Engineers and researchers at the University of Notre Dame (ND), along with leadership at South Bend company Manufacturing Technology, Inc. (MTI), have entered a partnership to create a new rail joining technology. Together, ND and MTI were awarded a $4.6 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to work through the next three years on a Low Force Friction Welding process for continuous welded rail.
The grant is part of the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program through FRA, which provides funding for rail projects that improve the safety and reliability of both passenger and freight trains. It is being led by Robert Landers, Advanced Manufacturing Collegiate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Edward Kinzel, the Viola D. Hank Collegiate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, both in the College of Engineering. From MTI, President & Chief Executive Officer Dan Adams, a ’95 UND alumnus, is directing the grant with Simon Jones, Director of Aerospace Development & Low Force at MTI.
“This homegrown partnership between Notre Dame and MTI is a perfect example of how innovative ideas and new processes—developed right here in South Bend—have the potential to make an impact that benefits our whole country, and beyond. By bringing together experts from across the academy and industry, we have the opportunity to improve safety and address economic issues associated with the railroads across the US,” said Landers.
While the steel train rails are strong, they do wear down over time. Welding rail segments together to form a continuously welded rail (CWR) significantly reduces wear on the rail, produces a smoother ride, and is responsible for removing the “clickety-clack” sound associated with older trains as they moved between mechanically fastened sections. CWR rails are joined using electric flash or thermite welding techniques. Both of these approaches melt the metal at the joint, changing the microstructure and leading to increased wear. This eventually requires costly repair and maintenance. Linear friction welding (LFW) is a solid-state approach that produces a joint by oscillating the parts relative to each other under high pressure. These joints have higher integrity and are preferred for jet engines and other aerospace applications.
“As a fifth-generation railroader, I know firsthand the challenges of installing new rail and the immense benefits of making that process more efficient,” said Federal Railroad Administrator David Fink. “After years of delay, Secretary Sean Duffy made it a priority under his leadership to ensure USDOT delivered these critical dollars to big projects like this one. Thanks to his leadership, the University of Notre Dame and Manufacturing Technology, Inc. have the resources they need to develop an innovative next-generation track welding process.”
MTI is a world leader in LFW and has developed a new variant that combines traditional LFW with local heating of the joint without melting it. The elevated heating significantly reduces the pressure required as well as the footprint of the machinery and the energy needed to create strong, precise welds. Applying a technique typically used for securing the bladed disks of jet turbines has the potential to dramatically reduce maintenance costs for the nation’s railway infrastructure and becomes increasingly important for high-speed trains.
By bringing together MTI’s expertise in friction welding and Notre Dame’s insights into material and mechanical engineering, the collaborators aim to create and demonstrate a superior method for joint performance through the Low Force Friction Welding technology, with 136-pound AREMA (American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association) rail, which is standard for heavy-duty rail that supports industrial traffic, and to bring a new and better rail joining process to the industry as a whole.
“Working to find a way to help extend the life of the existing rail that would potentially save billions of dollars is something that benefits all Americans,” explained Adams. “As partners, we truly are moving ‘full steam ahead’ on this collaborative effort to improve the safety and reliability of our essential rail lines.”
The grant also includes providing undergraduate and graduate students at Notre Dame with the opportunity to contribute to the research, understanding the effects of Low Force Friction Welding on the mechanical properties of the rails.
“At Notre Dame, we often remind students that ‘your research matters’ and this new project is a perfect example of how students at all levels can develop their expertise while contributing to Father Sorin’s original mission for Notre Dame to be a powerful means for doing good in this country,” explained Kinzel, who said the students involved will be involved in the aerospace and mechanical engineering program as well as the college’s materials science and engineering program, with emphasis in their studies on materials or metallurgy.
The innovation and improvements will take the three-year period, with the potential of two additional years of time dedicated to a lengthy test that requires a $1 million investment for testing full-sized parts at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Colorado. This process will give MTI and UND researchers and engineers feedback on improvements in the tooling and techniques to join rails, and ultimately, approval on a new approach to rail joining.
Steel Dynamics Incorporated, a steel producer based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is partnering with MTI and ND, as well as Pandrol, based in Napoleon, Ohio, which supplies rail fastenings, track equipment, and creates and supplies railway infrastructure products.
To learn more about becoming involved with this work, please reach out to Robert Landers. Learn more about other grant partnerships with the University by visiting research.nd.edu. Learn more about MTI by visiting mtiwelding.com.
Originally published at research.nd.edu by Christina Clark on July 16, 2026. Photo credit: APchanel, Adobe Stock #357989756.