A 3D scanning system that takes indent measurements on the wire used in the prestressed concrete industry — specifically used in the manufacture of concrete railroad ties that support the rails in railroad tracks — has been created by researchers from Kansas State University.

The 3D scanner is intended to improve the quality and the reliability of concrete railroad ties, which are commonly vulnerable to unexplained, premature cracking and subsequent failure.

Source: Kansas State University

The scanner was developed as part of a project for studying the indented pre-stressing steel concrete interactions as a possible explanation for the success or failure of railroad ties. Through this project, the researchers determined that the indent geometry rolled into a high-strength steel wire during wire manufacturing is a key component of successful concrete tie design, and it must be correctly matched to other critical factors including aggregate types, concrete strength and concrete wire cover thickness.

Based on these findings, the team created the wire-scanning system, which can precisely scan, process and report on 24 inches of wire in just minutes. According to its developers, the scanner makes and processes 3 million plus individual measurements of the wire surface within minutes, extracting geometric features crucial to the wire performance when used to make pre-tensioned concrete ties.