MEASUREMENT OF RAILHEAD LONGITUDINAL PROFILES - A COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES

The underlying principles are considered plus attractions and limitati ons on the practical application of three different types of longitudi nal rail profile measuring equipment which can be used in a vehicle. A xlebox accelerometer systems are a good compromise for obtaining stati stical profile data at line speeds. Other accelerometer-based systems are the best means of obtaining data at a few metres per second but ar e corrupted by extraneous vibration. Both these and chord-based system s are compromises in most practical circumstances where there is signi ficant extraneous vibration.