<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="https://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
  <channel>
    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
    <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
    <atom:link href="https://rip.trb.org/Record/RSS?s=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" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
    <description></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
    </image>
    <item>
      <title>Durability of Diamond Ground HMA with and w/o Tack Coat</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2431174</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The proposed research will identify several duplicate Hot Mix Asphalt paving projects around the state in different climate/traffic areas.  Duplicates are needed to ensure adequate sites are included in the research project as evaluation of diamond ground tacked versus untacked areas will only be done based on smoothness corrective action areas per the contract.  Upon completion of smoothness acceptance testing/identification of corrective work areas, different areas in the same travel lane would be designated to remain uncoated with tack.  Sites would be monitored annually, with performance monitored through visual distress assessment/photos.  Sand patch (surface texture testing) would also be performed to document surface texture changes from year to year]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 16 Sep 2024 09:32:58 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2431174</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>PPRC14 SPE 3.35: Quieter Pavement Long-term Monitoring</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1441813</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This task is a continuation of the noise performance monitoring for selected quieter pavement test sections including continuously reinforced concrete pavements (CRCP) and grind and groove (GnG) surfaced jointed concrete pavements (JCP). The University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC) has previously completed six years of monitoring asphalt surfaced pavements and four years of monitoring concrete surfaced pavements, and developed tire/pavement noise models for different pavement types.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2017 10:53:16 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1441813</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Heavy Axle Load (HAL) Revenue Service Tests at Eastern &amp; Western Mega-Sites</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1367422</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This project will continue support to the Association of American Railroads (AAR) revenue service test sites.  Results have been achieved on the performance of different rail types, grinding and lubrication.  Other track components are also tested.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2015 11:27:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1367422</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Optimizing Performance of Railroad Rail through Artificial Wear</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1313117</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Localized plastic deformation from rolling contact and friction at the wheel-rail interface induces a severe multi-axial internal stress state in the rail head, resulting in both surface and subsurface nucleation of cracks. Catastrophic failure of railroad rail is often caused by such railhead fatigue defects. Fatigue-induced broken-rail derailments of trains can result in significant financial loss to stakeholders as well as human casualties. The objectives of the proposed project are to reduce the occurrence of fatigue-induced derailments of trains while simultaneously extending the service life of rail. There is worldwide field evidence that rail-head grinding, a form of applying artificial wear to a railhead, is a cost-effective method to increase the useful life of rails. The current use of rail grinding in the rail industry is to maintain a smooth running surface upon which the wheels of trains roll. Other mechanical effects of rail-head grinding are not fully understood, and thus the design of grinding schedules currently depends upon intuition, prior experience, and historical application. To achieve the goals of this project, wear and fatigue models will be developed to simultaneously assess three volumetric regions of the rail head: surface, near-surface, and subsurface. The proposed wear and fatigue models of this project will be integrated into a generalized multi-axial analysis accounting for both natural and artificial wear at the running surface and fatigue crack nucleation within near-surface and subsurface volumetric regions. The proposed multi-axial framework will be validated against field measurements and observations and incorporated into a genetic algorithm (GA) optimization module to help identify meaningful pareto frontiers associated with alternative scenarios of applying artificial wear through railhead grinding. To meet these objectives, the proposed research project will present (1) finite element analyses of wheel-rail contact with nonlinear multiaxial material hardening, (2) analytical studies of at-surface, nearsurface and subsurface wear (natural and artificial) and fatigue, (3) a survey and data collection program that includes assessments of wear, fatigue and rail head grinding costs from US railroad companies, (4) the validation and correlation of the results from wear and fatigue mechanistic models against experiments and field results, and (5) the development of a GA-based framework that will provide a set of optimal rail head grinding schedules and geometric profiles of the railhead for given loading conditions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2014 01:00:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1313117</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Analysis of Bridge Deck Smoothness vs. In-Place Geometry of Deck Reinforcement</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1268074</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Quite often concrete bridge decks exhibit significantly more roughness than the roads leading into and away from them. This increased roughness not only contributes to premature deterioration of the deck but also presents a stark contrast to motorists traveling onto and off the bridge. With the increased use of smoothness specifications on the road this disparity in the ride quality becomes more significant in light of the performance measures incorporated in MAP-21. The objective of this project is to determine the correlation between the steel reinforcement in a bridge deck and the measured smoothness of the deck. This work will investigate the relationship between the concrete cover over the rebars as it relates to the roughness of the deck by using non destructive evaluation methods. Ground-coupled ground penetration radar (GPR) will be used to locate steel reinforcement in several bridge decks and estimate characteristics such as concrete cover, layout geometry, and size. At the same time, a walk-behind the surface profile will be used to estimate the surface roughness of the concrete deck. Results from this project will benefit the Department of Transportation (DOT) by allowing it to implement mitigating measures in the design and construction of decks to minimize concrete volume loss over the rebars. The data will also provide a true estimate of the concrete cover over rebars before diamond grinding to ensure that adequate cover is maintained. This information will complement ongoing efforts to standardize diamond grinding of decks to provide an optimum riding surface.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 09 Nov 2013 01:00:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1268074</guid>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>