mech Mater 584–586(1):2060–2067

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Azari H, Nazarian S, Yuan D (2014) Assessing sensitivity of impact echo and ultrasonic surface waves methods for nondestructive evaluation of concrete structures. Constr Build Mater 71:384–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Liu PL, Yeh PL (2011) Spectral tomography of concrete structures based on impact echo depth spectra. NDT E Int 44(8):692–702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Liu J, Xie J, He XY, He YS, Zhong JH (2014) Detecting the defects in concrete components with impact-echo method. Appl Mech Mater 577:1114–1118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Oh T, Park J (2014) Comparison of data-processing methods by air-coupled impact echo testing for the assessment of a concrete slab. J Test Eval 42(4):921–930

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Zoidis N, Tatsis E, Vlachopoulos C et al (2013) Inspection, evaluation and repair monitoring of cracked concrete floor using NDT methods. Constr Build Mater 48(11):1302–1308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Waleed Mohamed Fouad Tawhed Fouad (2005) Assessment and prediction of damage in aged concrete bridge decks using the impact-echo method. University of South Carolina, Columbia, pp 76–80

    Google Scholar 

  14. Chen M, Feng SK, Che AL, Wang H (2014) Propagation characteristics of elastic wave in high-speed railway embankment and its application to defect detection. In: Advances in soil dynamics and foundation engineering. Proceedings of the 2014 Geo-Shanghai international congress. May 26–28, 2014, Shanghai, China, pp 20–28

  15. Sadowski Ł (2015) Non-destructive identification of pull-off adhesion between concrete layers. Autom Constr 57:146–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Yong Y, Zhao W, Du Y, Zhang H (2017) Analysis on directional feature extraction for the target identification of shallow subsurface based on curvelet transform. Dyna 92:293–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Che AL, Tang Z, Feng SK (2015) An elastic-wave-based full-wavefield imaging method for investigating defects in a high-speed railway under-track structure. Soil Dyn Earthq Eng 77:299–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Yeh PL, Liu PL (2008) Application of the wavelet transform and the enhanced Fourier spectrum in the impact echo test. NDT E Int 41(5):382–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51578349), the Railway Ministry of Science and Technology Research and Development Program of China (2013G004-A-1) and Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (E2017210113).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China

    Xiushu Tian

  2. School of Material Science and Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, China

    Xiushu Tian

  3. Institute of Structure Health Monitoring and Control, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, China

    Weigang Zhao, Yanliang Du & Baoxian Wang

Authors
  1. Xiushu Tian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Weigang Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yanliang Du
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Baoxian Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiushu Tian.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tian, X., Zhao, W., Du, Y. et al. Detection of mortar defects in ballastless tracks of high-speed railway using transient elastic wave method. J Civil Struct Health Monit 8, 151–160 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-017-0265-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-017-0265-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation