National University Rail Center

2y ago
13 Views
2 Downloads
9.19 MB
20 Pages
Last View : 2m ago
Last Download : 2m ago
Upload by : Genevieve Webb
Transcription

National University Rail Center2013 Annual ReportUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMichigan Technological UniversityUniversity of KentuckyUniversity of Tennessee, KnoxvilleRose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyRail Focused US DOT OST-R Tier 1 University Transportation Center

Contents2013 in Pictures 3NURail Center Leaders 4NURail Center by the Numbers52013 Timeline 6-7SpotlightsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech)University of Kentucky (UK)University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Rose-Hulman)891011121314Selected 2013 Publications by the NURail Consortium15International Collaboration 162013 JRC Report / Student of the Year17Developing a New Generation of Railway Professionals18NURail Center Supported Students19This publication is a report of the NURail Center’s transportationresearch, education and workforce development, and technologytransfer activities for January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013.National University Rail CenterUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign1239B Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, MC-250205 N. Mathews AvenueUrbana, IL 61801217-244-4999 (phone)217-333-9464 (fax)NURail-Center@illinois.eduFor updates and more information visit: www.nurailcenter.orgProgram Coordinator: LB FryeDesigners: Rutvika Gupta & Nizam Uddin AhmedThe entire NURail team contributed to the content of this report.Photographs by NURail faculty, staff, or students, unless otherwisenoted.2ContentsThe National University Rail (NURail)Center is a Tier-1 University TransportationCenter (UTC) focused on rail transportationand funded by the U.S. Department ofTransportation (US DOT) Office of theAssistant Secretary for Research andTechnology (OST-R) UTC program. TheNURail Center is a seven-universityconsortium led by the Rail Transportationand Engineering Center (RailTEC) at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign(UIUC) and hosted by the Department ofCivil and Environmental Engineering atUIUC.U.S Department of TransportationOffice of the Assistant Secretaryfor Research and TechnologyChristopher BarkanCenter DirectorConrad Ruppert, Jr.Associate Director for ResearchPasi LautalaAssociate Director for Educationand Workforce DevelopmentRapik SaatAssistant Director for ResearchC. Tyler DickAssistant Director for Educationand Workforce DevelopmentTimothy GressManaging Director

2013 in Pictures2013 in Pictures3

NURail Center LeadersChristopher P.L. BarkanJoseph M. SussmanJames L. McKinneyAhmed A. ShabanaStephen E. SchlickmanReginald R. SouleyrettePasi T. LautalaDavid B. ClarkeJerry G. RoseNURail Center DirectorProfessor, George Krambles Faculty FellowDirector of Rail Transportation and Eng. CenterUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign1245 Newmark Civil Engineering Lab, MC-250205 N. Mathews AvenueUrbana, IL 61801Ph: 217-244-6338Email: cbarkan@illinois.eduRichard and Loan Hill Professor of Eng.Director of the DynamicSimulation Laboratory (DSL)University of Illinois at Chicago842 West Taylor StreetChicago, IL 60607Ph: 312-996-3600Email: shabana@uic.eduAssistant ProfessorDept. of Civil and Environmental EngineeringDirector, Rail Transportation ProgramMichigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI)Michigan Technological University1400 Townsend DriveHoughton, MI 49931Ph: 906-487-3547Email: ptlautal@mtu.edu4NURail Center LeadersJR East ProfessorProfessor of Civiland Environmental Engineeringand Engineering SystemsMassachusetts Institute of Technology77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 1-163Cambridge, MA 02139Ph: 617-253-4430Email: sussman@mit.eduExecutive Director of theUrban Transportation CenterCollege of Urban Planning and Public AffairsUniversity of Illinois at Chicago412 S. Peoria, Suite 340Chicago, IL 60607Ph: 312-355-3656Email: sschlick@uic.eduResearch Associate ProfessorDept. of Civil and Environmental EngineeringDirector of the Center for Transportation ResearchUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville309 Conference Center BuildingKnoxville, TN 37996Ph: 865-974-1812Email: dclarke@utk.eduEmeritus Professorof Civil EngineeringRose-Hulman Institute of Technology5500 Wabash Avenue, Olin-224Terre Haute, IN 47803Ph: 812-877-8335Email: james.mckinney@rose-hulman.eduDepartment Chair and CommonwealthChair of Transportation EngineeringDepartment of Civil EngineeringUniversity of Kentucky259 Raymond Civil Engineering BuildingLexington, KY 40506Ph: 859-257-5309Email: rsouley@engr.uky.eduProfessor of Civil EngineeringDepartment of Civil EngineeringUniversity of Kentucky261 Raymond Civil Engineering BuildingLexington, KY 40506Ph: 859-257-4278Email: jerry.rose@uky.edu

NURail Center by the Numbers2013 Funds DistributionEducationResearchTechnology TransferCenter Mgmt/ AdminThe total funding for NURail Center activities in Year 2 (shown in the figure above) was 64% for research, 25% for education,4% for technology transfer, and 7% for Center management and administration.2013 psoshrkWodizearceesOnrgaevsD deurs ifieCo EtsecectiotaenojPrThis figure displays a graphical representation of some of the NURail Center’s 2013 accomplishments.NURail Center by the Numbers5

2013 TimelineMARCH8TH-9THJANUARY13THMAYA Concrete Crosstie and FasteningSystems Workshop was conducted byNURail faculty at the TransportationResearch Board Annual Meeting inWashington, D.C.FEBRUARY4 -6THTH13TH-15THTogether with the UIUC AREMAStudent Chapter, the NURail Centersponsored railway engineering exhibitsat the Engineering Open House (EOH)event that was attended by 20,000people, including over 12,000 primaryand secondary students.FiveRailTECrepresentativesattended “Rail-Copenhagen 2013,” the5th International Seminar on RailwayOperations Modeling and Analysis,organized by the InternationalAssociation of Railway OperationsResearch and hosted by the TechnicalUniversity of Denmark. Theypresented three papers, and twoof the representatives were amongfive nominated for the best youngresearcher prize at the conference.APRILJULY5THDavid Clarke gave an invited presentation to the L&N STEM Academy inKnoxville, TN on “High-Speed Rail: ATechnology Overview.”15TH-18THPapers and presentations on researchsupported by the NURail Centerwere delivered at the InternationalHeavy Haul Association (IHHA)Conference in India.19THMichigan Tech held RailroadNight whichhighlightedNURail studentand researchproject postersto rail industrycompanies and professionals.Despite the fact there was an officialblizzard, this event drew over 100attendees of 175 registered.62013 TimelineThe Joint Rail Conference, held in Knoxville, TN, provided a great opportunityfor showcasing NURail research andtechnology. Approximately 75 NURailresearchers attended the conference,including over 50 undergraduate andgraduate students sponsored by NURailand ASME scholarships.3RD-5THProfessor TC Kao, from UIUC,was invited by the National Science&TechnologyMinistryandChulalongkorn University of Thailandto give a three-day seminar on thehigh-speed rail system in Bangkok.20TH-25THJoseph Sussman visited the Universityof Coimbra and the Institute SuperiorTecnico (IST) in Portugal to discussNURail research activities with facultyand students and to hear about theirrelated research.

