Engineering Commons^™

Detection Of Multiple Flaws In Concrete Bridge Decks Using Ultrasonic Wave Propagation, Ece Erdogmus, Eric Garcia, Michael Schuller, Donald Harvey, Kelsey Stithem, Monica Houck

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Case Study: Effect Of Rideshare And Autonomous Vehicles On Parking Requirements In The Bay Area, Ryan J. Macintosh

Construction Management

With our streets becoming over crowded with many different modes of transportation, parking has followed this trend and proven to be much more difficult for people. This has frustrated citizens and developers alike because there never seems to be enough parking when it’s needed and finding the space and resources necessary to provide sufficient amounts is becoming increasingly difficult. The objective of this report is to create more awareness of how rideshare and autonomous vehicles are affecting parking requirements imposed by cities. The world we live in can change very fast and in order to accommodate for these changes, we …

Tncs & Congestion, Joe Castiglione, Drew Cooper, Bhargava Sana, Dan Tischler, Tilly Chang, Gregory D. Erhardt, Sneha Roy, Mei Chen, Alex Mucci

Civil Engineering Reports

From the executive summary:

This document:

• Identifies common measures of roadway congestion;
• Discusses factors that contribute to roadway to congestion; and
• Quantifies the relative contributions of different factors, including population, employment, road network changes and TNCs, to observed changes in congestion in San Francisco between 2010 and 2016, by location and time of day.

The report utilizes a unique TNC trip dataset provided to the Transportation Authority by researchers from Northeastern University in late 2016, as well as INRIX data, a commercial dataset which combines several real-time GPS monitoring sources with data from highway performance monitoring systems. These data are …

2018 Safety Belt Usage Survey In Kentucky, Erin Lammers-Staats, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of the survey summarized in this report was to establish a statewide safety belt usage rate in Kentucky for 2018. This rate can be compared to those determined from previous surveys. The 2018 statewide survey documents the continued increase in usage associated with the change in the law to allow primary enforcement and related education and enforcement.

Mapping Of Bruise Of Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunch During Loading And Transportation From Field To Mill, Andreas Wahyu Krisdiarto

Makara Journal of Technology

Fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) are used as raw materials for palm oil, and their transport from a field is a critical step to maintain their quality. Fruit integrity should be maintained so the mill can efficiently obtain palm oil with less than 5% free fatty acid content. Physical treatments for FFBs during loading to truck bins and transport may cause physical injuries. This research aimed to map fruit bruises. The map can be used as a basis in managing transport of FFBs. Physical injuries were assessed by bruise index (BI), which was calculated by measuring the bruise area and weight …

Data-Driven Development Of A Roadside Safety Marketing Campaign For Tree Removal – Phase I, Cody S. Stolle, Thomas Ammon, Chris M. Vargas, Ronald K. Faller, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Erin L. Urbank

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Since the 1970s, tree crashes have been one of the most common and deadly fixed-object fatal crash types, resulting in more than 3,000 fatal crashes and 3,500 fatalities each year. While fatal tree crashes could be prevented by removing trees adjacent to the roadway, an extensive national tree removal project would be unnecessary, cost-prohibitive, and would experience significant political resistance.

The Midwest Pooled Fund Program jointly funded a research study to develop marketing methods and approaches which would focus on tree removal, replacement, or relocation in the most critical areas. Researchers conducted an extensive background investigation into tree crashes, other …

Development Of The Nebraska Department Of Transportation Winter Severity Index, Mark R. Anderson, Behzad Esmaeili, Curtis L. Walker, Dylan Steinkruger, Sogand Hasanzadeh, Pouya Gholizadeh, Bac Dao

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Adverse weather conditions are responsible for millions of vehicular crashes, thousands of vehicular deaths and billions of dollars in economic and congestion costs. Many transportation agencies utilize a performance or mobility metric to assess how well they are maintaining road access. This research focuses on the development of a winter severity index for the State of Nebraska (NEWINS). NEWINS is an event-driven index that was derived for the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) and its districts across the state. The NEWINS framework includes a categorical storm classification framework and climatological aspect to capture atmospheric conditions more accurately across the diverse …

Essays On Applications Of Transportation Network Design And Optimization, Amirali Ghaharikermani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we address different transportation problems. The three main outcomes are: designing a battery swap station network, studying gaps in Empty Container Management literature, designing a model with similar characteristics to the vehicle routing problem as well as implementation scenario for it to be applied for a real-world case.

For the designed battery swap station, a model is developed for customer demand satisfaction that permits construction of different types of BSS in the planning network. Our solution methodology is a Tabu Search algorithm combined with a dynamic programming initialization. Numerous tests showed that the proposed TS approach provides …

New Mixture Additives For Sustainable Bituminous Pavements, Gabriel Mukristu Nsengiyumva, Kommidi Santosh, Yong-Rak Kim, Helan Xu, Yiqi Yang

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

In an effort to improve mechanical properties of asphalt concrete, an exploratory research using mixture additives was attempted. Two different types of additives on two material scales were used: asphalt concrete (AC) level and binder level. At the start of this study, the effect of natural cornhusk fibers on the resistance of two types of AC mixtures on cracking were tested for hot-mix asphalt (HMA) and cold-mix asphalt (CMA). The results showed slight improvements in cracking resistance in cornhusk reinforced HMA, and in the case of the CMA, marshal flow. Overall, based on the test results, cornhusk-reinforced HMA and CMA …

Introduction To Infrastructure - The Influence Of Natural Disasters On Infrastructure, Tri Tam Nguyen, Sean M. Raday, Daniel Leverick

