Project Abstracts

Storms and other extreme weather events are a major threat to the safety of railroad substructures and major railroad bridges. Flood or surge induced bridge collapses, such as the North Sioux City rail bridge collapse in June 2024, can cause… Read more: Modular Kirigami Truss for Temporary Railroad Bridge Systems

Rail safety research faces challenges as driver decision behavior at highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs) has changed in counterproductive ways (FRA, 2020). One example of such an undesired shift is the increased percentage of crashes that take place at HRGCs equipped… Read more: Improving Rail Safety: Effect of highway rail-grade crossing type (short storage) and cognitive load on driver decisions

The long-term performance of ballasted railway tracks is strongly influenced by the degradation of ballast, which compromises stability, drainage, and lateral resistance. Ballast, a coarse angular aggregate placed beneath and around sleepers, is designed to distribute loads, provide stability, and… Read more: Micromechanics of Fresh and Fouled Railway Ballast

North American freight railroads uniquely combine safety, speed and efficiency in transporting large amounts of freight long distances over land. Prompted by railroad commitments to reduce emissions, and looming stricter in-use locomotive regulations, US freight railroads face the challenge of… Read more: Comparing Freight Rail Propulsion Strategies for Efficient and Economical US Mainline Operations

North American freight railroads uniquely combine safety, speed and efficiency in transporting large amounts of freight long distances over land. Prompted by railroad commitments to reduce emissions, and looming stricter in-use locomotive emissions regulations, US freight railroads face the challenge… Read more: Optimizing Efficiency and Cost of Innovative Strategies for Freight Rail Motive Power Energy Supply

The long-term goal of this research is to develop a continuous, non-contact rail monitoring system for high-speed defect detection. Railroads play a vital role in the safety, prosperity, and well-being of our communities and businesses. However, due to increases in… Read more: Rail Defect Detection System Based on Non-contact Vibration Measurements

Preventing rail buckling is critical for maintaining railway safety, especially in high-temperature or fluctuating environmental conditions. Adequate lateral resistance is essential to avoid this issue, as thermal expansion in rails can lead to severe track misalignment and potential derailments. This… Read more: Strengthening the Railway Track Lateral Resistance by Reinforcing Ballast with Architected Instability-based Metamaterials (AIMs)

Ballast plays an important role in supporting the railroad track structure against repeated loading. Ballast degradation causes poor drainage, lateral instability, and excessive settlement, and may lead to service interruptions and safety concerns. Therefore, utilizing efficient methods for evaluating ballast… Read more: Field Ballast Condition Evaluation Using Machine Vision and Artificial Intelligence

A research team from UIUC will develop and demonstrate the capability of a nondestructive testing system, comprising measurement hardware, software and an analysis approach, to quantify lateral mechanical track compliance in situ. The measurement approach is based on impulse-driven rail… Read more: Quantifying Lateral Track Capacity Using Nondestructive Nonlinear Vibration Response

The optimal design of grade crossings is a major challenge, as repairing grade crossings causes major delays to both rail and highway transportation systems. To improve the current state-of-the-art, this research project will focus on the development of a finite… Read more: Combined Grade Crossing Track/Highway Multiphysics Model

Thermite welding is the most widely used technique for in-track welding or replacing a damaged part of a rail. This process produces a Welded Zone (WZ) and a Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) with inhomogeneous microstructures and hardness, resulting in lower… Read more: Fracture and Fatigue Damage Tolerance of Arc Welded Railhead and Thermite Weld Repairs

Rail infrastructure is a critical component of the national economy, with track systems representing some of the most valuable assets in the railroad industry. Key datasets, including track layout data, condition monitoring data, repair and maintenance records, are frequently siloed… Read more: Data Integration and Informatics for Track Asset Management

Railway corridors are often found in regions with modest grades and grade changes, such as riverbanks and coastal areas, making them prone to storm-induced interruptions and damages. Such incidents include inundation of track structure that causes operational restrictions, damages to… Read more: Life-Cycle Cost Assessment of Coastal Rail Infrastructure

The railway industry faces challenges in the early detection of fatigue cracks’ profile (e.g., width and depth), which can compromise safety and lead to costly maintenance. Current ultrasonic inspection  methods, while widely used, struggle to identify cracks with the width… Read more: Enhancing Accuracy of Ultrasound Imaging in Detecting Surface Cracks in Metal Using Microbubbles

Develop a risk based model for visual inspection considering defect occurrence rate, ability and efficiency of inspector, track utilization, etc. as a function of recorded inspection results. Walking inspectors can become complacent or may not be well trained. Defects may… Read more: Risk Based Walking Inspection Frequency Model

As railroads increase use of autonomous track geometry measurement systems, coupled with traditional measurement cars, hy-rail inspection and walking inspection, the reliability of inspection can increase. The additional data captured by autonomous inspection allows for a better understanding of track… Read more: Risk Based Track Surfacing Model

Positive Train Control (PTC) is a combination of systems and protocols that provide wireless communication between railroad operations, locomotives, and wayside equipment. Its original purpose is to ensure that trains comply with track speed restrictions and signals by providing this… Read more: Positive Train Control with Asymmetric Authentication and Key Management

Pre-tensioned concrete railroad ties provide an inherent corrosion resistance of the restressing steel since it is in direct with the high-pH concrete during casting. This high-pH environment causes a thin oxide layer to form on the prestressing steel which, in… Read more: Development of a Hybrid Concrete Tie for Increased Rotational Capacity and Resilience

Buckle tracks are one of the most common and severe track-related causes of derailments in the U.S. These are caused by the buildup of compressive stresses in the rail (due to thermal expansion) overcoming the tracks lateral strength, resulting in… Read more: Buckle Risk Modeling Leveraging Track Geometry and Condition Data