NOVEMBERSEPTEMBER3RD-6TH10 -11THTHReg Souleyrette presented a short courseon NHI Highway-Rail Grade CrossingImprovement Program in St. Louis.O.11TH-12THFALL SEMESTER2013The new building housing the Civil/Environmental and Industrial/SystemsEngineering Departments at theUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxvilleopened fall semester 2013. Thesefacilities were immediately put to usein ongoing NURail research. A hybridcomposite beam has already beenmoved to the lab for testing. UTKand UK are exploring collaborativegeotechnical and materials projects forthese new labs.AUGUST27THThe first NURail Annual Meeting washeld on the UIUC campus. The meetingincluded participation of the NURailTechnical Advisory Committee andthe Executive Advisory Board. Bothof these committees, along with theStudent Leadership Council, in additionto faculty and students from NURailpartner institutions, industry partners,and the FRA participated in the AnnualMeeting.5TH-6THOver 500 attendees were updated onthe direction of the railroad industry’senvironmental programs through morethan 70 spoken presentations at the 2013Railroad Environmental Conference(RREC) at UIUC.14THMIT hosted three representatives fromJR East, who visited their NURailCenter research group to discuss variousresearch activities.OCTOBERDECEMBERA special session on NURail SystemsResearch was held at the 2013 INFORMSAnnual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN,featuring presentations from UIUC,UIC, and MTU researchers.Dr. Anthony Perl,Professor of UrbanStudiesScienceat Simon FraserUniversity,gaveone of nine NURailsponsored WilliamW. Hay RailroadEngineering Seminar lectures of the year.His topic was “Global Lessons in HighSpeed Rail and Their Relevance for NorthAmerica”. Eighty participants attendedthe talk and there were over 50 on-linelisteners.ers.Nearly 150 individuals gathered at theLansing Community College WestCampus for the 1st annual MichiganRail Conference. Participants enjoyedpresentations related to rail activitiesin Michigan and breakout sessionsfor passenger and freight activities.Conference proceedings were alsoweb-cast.Jerry Rose presented actices to Enhance Long-TermPerformances: Criteria and Evaluations”at the National Highway-Rail GradeCrossing Safety Conference in FortWorth, TX.6 -9THTH15TH-17THSam Beck, a Rose-Hulman senior,ME student and AREMA StudentChapter vice president, was awardedan Undergraduate Student ConferenceScholarship to attend the ASME RailTransportation Division Fall TechnicalConference in Altoona, PA.8TH18TH23RDA stakeholder meeting was held to solicitcomments and feedback on the researchresults of the Analysis of EnvironmentalImpacts of Rail Development (GeographicInformation System) team from UIC.David Clarke was invited to givea presentation on China’s railwaysto the AREMA Student Chapter atthe University of South Carolina inColumbia, SC.2013 Timeline7

SpotlightsUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignProject: Construction of the Research and InnovationLaboratory (RAIL) at the University of Illinois atUrbana-ChampaignIn 2013, UIUC embarked on a mission to design and constructa laboratory with the primary objective of improving uponthe mechanics, performance, and the design of railwayinfrastructure components. To achieve this objective, the3,500 square foot Research and Innovation Laboratory(RAIL) was conceived. RAIL is now in the final stages ofconstruction and is located in Champaign, Illinois on thecampus of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ConstructionEngineering Research Laboratory (CERL). RAIL willprovide researchers with the necessary tools to study variousinfrastructure components at material, component, andsystem levels.Engineers discuss the full-scale track loading system.The Research and Innovation Laboratory (RAIL) and itsvarious equipment.RAIL currently houses multiple testing frames that providethe ability to conduct a variety of industry standardand custom experiments on railway infrastructure andmechanical components including crossties and fasteningsystems. The cornerstone of RAIL is a full-scale trackloading system which provides researchers with the abilityto perform static and dynamic experimentation on railwaysuperstructure and rolling stock mechanical components,full-depth track sub-structures, as well as the developmentand validation of new and previous railway infrastructuremodels. The full-scale track loading system is constructedwith a full-depth subgrade and loaded via hydraulicallycontrolled actuators attached to a wheelset.The construction of RAIL would not have been possiblewithout the financial and in-kind support of the NURailCenter as well as the Federal Railroad Administration(FRA), Amsted Rail, Amsted RPS, CN, CXT Concrete Ties,Hanson Professional Services, and UIUC.Alexander LovettOriginally from Albuquerque, NM, Alexander Lovett earneda B.S. degree at BYU in 2010 and an M.S. degree at UIUCin 2013 both in Civil Engineering. He is currently workingon a joint MBA/Ph.D. at UIUC where his research focuseson optimizing railroad track maintenance. The combinedbusiness and engineering perspective of this degree willprovide unique insight into railroad engineering. Hisresearch objectives include identifying and quantifyingcosts and benefits to performing maintenance. These canbe used to objectively prioritize maintenance activities andselect optimal maintenance activities for a specific area. Hehas presented his research at conferences and published hiswork in peer-reviewed journals. Alexander has served astreasurer of the AREMA Student Chapter at UIUC where heparticipated in educating students about possible careers inrailway engineering.8SpotlightsHe also teaches the Railroadingmerit badge, which includesteaching youth about theimportance of the railroadsand how to safely interact withthem. He is a recipient of theEisenhowerTransportationFellowship, which providesstipend and tuition assistanceto transportation students inan effort to keep educated and motivated professionals inthe transportation industry. After completing his degree,Alexander plans to work at a Class 1 railroad wherehe can continue improving the economics of railroadtransportation, while being active in educating thecommunity about railroads.

