Railway Safety Inspection Intervals Based on Damage Tolerance and Fracture Control Theory

Abstract

The concept of damage tolerance (damage tolerance methods) has been widely used in the inspection intervals of aircraft, however, for existing railway vehicle structural parts, the establishment of inspect intervals is determined heretofore empirically. Safety inspections are designed (performed) to detect cracks potentially existing at known locations. In this paper an example of bolster, is presented demonstrating how the damage-tolerance theory is implemented (adapted) to establish inspection intervals. Furthermore, it is very important to realize the health management of the structural parts of the railway vehicles and thus the life-cycle prognosis of the train based on the damage-tolerance method.