Wheel Defect Detection

The WDD-module determines the magnitude and character of the wheel rail force and is used to prevent (excessive) damage to the infrastructure and rolling stock.

The Gotcha WDD analysis algorithm determines a measure of overall wheel quality. This capability will allow monitoring of maintenance standards and degradation rates by train operator. This information, when made available to the operators, will allow for more targeted remedial action on wheels to be undertaken, helping to reduce damage to the infrastructure and improving operational performance within the resources currently available.

This module is most often used to determine the following quantities:

• The dynamic peak force generated by every wheel.
  The sophisticated analysis software determines real-time which wheel caused each impact, ensuring quick and reliable reporting to the central server and/or maintenance depots.

• Type of wheel defect. Gotcha's analysis software distinguishes quickly and accurately between various types of defect which can occur, such as:

  • Out of roundness

  • Wheel flats

  • Polygonisation

  • Squaring

Gotcha can also be used to stop trains that have an excessive wheel force. A standard alarm user interface at traffic control can be supplied to alarm within 30s after train passage.