Rail track apparatus and method

Abstract

An apparatus and method for monitoring rail vehicle wheel-rail track interaction at a sensing region of a rail track. The apparatus comprises an ultrasonic sensor mountable on the rail track to form the sensing region of the rail track, whereby the sensing region of the rail track comprises an interface surface at which a wheel-rail interface forms when a rail vehicle wheel contacts the interface surface. The ultrasonic sensor comprises at least one ultrasonic longitudinal bulk wave transducer configured to detect a VTI ultrasonic longitudinal bulk wave signal reflected from the wheel-rail track interface; and at least one ultrasonic shear bulk wave transducer configured to detect a VTI ultrasonic shear bulk wave signal reflected from the wheel-rail track interface.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.