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On behalf of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) developed a “proof-of-concept” finite element (FE) longitudinal resistance model to simulate a rail break based on historical data. Longitudinal track resistance (fo) is an important parameter...
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) contracted with Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) to investigate the spike loading environment in various wood-tie fastening systems. The goal was to understand how dynamic loads are transferred to the spikes in wood-tie fastening systems and...
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) investigated the in-track performance of engineered-polymer composite (EPC) ties. This report summarizes the results from a revenue service test conducted by the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI...
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sponsored Alion Science and Technology to conduct a project to examine cab system automation displays and the risk of human error.
The purpose of this work was to demonstrate improved system performance on a selected automated system by implementing a function allocation methodology that enables design of a display interface for that system that makes best use of human as well as machine capabilities.
Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) evaluated the performance of several No. 20 fixed-point frogs on Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in Kentucky. This effort was part of the Heavy Axle Load (HAL) Revenue Service Test Program jointly supported by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)...
From October 2019 to May 2022, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sponsored a research and development project, performed by Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), to research the feasibility of an Onboard Broken Rail Detection (OBRD) concept at the Transportation Technology...
VisioStack Inc. completed initial research to automate drone inspection flights over railroad track using real-time rail detection and track centerline following to simulate flight control without Global Positioning System (GPS) information. Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS, or drones) are platforms...
This report presents a non-contact ultrasonic technique to map the full-field surface deflection of railroad ties using known concepts of sonar-based distance measurements. Between September 2019 and July 2021, the University of California San Diego (UCSD) created a beam with six sonar sensors...
Under a contract with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the University of Florida (UF) instrumented a section of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, DC. The tunnel, built between May 2015 and June 2018, was designed and built with pads and mats. UF collected track data over the...