ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND PERFORMANCE-BASED DESIGN FRAMEWORKS FOR RESILIENT RAIL-CORRIDOR INFRASTRUCTURE

Abstract

This study addresses a persistent problem in rail corridor infrastructure: service disruptions and accelerated asset deterioration reduce reliability, yet decision makers often lack quantitative evidence showing how advanced engineering materials and performance-based design governance jointly translate into resilience outcomes. The purpose was to test whether Advanced Engineering Materials Integration (AEMI) and Performance Based Design Maturity (PBDM) predict Rail Corridor Resilience Performance (RCRP) using a quantitative, cross sectional, case-based design across enterprise rail projects. Data were collected from 212 rail engineering and operations professionals (mean experience 9.7 years, SD 4.8), and 83.0 percent reported direct involvement in the studied corridor cases. Measures showed strong reliability: AEMI (8 items, Cronbach alpha 0.86), PBDM (8 items, alpha 0.88), and RCRP (8 items, alpha 0.84). Descriptively, respondents reported moderate to high implementation (AEMI M 3.68, SD 0.59; PBDM M 3.74, SD 0.63) and comparatively higher resilience performance (RCRP M 3.81, SD 0.56); durability improvement was the strongest AEMI facet (M 3.92, SD 0.71), while restoration time target integration was the weakest PBDM facet (M 3.41, SD 0.83). The analysis plan applied descriptive statistics, internal consistency testing, Pearson correlations, and multiple regression with controls for perceived hazard exposure severity and asset age or condition pressure, plus an interaction term. Correlations supported the hypothesized relationships (AEMI to RCRP r 0.58, PBDM to RCRP r 0.62, AEMI to PBDM r 0.55; all p < .001). In regression, AEMI (beta 0.28, p < .001) and PBDM (beta 0.39, p < .001) jointly explained 49 percent of variance in RCRP (R2 0.49, Adj. R2 0.48); adding controls improved fit to R2 0.52 and effects remained significant (AEMI beta 0.25; PBDM beta 0.36; both p < .001). The AEMI by PBDM interaction was positive but small (beta 0.10, p = .031), indicating that performance-based maturity amplifies the resilience payoff of advanced materials. These results suggest procurement and standards teams should institutionalize performance verification workflows and data logging to sustain long term gains. Implications are that corridor programs should pair materials upgrades with verifiable performance requirements, especially restoration time criteria, to maximize resilience returns and support evidence-based capital planning.