| NuRail Project ID | NURAIL2015-UKY-R10 |
| Project Title | Implementation of a rail crossing condition index |
| University | University of Kentucky |
| Project Manager | Souleyrette |
| Principal Investigator | Souleyrette |
| PI Contact Information | |
| Funding Source(s) and Amounts Provided (by each agency or organization) | $33,761 from NURail plus $16,886 UK Match |
| Total Project Cost | $ |
| Agency ID or Contract Number | DTRT12-G-UTC18 (Grant 1) |
| Start Date | 2015-02-01 |
| End Date | 2016-06-30 |
| Location | |
| Brief Description of Research Project | The objective of this project is to deploy 3D sensors developed in earlier UK NURail phases as part of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's railroad crossing improvement program. Tasks include: 1. Rideability Assessment a. Geometric Method i. Collect LiDAR 3D profiles for a representative sample of Kentucky rail highway grade crossings. ii. Fit planes through point clouds to calculate volumetric and point differences that may affect vehicular accelerations. iii. Compute single or multiple measures of crossing roughness based on these differences. Deliverable: Measured and computed indices for each test crossing. iv. Rate crossings based on geometric measures b. Acceleration Method i. Collect accelerometer readings for multiple vehicles, multiple speeds and multiple crossings ii. Propose and test various measures for evaluating roughness of crossings 1. Maximum and minimum accelerations 2. Total energy iii. Compare vehicle performance relative to design vehicle 1. Speed bump as control 2. Single crossing as control iv. Rate crossings using test metric chosen from tasks 3 and 4 c. Compare geometric and acceleration-based crossing ratings for test crossings. Compare findings to KYTC qualitative assessments. 2. Hump Crossing Evaluation a. Develop methodology to identify hump crossings from 3D point cloud b. Implement hump crossing methodology software c. Field validate hump crossings 3. Policy Assessment a. Present findings of rideability assessment and hump crossing evaluation to KYTC. b. Discuss implications for including findings in rail crossing improvement program. |
| Describe Implementation of Research Outcomes (or why not implemented) | |
| Photos | |
| Impacts/Benefits of Implementation (actual, not anticipated) | |
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| Project Website | |
| Completed | yes |
| Final Report | NURAIL2015-UKY-R10_combined_final_report.pdf |