Rail Flaw Detection Technologies for Safer, Reliable Transportation: A Review

This paper delivers an in-depth review of the state-of-the-art technologies relevant to rail flaw detection giving emphasis to their use in detection of rail flaw defects at practical inspection vehicle speeds. The review not only looks at the research being carried out but also investigates the commercial products available for rail flaw detection. It continues further to identify the methods suitable to be adopted in a moving vehicle rail flaw detection system. Even though rail flaw detection has been a well-researched area for decades, an in-depth review summarizing all available technologies together with an assessment of their capabilities has not been published in the recent past according to the knowledge of the authors. As such, it is believed that this review paper will be a good source of information for future researchers in this area.