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

In this paper, three major hurricanes in 2017 were examined to determine the damage these hurricanes have done to the infrastructure. Infrastructure has an important role in the nation’s sustained economic development. Infrastructure consists of two main types which are “hard” infrastructure and “soft” infrastructure. Hard infrastructure is the physical networks which include transportation, power, etc. while soft infrastructure is institutions and human capital. Inadequate and inefficient performance of “hard” or “soft” infrastructure would prevent economy from achieving full growth. In the past decades, a significant increase in the number of natural disasters has had great impact on infrastructure systems. …

Phase Ii Evaluation Of Floor Pan Tearing For Cable Barrier Systems, Dylan T. Meyer, Mojdeh Asadollahi Pajouh, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, James C. Holloway

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objective of this research effort was to mitigate the potential for floor pan tearing and penetration into the occupant compartment by modifying the posts utilized in a prototype cable barrier system. A series of dynamic component tests were conducted on the modified Midwest Weak Post (MWP). A bogie vehicle was equipped with a simulated floor pan designed to replicate the height, thickness, and strength of the floor pan of a Kia Rio. Two methods of post modification were investigated, including edge protection on the top of the MWP as well as weakening of the MWP at the ground line. …

Mash Test No. 3-10 Of A Non-Proprietary, High-Tension, Cable Median Barrier For Use In 6h:1v V-Ditch (Test No. Mwp-9), Mojdeh Asadollahi Pajouh, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Ronald K. Faller, James C. Holloway, Robert W. Bielenberg, Scott K. Rosenbaugh

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The Midwest Pooled Fund Program has been developing a prototype design for a non-proprietary, high-tension, cable median barrier for use in a 6H:1V median V-ditch. This system incorporates four evenly spaced cables, Midwest Weak Posts (MWPs) spaced at 8 to 16 ft (2.4 to 4.9 m) intervals, and a bolted, tabbed bracket to attach the cables to each post. Full-scale crash testing was needed to evaluate the barrier’s safety performance. According to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware 2016 (MASH) testing matrix for cable barriers installed within a 6H:1V median V-ditch, a series of eight full-scale crash tests are required …

Hot Applied Sealant Bond Test For Joints With Penetrating Sealers, Lieska Halsey

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Recently a concern has been raised for hot applied sealant bond for joints with penetrating sealers. The objective of this study will be to determine if the bond between the sealant and the concrete is compromised by the sealer currently approved to be used in Nebraska. The expected results will be that the bond is not compromised and is serving for the expected joint service life.

Systematic Approach To Identifying Deeply Buried Archeological Deposits, Anthony L. Layzell, Rolfe D. Mandel, Courtney L. Ziska, John R. Bozell

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This project is designed to assist cultural resource specialists involved in Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) project planning and development. The goal was to develop Geographic Information System (GIS) data layers that spatially delineate different landform-sediment assemblages (LSAs) and depict the associated geologic potential for buried cultural deposits in select watersheds in Nebraska. The Nebraska Buried Sites GIS resource will allow planners and cultural resource specialists to determine whether future project areas are likely to be free of deeply buried sites or whether subsurface exploration is necessary.

Compressive Strength Of Concrete Cylinders By Different Preparation Methods: Sulphur, Neoprene Pads And Grinding, Wally Heyen, Lieska Halsey

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The purpose of this evaluation is to compare the effects of four types of cylinder preparation methods prior to compressive strength testing in accordance to ASTM C 39.

Modeling Air Traffic Situation Complexity With A Dynamic Weighted Network Approach, Hongyong Wang, Ziqi Song, Ruiying Wen

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In order to address the flight delays and risks associated with the forecasted increase in air traffic, there is a need to increase the capacity of air traffic management systems. This should be based on objective measurements of traffic situation complexity. In current air traffic complexity research, no simple means is available to integrate airspace and traffic flow characteristics. In this paper, we propose a new approach for the measurement of air traffic situation complexity. This approach considers the effects of both airspace and traffic flow and objectively quantifies air traffic situation complexity. Considering the aircraft, waypoints, and airways as …

Time-Dependent Transportation Network Design Considering Construction Impact, Yi He, Ziqi Song, Lihui Zhang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

A traditional discrete network design problem (DNDP) always assumes transportation infrastructure projects to be one-time events and ignores travelers’ delays caused by construction work. In fact, infrastructure construction usually lasts for a long time, and the impact on traffic can be substantial. In this paper, we introduce time dimension into the traditional DNDP to explicitly consider the impact of road construction and adopt an overtime policy to add flexibility to construction duration. We address the problem of selecting road-widening projects in an urban network, determining the optimal link capacity, and designing the schedule of the selected projects simultaneously. A time-dependent …

Review Of Literature And Maintenance Practices At State Transportation Agencies, Bryan Gibson, Nancy Albright, Candice Y. Wallace, Christopher Van Dyke, Doug Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Technical Assistance Report

No abstract provided.

Optimization For The Allocation Of Funds For Pavement Maintenance In Pavement Management Systems, Armando Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Pavement maintenance and rehabilitation are critical and costly elements for highway agencies. A challenge for transportation agencies is to preserve roadways in an appropriate condition and extend the pavement service life while maintaining the safety and satisfaction of its users, and maximize the benefits obtained by the repair investments. Pavement maintenance programming is increasing in complexity due to limited resources and increments in traffic and population. Management decisions are usually based on personal judgment by pavement managers and sometimes those decisions are not even supported by previous experience. Research shows that optimization methods can produce significant benefits when transportation agencies …

The Need For Enhanced Physical Infrastructure In The United States, Tanvi Gandham

CMC Senior Theses

An examination of necessary infrastructure improvements in the United States.