Railway Tracks Dynamic Stress Detection System for Wheel-Flat Detection Purposes

This paper proposes a system for detecting mechanical stress in rails caused by moving trains, using signal processing for the interpretation of train wheel defects. Based on previous research on train wheel defects, this system identifies wave propagations associated with mechanical stress produced by the impact of the train's movement on the rails. Signal processing methods based on the Fourier Transform and Wavelet Transform are subsequently used on the onsite measured data to observe features of train wheel behavior and to detect defective wheels and/or rails.