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2006

Simulation

Civil and Environmental Engineering

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Statistical Computation For Extreme Bridge Traffic Load Effects, Colin C. Caprani, E. J. O'Brien Jan 2006

Statistical Computation For Extreme Bridge Traffic Load Effects, Colin C. Caprani, E. J. O'Brien

Conference papers

The maintenance of highway infrastructure constitutes a major expenditure in many countries. This cost can be reduced significantly by minimizing the repair or replacement of highway bridges. In the assessment of existing bridges, the strength estimate tends to be more accurate than that of traffic loading, due to the more variable nature of loading. Recent advances in the statistical analysis of highway bridge traffic loading have resulted in more accurate forecasts of the actual loading to which a bridge is subject. While these advances require extensive numerical computation, they can significantly improve the accuracy of the calculation. This paper outlines …


Estimating Risk Of Failure Of Engineering Structures Using Predictive Likelihood, Colin C. Caprani, A. Bordallo-Ruiz, E. J. O'Brien Jan 2006

Estimating Risk Of Failure Of Engineering Structures Using Predictive Likelihood, Colin C. Caprani, A. Bordallo-Ruiz, E. J. O'Brien

Conference papers

It has been common engineering practice to define characteristic values for loading and capacity of structures in order to assess the structural capacity of existing structures. This approach, yet practical and intuitive, lead to the comparison of deterministic values (characteristic values) that had to represent all the variability of the problem and is considered to be conservative, as usually loading is overestimated and capacity underestimated, yielding to calculations with high safety margins for the extreme events. Probabilistics methods have tried to overcom e this limitation by computing the overall probability of failure (Pf) for the lifetime of the structure, taking …


Study Of Same-Lane And Inter-Lane Gvw Correlation, Bernard Enright, Eugene J. O'Brien, Colin C. Caprani Jan 2006

Study Of Same-Lane And Inter-Lane Gvw Correlation, Bernard Enright, Eugene J. O'Brien, Colin C. Caprani

Conference papers

The methodology used is to generate a number of years of simulated traffic and to use extreme value statistics to predict more accurately the characteristic loading for a given bridge. The parameters and probability distributions used in the Monte Carlo simulation must be based on observed sample traffic data. Some previous studies have made unsubstantiated assumptions regarding correlation between the Gross Vehicle Weights (GVW) of trucks in the same lane, or between trucks in adjacent, same-direction lanes. For this paper, an extensive database of Dutch Weigh-in-Motion data is analysed. Data are collected from two same-direction lanes and are time-stamped to …


The Effectiveness And Criteria For Placement Of Raised Pavement Markers (Synthesis Study), Yi Jiang Jan 2006

The Effectiveness And Criteria For Placement Of Raised Pavement Markers (Synthesis Study), Yi Jiang

JTRP Technical Reports

Raised pavement markers (RPM) are used in highway centerlines and edge lines as a traffic safety measure to provide more positive guidance for motorists in inclement weather and low light conditions. They have been widely applied by highway agencies as delineation treatments to improve driver preview distances. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has installed RPMs on selected roadway sections primarily as position guidance devices in order to better guide drivers in night conditions. In Indiana, RPMs are installed on all interstate highways and multilane divided highways. However, RPMs are used on only a few of the Indiana’s two-lane highways. …