This paper describes and evaluates a new solid-state recording hand-held cone penetrometer developed for in-situ soil studies. Force is measured by a strain-gauged transducer, and depth by an accurate optical system. Data for up to 20 penetrations per plot are stored and processed within the instrument in the field.The new penetrometer has been evaluated in field and soil tank experiments in comparison with three widely contrasting existing penetrometers ranging from a simple hand-held penetrometer to a trailer-mounted power-driven instrument.The results indicated that the simple hand-held penetrometer gave appreciably different cone resistance profiles from the other instruments. I n particular, spurious 'treatment effects' obtained from the tillage experiment were shown to be due to inadequate instrument performance. The new solid-state recording hand-held penetrometer gave results comparable with those obtained from the more complex trailer-mounted instrument and another hand-held recording penetrometer.

Trackside Acoustic Detection System (TADS®) development spearheaded implementation of an acoustic freight car roller bearing detector whose purpose is to prevent in-service bearing failures (burned off journals and hot bearing detector train stops). The means of accomplishing this goal is by providing the user with a warning of internal bearing defects or degradation with component involvement and severity information. The Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) began the TADS® development process in 1994 with basic research into bearing defect acoustic emissions. Subsequently, TTCI conducted prototype testing on a North American railroad, constructed and installed of several international beta test systems, and finally has sold production systems in North America and internationally. There are currently about 40 TADS® sites in operation world-wide with 2.0 or more systems scheduled for installation in 2007. The original mission for TADS® in North America was an early warning of bearing degradation to allow for scheduled maintenance, but after initial evaluation, this mission enlarged to include notification of potentially high risk bearings. The high risk bearing is defined as one with fairly large areas of internal damage and at an increased risk of overheating or failing in service. The high risk bearing has a different acoustic signature, dissimilar to that of smaller defects. This paper will outline the change in mission for this detector and describe the development of an improved capability for detecting these high risk bearings.

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Over the last several years the North American railroad industry has seen a determined growth in the area of advanced vehicle health monitoring systems, such as wheel impact load detectors, truck performance detectors, hunting detectors; and more recently, in low hanging air hose detectors, acoustic bearing detectors, and wheel profile measurement systems. The interest in performance-based monitoring is high and growing. Latest developments by Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), are in the initial stages of deployment and include acoustic roller bearing detectors and truck performance detectors. Together, these detectors and others still in development look to provide railroads and car owners with information on car component performance that can lead to preventive or predictive maintenance. This paper will describe the development and deployment of the Trackside Acoustic Detection System (TADS) and Truck Performance Detector (TPD) by TTCI in North America and internationally.

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