The PANDOSCOPE® is a ‘new’ non-destructive method of railway ballast condition assessment, which uses light and cost effective tests, based on the coupled use of the PANDA® dynamic cone penetrometer (a sophisticated DCP) and geo-endoscopy (images from down boreholes).
The knowledge of mechanical and physical properties of existing subgrade and sub ballast layers is very important for the future track design. Such data can be acquired through geotechnical tests. However, the majority of classical geotechnical tests (e.g rigs) can be difficult to carry out on revenue service lines because of existing railway constraints (e.g. limited possession times, track access, no destabilization of the track etc).
Hence, the objective of this PANDA® DCP / geo-endoscopy combination (PANDOSCOPE®) is to provide the rail asset manager key point indicator to help with the optimization of the maintenance and renewal strategy.
To find out more, see PANDOSCOPE®.