University of Illinois at ChicagoProject: Performance Assessment of High DensityPolyethylene (HDPE) Railroad CrosstiesRecently, several concerns, including higher speeds, heavierloads, longevity and environmental effects, have piquedthe railway industry’s interest in alternative infrastructurematerials. Currently, several manufacturers offer alternativesolutions using different recycled plastic composite materials.Several researchers have been studying and testing these newmaterials, specifically High Density Polyethylene (HDPE);however their behavior when subjected to rail loading is notfully understood yet. More research is required to properlycharacterize, describe and model the behavior of thesematerials as well as assess the feasibility of implementingthem in railway applications.A study assessing the feasibility of implementing recycled(HDPE) plastic rail crossties was conducted by the Universityof Illinois at Chicago.Long term performance cyclic testing of HDPE crosstie with therail system installed.The study included both experimental testing andcomputational analyses. The experimental testing aimed toassess the mechanical and physical properties of the HDPEcrossties along with each individual component of the railand fastening system separately. The behavior of the HDPEcrossties with the rail and fastening system installed wasalso investigated when subjected to dynamic loading. Ananalytical finite element model, constructed using calibratedmaterial model to accurately portray the crossties’ behaviorwas implemented in railroad bridge applications difficult totest at the laboratory scale. The results obtained from thisstudy illustrates the potential of this new line of recycledplastic crossties in terms of performance, environmentalbenefits and life-cycle economy.Transit Value Capture Coordination: Best Practicesand RecommendationsFor the past several years, public transit has proven to have thepotential to boost the value of some nearby properties, leadingto more attractive development opportunities. Planners andpolicy makers have started to work with local governmentsto allocate a portion of the value gained by transit lines tofunding system expansion and improvement. Called “valuecapture,” the process can be used to help fund new transitsystems, expand existing ones and modernize stations andterminals. A UIC research team recently completed site visitsto three cities and plans to finalize case studies that will bepresented at the American Public Transportation Association2014 Annual Meeting & Expo in Houston, Texas. Researchincluded studying trends between local governments andthe private development sector to identify best practices.A literature review and preliminary research showed thatsound models for value capture still need to be developed.Jenny KaneParticipation in transit-oriented research studies and timespent as a Congressional staff member have given JennyKane the practical skillsand experience needed topursue career aspirationsin transportation projectmanagement. Starting in late2013, Jenny participated in the“New Starts Ranking” research,a study to identify a methodto rank proposed transitexpansion projects in NortheastIllinois and nationwide.The study, funded by the Illinois Department ofTransportation, focuses on how other states and nongovernmental organizations evaluate and prioritize capitalprojects. She also contributed to research on “TransitValue Capture,” an effort to track and evaluate financingmechanisms between planners, taxing bodies and developers.Jenny, who earned a Master’s degree in Urban Planning andPolicy from UIC, maintains that her years as a legislative aideon Capitol Hill–she served on the staffs of two members ofCongress and a Senator–will prove valuable throughout hercareer. She is passionate about bike sharing, transit and intercity passenger rail, and will tell anyone who will listen thatAmtrak is the best way to see America.Spotlights9

Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyProjects: Railroad Strategy for the Transportof Energy Resources and HSR as a ComplexSociotechnical SystemThe MIT Regional Transportation Planning and HighSpeed Rail research group under the direction of ProfessorJoseph Sussman, continues to do work in a variety of areas.Two recent key initiatives illustrate the depth and breadth ofthis ongoing academic Sociotechnical) Process developed at MIT. Using theCLIOS Process and other techniques dealing withuncertainty, the objective of this project is to developappropriate railroad company strategies for engaging inthe energy resource transport market.The second project involves continuing to study HSR as aComplex Sociotechnical System. The intent is to bring avariety of quantitative and qualitativetools that will shed more light ondecision making in the high-speedrail context. There are technologicalissues, system architecture issues,and institutional issues that mustbe dealt with as a function of theparticular implementation and ofthe nation within which it is takingplace.First, students are examiningRailroad Strategy for theTransport of Energy Resources.The transport of energyresources is a large part of thebusiness of North Americanfreight railroads, with coalmaking up 22 percent ofthe gross revenue of Class 1railroads (Source: AAR). InOne of the particular areas of focusaddition, since 2009, there hasin 2013 was on the productivitybeen a significant growth inof HSR services. Improvements inthe transport of crude oil byThe 2012-2103 MIT Regional Transportation Planningtransportation productivity haveand High-Speed Rail research group are shown here:rail, notably from the Bakkenhelped fuel U.S. economic growthUpper row (from left): Iori Mori, Ryan Westrom, Josephformation region in Northand wealth. With a focus on theSussman, and Andrés ArchilaDakota, and more recentlyNortheast Corridor, studies haveLower row (from left): Naomi Stein, Soshi Kawakami,from the oil sands of Alberta,analyzed the past productivity inJoel Carlson, and Maite Peña. (Photo: Andrés Archila)Canada. However, given therail passenger transportation andimportance of conflicting issues such as climate change,have suggested how future configurations of high-speedenergy security, environmental impact, relations betweenrail might increase productivity. International HSRCanada and the U.S. economic development, and safety,experiences in Japan and the European Union are alsothere are opportunities to take a systems approach. Aanalyzed from a productivity perspective.method of choice to study these issues is the CLIOSRyan WestromRyan is a second year Master of Science in Transportation(M.S.T.) student at the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology. He grew up in the northwest corner ofMinnesota, in Crookston. He has re-entered the academicworld after over a decade spent working as an engineeringand planning consultant for Patrick Engineering Inc. inChicago. That work followed his undergraduate work at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Class of 2001)where he received degrees in both Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering and Urban and Regional Planning.Ryan arrived at MIT in August 2012. He works in ProfessorJoseph Sussman’s Regional Transportation Planning andHigh-Speed Rail Research Group and is focusing on issuesof livability, sustainability, placemaking, and policymakingwithin the realm of regional transportation planning,urban centers, and integrated transportation and land usecoordination. Topics of research exploration have included10Spotlightsthe future of transportationin an increasingly digital andurban world as well as local andregional impacts from largetransportation infrastructureinvestments.During his first summer termafter beginning at MIT, Ryanworked at the Volpe NationalTransportation Systems Center,in Cambridge, MA for several months. There, heworked on a significant research project on the future oftransportation. Ryan is currently completing work on histhesis, in which he is undertaking a comparative analysisof the impact of HSR on the cities of Coimbra and Leiriain Portugal and Champaign-Urbana and Kankakee inIllinois.

Michigan Technological UniversityUndergraduate Student ProjectsNURail undergraduate student projects and research arean important approach to engage and educate new studentsat Michigan Tech. Projects commonly last two academicsemesters, have strict deliverable requirements, and areadvised collaboratively by NURail faculty and industrystakeholders. In addition to tangible industry benefits inthe form of new methods, designs, or tools, the projectsresult in collaboration across disciplines, and increased railresearch exposure for students with practical and hands-oncomponents. Seven student research projects were madepossible by NURail and matching industry funding in 2013.The following listing includes project title, student major(s),funding source(s), and project year.Railcar Coupler Redesign (ME, MSE, CE), NURail, 2013Locomotive Sand Tank Level Sensor System (EE), NURail,UP, 2013Rail Program Promotional Video, (HU, SBE), NURail,2013Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Surface Evaluation, (CE,CM), NURail, MDOT, 2013-2014Centerbeam Car Repurposing (ME), NURail incollaboration with E&LS Railroad, 2013-2014Grade Crossing Jumper Cable (EE), NURail, UP, andNorfolk Southern, 2013-2014Balise and Train Control System Market Study (EE, SBE),NURail and Tech Expert Network, 2013-2014Balise and Train Control System Market Study team:From Left to Right Michael Roskelley (EE), JamesShamel (EE), Ran Sui (EE), Yiheng Yan (EE), Chuansheng Chang (EE).Replicatank fromGE AC4400Locomotiveand LEDdisplayboard withlevel display.After evaluating several alternatives, the research andtesting results suggested that the best solution was anultrasonic sensor placed in a perforated PVC pipe toprovide an ultrasonic waveguide, together with an LEDdisplay board designed on Arduino protoshield platform.For testing, the team built a full scale sand tank in thelaboratory, based on GE 4400 AC locomotive. This systemcould be cost effectively integrated into new locomotives,including the communication integration with existingsystems.Centerbeam Project (September, 2013 – May, 2014)Six undergraduate students from the MechanicalEngineering department embarked on a project to finda potential re-use for a centerbeam rail car. There is anabundance of such cars with low demand, so the decisionwas made to make cars capable of hauling frac sand in“pods.” The project included removing the old centerbeamspine, and replacing the lost load capacity with structuralmembers under the deck. Due to challenges in securing thedesign details of the original car, conceptual sketches, handcalculations, and finite element analysis were required todevelop the conversion plan. Under advice from Escanabaand Lake Superior (E&LS), the team used AAR standards,3D CAD design, and FEA modeling to develop the newdesign for the car. Finally, a scale prototype beam sectionwas constructed and tested to verify the FEA results.The team is finalizing their analysis and completing costestimates for the conversion process. As a follow-up to theproject, Michigan Tech will work with E&LS to completean AAR car modification submittal package.Student Project Highlights: Locomotive Sand TankLevel Sensor (September, 2012 – May, 2013)Locomotives have no system in place to safely and accuratelymeasure the level of sand in the on-board sanding containers,used to improve traction during acceleration. A group ofMichigan Tech Electrical Engineering students designeda sensor system that remotely monitors the sand levels anddisplays the information to personnel in a safe, accurate andeasy-to-read format.Students use FEA modeling to develop new designfor centerbeam cars.Spotlights11

