Advanced Manufacturing Institute helping Federal Railroad Administration with rail safety project
Monday, March 23, 2015
MANHATTAN — The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded the Advanced Manufacturing Institute at Kansas State University a two-year grant of $380,000 to develop a position control platform that will house a rail sensor system used for detecting rail defects.
The goal of the project is to develop a solution that meets the needs of the railroad administration to improve rail safety across North America. The project leverages the Advanced Manufacturing Institute's expertise in the areas of mechanical design and control systems. The grant focuses on the development of a position control system to precisely locate a noncontact rail inspection sensor over the railhead and to ensure it maintains the proper distance from the rail under normal operating conditions.
"Over the last five years we have been fortunate to work with our partners on a wide range of product development projects for the railroad industry. This previous experience has enabled our staff to understand the challenges that would be faced in the development of this new system," said Taylor Jones, chief engineer at the Advanced Manufacturing Institute. "We are pleased that the Federal Railroad Administration has selected Kansas State University to continue providing technical support in an effort to promote safety throughout the nation's railroad industry."
The Advanced Manufacturing Institute at Kansas State University provides a broad range of engineering and business development services and to both private industry and university researchers to advance the commercial readiness of new products or technologies. Additional information can be found at http://www.k-state.edu/ami.
