US Patent 10203306 Resonant signal analysis-based inspection

A solution for evaluating the condition of a vehicle component based on resonant response profiles across a set of bands of vibrations. The vibrations can be induced into the target component during normal operation of the target component. The resonant response profile of the vehicle component can vary depending on wear or damage, and thus can be used to determine whether the vehicle component can safely remain in use. An embodiment comprises an isolated segment of rail of a length selected to allow a single railroad wheel on it at a time, with a set of devices which can induce specific vibrations into the wheel as it passes, and another set of devices which can acquire the resonance signals from the wheel.