University of KentuckyProject: Rail-Highway Grade Crossing RoughnessQuantitative Measurement Using 3D TechnologyQuality of surface is an important aspect affecting both thesafety and the performance of at-grade rail-highway crossings.Roughness may increase the risk of crashes for both trainsand automobiles. No quantitative method currently exists toquickly and economically assess the condition of rail crossingsin order to 1) evaluate the long-term performance of crossings,and 2) set a quantitative trigger for their rehabilitation.Research team with the scanner on track in low light conditions.The conventional method to measure the surface qualityof crossings is based on expert judgment, whereby crossingsurfaces are classified as poor, fair or good after an inspectorvisits and drives over the crossing. However, actual conditionof the crossing may be quite different from the subjectiverating. Objective/quantitative measures based on vehicleaccelerations would be more desirable. To date, however, thereis no cost effective way for inspectors to quantify performanceat the nation’s more than 300,000 at-grade crossings. Poorcondition rating crossings may not always be the most costeffective locations for preventive maintenance to lower overalllife-cycle costs. With rapid advances in computer science,3D sensing and imaging technologies, it seems that a costeffective method could be developed to determine the need torehabilitate rail crossings and assess long-term performance.The project focuseson the developmentof an accurate, lowcost and readilydeployable sensorcapable of rapidcollection of this3D surface. The3D crossing image map.research team hascollaborated with the UK EE department to develop alarge-scale “structured-light” sensor. This type of sensor,typically applied for smaller scale use (fingerprinting,dental, manufacturing, etc.) finds rail as one of its largerapplications. Low cost, fast and portable, the sensor hasseveral advantages over more expensive mobile LIDARtechnologies. The research team is also investigating theuse of other, low cost sensors such as Microsoft’s Kinectand Occipital’s new iPad-based structure sensor.The UK team is also working with Professor AhmedShabana and his students at UIC to develop vehicledynamics models based on vehicle and surface conditionsto discover the relationship between vehicle performanceand crossing roughness. 3D models from the structuredlight sensor feed into the vehicle dynamic models developedby UIC and can be used to approximate readings obtainedby field accelerometer tests. Position and speed of vehiclecrossing the tracks is clearly an important determinantin the estimation of accelerations. Dr. Eric Fitzsimmonsfrom the University of Kansas helped on the developmentand setup of Z-tube configuration to record the vehiclewheel path on the crossing by detecting the vehicle lateralplacement. Combining the crossing 3D surface cloud withthe vehicle wheel path and vehicle dynamic models, thisresearch is a first step toward automating the crossinginspection process, ultimately leading to the quantificationand estimation of future performance of rail crossings.Alex WangTeng “Alex” Wang is a Ph.D. candidate in theDepartment of Civil Engineering at the Universityof Kentucky. Alex hails from the Gansu Provinceof western China where rail transportationis critical to economic development of theregion. Alex’s familiarity with the outstandingtechnologies being implemented today in China(Tibet railway, high-speed networks) is a realbenefit to the UK team.Alex received both his B.S. and M.S. in CivilEngineering from Iowa State University where he conductedresearch on transportation safety, planning, data and GIS12Spotlightsapplications. Today, his research focuses onrailroad engineering, rail-highway gradecrossing and remote sensing and imageanalysis by GIS. His dissertation relates to3D methodology for evaluating rail crossingroughness, and is funded by the NURail Centerand Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.Alex served as President of the TransportationStudent Association (TSA) and ITE studentchapters at Iowa State University. Today Alex isan active member of several professional organizations andthe AREMA student chapter at UK (RailCats).

