Luz Sotelo
UTRGV Mechanical Engineering student Luz Sotelo, had the opportunity of completing her UTCRS REU experience at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Ms. Sotelo showed a deep interest for materials engineering and materials science. For this reason, she worked on the non-destructive evaluation of railroad grade bearing steel. It is known that the presence of microscopic defects in the steel used to make railroad bearings can significantly affect the mechanical performance of these components under load and result in failure. Ms. Sotelo’s summer research project involved the non-destructive testing of railroad tapered roller bearing outer rings, the preparation of metallographic specimens and the optical and scanning electron microscopy evaluation of the specimens prepared. Her work will serve as a base for the creation of correlations between the ultrasonic signals obtained from railroad bearings and the actual shape, size, location, and composition of the microscopic defects present in such bearings.