Reference number : GC-2017-Q4-01972, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Zayed, Tarek (Concordia University)|Zayed, Tarek (Université Concordia), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Quebec|Québec, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Engage Grants for universities, program name french : Subventions d'engagement partenarial pour les universités, program purpose english : The condition of railway infrastructure, such as rails, ballasts and sleepers, should always be monitored and_x000D_
analyzed to ensure ride safety and ride quality for both passengers and freight. Railway infrastructure is hard to_x000D_
assess and monitor in terms of its condition due to various types of infrastructure components. The majority of_x000D_
the existing condition assessment models are limited to a specific component of railway infrastructure and_x000D_
particular inspection technique / technology. Therefore, a comprehensive condition assessment tool should be_x000D_
developed to cover the railway infrastructure components using different inspection techniques to ensure the_x000D_
safety and quality of public service. This research aims at developing a technology-based condition assessment_x000D_
framework for railway infrastructure considering structural and geometrical defects in different components._x000D_
The defects of each component will be identified and studied through literature review and experts opinion in_x000D_
the field. Two main inputs will be used to develop the model: (1) relative weights of importance of_x000D_
components, defects and their categories and (2) defects severities. To obtain the relative weights, the Analytic_x000D_
Network Process (ANP) technique will be adopted, which considers the inter-dependencies among components_x000D_
and their defects. Fuzzy logic will be used to unify different defects / criteria and to translate the linguistic_x000D_
condition assessment grading scale to a numerical score for severities. Furthermore, the weighted sum mean_x000D_
will be used to integrate both the weights and severities to determine the condition and to evaluate the overall_x000D_
condition of the railway infrastructure. The required data for the present research will be collected from Exp_x000D_
Global Inc., railway condition classification manuals, literature and questionnaires distributed to professionals_x000D_
across Canada. The fruit of this fusion will also be presented in a user-friendly automated tool using EXCEL._x000D_
Several case studies from Exp Global Inc. will be selected to prove the concept of the proposed model/system_x000D_
and validate its results. The proposed model helps asset managers in minimizing the inaccuracy of railway_x000D_
condition assessment and prioritizing maintenance, rehabilitation and budget allocation., program purpose french : The condition of railway infrastructure, such as rails, ballasts and sleepers, should always be monitored and_x000D_
analyzed to ensure ride safety and ride quality for both passengers and freight. Railway infrastructure is hard to_x000D_
assess and monitor in terms of its condition due to various types of infrastructure components. The majority of_x000D_
the existing condition assessment models are limited to a specific component of railway infrastructure and_x000D_
particular inspection technique / technology. Therefore, a comprehensive condition assessment tool should be_x000D_
developed to cover the railway infrastructure components using different inspection techniques to ensure the_x000D_
safety and quality of public service. This research aims at developing a technology-based condition assessment_x000D_
framework for railway infrastructure considering structural and geometrical defects in different components._x000D_
The defects of each component will be identified and studied through literature review and experts opinion in_x000D_
the field. Two main inputs will be used to develop the model: (1) relative weights of importance of_x000D_
components, defects and their categories and (2) defects severities. To obtain the relative weights, the Analytic_x000D_
Network Process (ANP) technique will be adopted, which considers the inter-dependencies among components_x000D_
and their defects. Fuzzy logic will be used to unify different defects / criteria and to translate the linguistic_x000D_
condition assessment grading scale to a numerical score for severities. Furthermore, the weighted sum mean_x000D_
will be used to integrate both the weights and severities to determine the condition and to evaluate the overall_x000D_
condition of the railway infrastructure. The required data for the present research will be collected from Exp_x000D_
Global Inc., railway condition classification manuals, literature and questionnaires distributed to professionals_x000D_
across Canada. The fruit of this fusion will also be presented in a user-friendly automated tool using EXCEL._x000D_
Several case studies from Exp Global Inc. will be selected to prove the concept of the proposed model/system_x000D_
and validate its results. The proposed model helps asset managers in minimizing the inaccuracy of railway_x000D_
condition assessment and prioritizing maintenance, rehabilitation and budget allocation., agreement title english : Technology-Based Condition Assessment Framework for Railway Infrastructure, agreement title french : Technology-Based Condition Assessment Framework for Railway Infrastructure, agreement number : EGP, agreement value : 24750.0, agreement start date : 2018-03-22, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019)., additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019)., owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada