What We Do
Improve Safety and Enhance Performance
We aim to improve safety and enhance the performance of railway transportation through strategic programs of innovative research and technology development.
Conduct Trainings
Training the next generation of transportation professionals is a well-recognized challenge for the industry. The Center’s education programs aim to recruit and retain a diverse student population in engineering and technology, sustain their interest in transportation, and prepare them to meet the complex challenges of railway systems.
Create Opportunities
The Center creates opportunities for engineers, teachers, and students to collaborate in ways that directly influence student learning, interests, and career goals—bridging engineering research with both university and pre-college education.
Our Work
Computational Modeling of Fracture in Rails
This project adapts a two-way coupled multiscale computational algorithm to predict crack growth in rails subjected to long-term cyclic fatigue. Backed by over a decade of experimental testing and in partnership with MxV Rail, the model aims to help rail engineers determine when cracked track sections should be safely removed — or can remain in service. If successful, the tool could transform how the rail industry assesses track worthiness by pairing predictive analytics with validated field data.
Computer Prediction of Buckling in Rails
Funded in part by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Center and MxV Rail, this project advances a next-generation, open-source finite element model to predict rail buckling under real-world conditions such as lateral walk, rail temperature, friction and support degradation. Developed for deployment by MxV Rail, the tool is designed to be user-friendly while offering greater accuracy than currently available models. Ongoing refinements focus on curved track, where even minor lateral movement can dramatically reduce buckling resistance.
Experimental Determination of Crack Growth in Rails Subjected to Lone-Term Cyclic Fatigue Loading
As part of the University Transportation Center for Railway Safety, this project involves detailed experimental testing on rails with internal cracks to support and validate a companion computational model. Led by the Center for Railway Research and funded by MxV Rail, the work focuses on gathering material property data and fracture parameters critical to predicting crack evolution in ductile solids under long-term cyclic loading. These experiments not only strengthen the underlying model but also aim to provide a science-based method for assessing how long damaged rails can remain safely in service.
The Team
Flexible Pavements
Garrett Dorsett
Associate Transportation Researcher
(979) 317-2335
[email protected]