University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleProject: Lateral Impact on Railroad Bridgeswith Hybrid Composite Beam

Hanson Professional Services, and UIUC. The Research and Innovation Laboratory (RAIL) and its various equipment. Originally from Albuquerque, NM, Alexander Lovett earned a B.S. degree at BYU in 2010 and an M.S. degree at UIUC in 2013 both in Civil Engineering. He is currently working on a joint MBA/Ph.D. at UIUC where his research focuses

Related Documents:

Bottom rail, mid & top railS Top Rail Mid-Rail Bottom Rail how to measure mid-rail height When measuring the mid-rail height it is important to measure to the center point of where you would like the mid-rail to be placed. As the mid-rail is the same size as an individual louver, it will be placed approximately /- 1” for the specified height.

bolted joints are especially prevalent in early built rail transit systems. C racks are often found to initiate in the area of the first bolt hole and rail head to web fillet (upper fillet) at the rail end among bolted rail joints, which might cause further defects, such as rail breaks or loss of rail running surface P revious

Rail Transportation and Engineering Center (RailTEC) 205 N Mathews Ave. Urbana, IL, United States 61801. ABSTRACT . Previous research has focused on the effect of rail cant on rail wear and wheel/rail interaction, indicating that a steeper rail cant results in increased wear on rails and wheels. However, no research has investigated the effect .

rail splice line post to rail wall mounted rail stair rail return end post to rail post mounted rail a c f d b e add plug as required 4" (102mm) kickplate 1/8" x 1/2" (3mm x 12.7mm) ss pop rivets (2 required) 1/8" x 1/2" (3mm x 12.7mm) ss pop rivets (both sides) 2" x 0.156" (51mm x 4mm) square handrail tube top & mid rail 2-3/8 " x 3/16 (60.3mm .

2 3 www.srs-roadrail.com One of the first road-rail vehicles from the 1940:s. One road -rail vehicle from the 2010:s 1976 First road-rail vehicle for overhead lines equipped with lift - "lift rail vehicle" - LRB with front rail axle placed behind front road axle. 1978 Second generation lift rail vehicle LRB with front rail axle placed in front of the front road axle.

May 2006 Rev. 3 1/33 33 TSH70,71,72,73,74,75 Rail-to-Rail, Wide-Band, Low-Power Operational Amplifiers 3V, 5V, 5V specifications 3dB bandwidth: 90MHz Gain bandwidth product: 70MHz Slew rate: 100V/ms Output current: up to 55mA Input single supply voltage Output rail-to-rail Specified for 150 Ω loads Low distortion, THD: 0.1% SOT23-5, TSSOP and SO packages

Single, Dual, Quad Low-Voltage, Rail-to-Rail Operational Amplifiers LMV321, NCV321, LMV358, LMV324 The LMV321, LMV321I, NCV321, LMV358/LMV358I and LMV324 are CMOS single, dual, and quad low voltage operational amplifiers with rail to rail output swing. These amplifiers are a cost effective solution for

Low Voltage Strain Gage Amplifiers DAC Output Amplifier GENERAL DESCRIPTION The AD824 is a quad, FET input, single supply amplifier, fea-turing rail-to-rail outputs. The combination of FET inputs and rail-to-rail outputs makes the AD824 useful in a wide variety of low voltage applications where