Engineering Commons^™

Improved Methodology For Developing Non-Motorized Safety Perfomance Functions, Keneth Morgan Kwayu

Masters Theses

This study aimed at improving the methodology for developing statewide non-motorized safety performance functions (SPFs). Due to lack of pedestrian and bicyclist counts, the methodology proposed a procedure for developing statewide surrogate non-motorized exposure measures using data that are available at statewide level. Eleven years non-motorized crashes at signalized urban intersections joining Arterial and Collector roads in Michigan were used to test the procedure.

The study also explored the use of Bayesian approach for modeling non-motorized crashes as an alternative to traditional classical count data models. Classical count data models that were considered as potential fit to the data include; …

Life-Cycle Benefit-Cost Analysis Of Safety Related Improvements On Roadways, Jordan Browne Frustaci

Theses and Dissertations

The Highway Safety Manual (HSM) lists four different methods for determining the change in crash frequency in order of reliability. Currently, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) uses the fourth reliable method. The goal of this research was to develop a tool that the most reliable method mentioned in the HSM could be used to perform life-cycle benefit-cost analyses. A spreadsheet program was built that performs the HSM's Part C Predictive Method for 11 different roadway segment types mentioned in HSM using Excel macros and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming. Intersections were not included in this spreadsheet program as …

Pervious Pavement Systems For High Traffic Roadways, Kevin M. Smith

Construction Management

This report highlights the benefits and detriments of pervious pavement systems through research of existing knowledge and multifaceted experiments to determine the feasibility of implementing a pervious pavement system on high traffic roadways. With over 40,000 miles of highway in the United States alone and severe water crises in states like California and growing environmental and safety concerns, the need for pervious pavements is abundantly clear. The research conducted utilizes existing knowledge on pervious pavements and applies it to the application of high traffic roadways. The experiment tests four different pervious concrete mix designs to determine compressive strength and water …

A Comprehensive Safety Analysis Of Diverging Diamond Interchanges, Holly Lloyd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With the implementation of new roadway configurations, there is a great need to study the influence of the roadway design on the crash rate. Utah is one of the leading states in the implementation of the Diverging Diamond Interchange.

In order to determine the effects of the new roadway configuration on the safety of the intersection, this study employs an Empirical Bayes before-after study of the crash rates at selected Diverging Diamond Interchanges in Utah. The results of the Empirical Bayes method were also used to calculate crash modification factors. The total number of crashes at each site were analyzed. …

Mining Big Data To Create A Tool For Empirical Observation Of Continuous Safety Improvement In A Construction Company - A Progressive Case Study In The Lean Environment, Nicolas J. Michuda

Open Access Theses

In any iterative process, without a system of measurement, controlled improvement cannot be recorded. This is especially true in the construction industry, where error occurs, often with fatal repercussions. As part of a process to facilitate the establishment of this metric, an entirely new application was created. The goal of this application is to measure the causal factors that lead to incidents, which will allow the user and administration to track the circumstances and types of incidents. This enables the company to focus on these problem areas and improve through training. By analyzing these incident trends over time, the company …

Analysis Of Pedestrian And Bicycle Crashes In Michigan, Ahmed Abbas Ghubin Al-Zubaidi

Masters Theses

Vulnerable road users such as pedestrian and bicyclists are more likely to sustain a severe injury when they are involved in a crash with motor vehicles. Identifying the causes of crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists is essential to reducing the number and the severity of such crashes. This study identified the causes and risk behaviors associated with pedestrian and bicycle crashes in Michigan by reviewing selected individual crash report (i.e., UD-10). Crash reports for all pedestrian and bicycle fatal crashes (K) and a sample of incapacitating injury crashes (A) from 2010 to 2014 were reviewed and typed individually using the …

Numerical Simulation Of Shock Response And Dynamic Fracture Of A Concrete Dam Subjected To Impact Load, Lu Lu, Xin Li, Jing Zhou, Genda Chen, Dong Yun

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The shock response and dynamic fracture of concrete gravity dams under impact load are the key problems to evaluate the antiknock safety of the dam. This study aims at understanding the effects of impact shock on the elastic response and dynamic fracture of concrete gravity dams. Firstly, this paper uses acceleration records of a concrete gravity dam under impact to establish the correct way to determine the concrete gravity dam of the fundamental frequency and present cut sheets multi-degree-of-freedom dynamic modeling. Under strong impact loading, the constitutive relation of concrete gravity dam and the highest frequency of the impact are …

Object Detection For Agricultural And Construction Environments Using An Ultrasonic Sensor, Joseph S. Dvorak, Marvin L. Stone, Kelvin P. Self

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

This study tested an ultrasonic sensor‘s ability to detect several objects commonly encountered in outdoor agricultural or construction environments: a water jug, a sheet of oriented strand board (OSB), a metal fence post, a human model, a wooden fence post, a Dracaena plant, a juniper plant, and a dog model. Tests were performed with each target object at distances from 0.01 to 3 m. Five tests were performed with each object at each location, and the sensor‘s ability to detect the object during each test was categorized as "undetected," "intermittent," "incorrect distance," "good." Rigid objects that presented a larger surface …

Bakken Crude Oil And The Changing Logistics Of The American Oil Industry, Austin Rau

Independent Research

The extraction of Bakken crude oil in the Williston Basin of North Dakota is transforming how petroleum is shipped. Before 2008, North American oil was carried primarily via pipeline from source regions to refineries along the Gulf Coast or to metropolitan areas close to consumers. The current pipeline system is ill-equipped to accommodate massive volumes of oil from this previously low producing region. Lack of infrastructure and high demand for “light tight oil” (LTO) led to the use of railroads as a means of moving the product to refineries across the nation. Transporting oil via rail over long distances was …

Child Safety Near Pot Shops In Denver, Jacob Flansberg, Elise Jackson, Amelia Theobald

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Some major factors in deciding where one’s family should live include relative safety of the neighborhood, available green space such as parks and schools, grocery stores, and other commercial retail in the area. With the legalization of marijuana in states such as Colorado, proximity of these marijuana dispensaries has become another factor. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) can be used as a measure of vegetation, and to determine areas with high levels of irrigated vegetation. Using ArcGIS Modelbuilder, the data from an NDVI analysis can be used to determine the proximity of marijuana shops to these types of greenspaces …