AI-Enabled In-Motion Assessment of Continuous Welded Rail
Rail neutral temperature (RNT), the temperature at which a section of continuous welded rail (CWR) experiences no internal stress (no compression or tension), is a critical factor in maintaining track stability. Excessive compression can cause buckling and derailment, while excessive tension can lead to rail fractures. In their previous project, the researchers developed and tested a stationary wayside system to determine the RNT of CWR. The system measured low-frequency rail vibrations, triggered with an electrically driven rod, and applied artificial intelligence (AI) trained with finite element modeling to determine RNT. In this new IDEA project, the research team proposes an in-motion inspection system as a better and more desirable alternative to the stationary wayside system. Unlike the stationary system, this in-motion system will allow inspection of several miles of a given track in any given day and will also complement other scanning inspection solutions. The change to in-motion system for monitoring RNT will be accomplished by assembling a moving vehicle on which an impactor will be mounted to generate localized vibrations. A battery-operated laser vibrometer will measure those vibrations. The frequency spectrum of the signals will be extracted and fed to a machine learning algorithm previously trained on finite element data to estimate the RNT and the rail lateral resistance. Despite the development of several techniques in the past, the railroad industry is still looking for a method to provide high level of accuracy with minimum traffic disruption. This non-proprietary and open source IDEA product has a potential to fulfil this need. It will enable measurement of thermal stress or the estimation of RNT without requiring extensive preparation, track closure, or day long observations during which the RNT must be crossed. The proposed system can be installed in moving vehicles anytime of the year to make measurements at discrete locations and is not affected by the environmental effects.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $99,995.00
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Contract Numbers:
IDEA-58
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Sponsor Organizations:
Federal Transit Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Managing Organizations:
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Project Managers:
Jawed, Inam
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Performing Organizations:
University of Pittsburgh
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Principal Investigators:
Rizzo, Piervincenzo
- Start Date: 20260701
- Expected Completion Date: 20280229
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- USDOT Program: Rail Safety IDEA Program
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Artificial intelligence; Continuous welded rail; Inspection; Temperature; Thermal stresses; Vibrometers
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Maintenance and Preservation; Railroads;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 02001760
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
- Contract Numbers: IDEA-58
- Files: TRB, RIP
- Created Date: Sep 4 2026 8:27AM