Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019).

The condition of railway infrastructure, such as rails, ballasts and sleepers, should always be monitored andx000D
analyzed to ensure ride safety and ride quality for both passengers and freight. Railway infrastructure is hard tox000D
assess and monitor in terms of its condition due to various types of infrastructure components. The majority ofx000D
the existing condition assessment models are limited to a specific component of railway infrastructure andx000D
particular inspection technique / technology. Therefore, a comprehensive condition assessment tool should bex000D
developed to cover the railway infrastructure components using different inspection techniques to ensure thex000D
safety and quality of public service. This research aims at developing a technology-based condition assessmentx000D
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 inx000D
the field. Two main inputs will be used to develop the model: (1) relative weights of importance ofx000D
components, defects and their categories and (2) defects severities. To obtain the relative weights, the Analyticx000D
Network Process (ANP) technique will be adopted, which considers the inter-dependencies among componentsx000D
and their defects. Fuzzy logic will be used to unify different defects / criteria and to translate the linguisticx000D
condition assessment grading scale to a numerical score for severities. Furthermore, the weighted sum meanx000D
will be used to integrate both the weights and severities to determine the condition and to evaluate the overallx000D
condition of the railway infrastructure. The required data for the present research will be collected from Expx000D
Global Inc., railway condition classification manuals, literature and questionnaires distributed to professionalsx000D
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/systemx000D
and validate its results. The proposed model helps asset managers in minimizing the inaccuracy of railwayx000D
condition assessment and prioritizing maintenance, rehabilitation and budget allocation.