Engineering Commons^™

Development Of A Semicircular Bend (Scb) Test Method For Performance Testing Of Nebraska Asphalt Mixtures, Gabriel Nsengiyumva, Yong-Rak Kim, Taesun You

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Mitigating Pavement Edge Drop Off, Wayne Jensen, Niles Uerling

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objective of this research was to investigate and document practices currently being used by the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) districts and other State DOTs to mitigate pavement edge drop off. The NDOR has developed (or borrowed) and is currently incorporating into its standard practices several procedures that significantly decrease the incidence and magnitude of pavement edge-drop off. As these practices become more fully integrated into highway reconstruction projects, pavement edge drop off is expected to decrease dramatically. Localized areas of pavement edge drop off along paved lanes with bare or vegetated shoulders were noted as posing particular problems …

Nebraska Data Collection, Keyvan Zare Rami, Yong-Rak Kim

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Automated pavement performance data collection is a method that uses advanced technology to collect detailed road surface distress information at traffic speed. Agencies are driven to use automated survey techniques to enhance or replace their current manual distress survey because of the advantages of objective measurements, safety benefits, and reduced measurement time. As agencies move toward the transition to fully automated data collection methods, there are common concerns regarding how the output of the new method will match the current manual survey ratings and how they will be adopted into the existing Pavement Management System (PMS). This study evaluates the …

Mash Tl-4 Crash Testing And Evaluation Of The Restore Barrier, Jennifer D. Schmidt, Tyler L. Schmidt, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, John D. Reid, James C. Holloway, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Three full-scale vehicle crash tests were conducted according to the MASH Test Level 4 (TL-4) safety performance criteria on a restorable and reusable energy-absorbing roadside/median barrier, designated the RESTORE barrier. The system utilized for test nos. SFH-1 through SFH-3 was 240 ft (73.2 m) long with a nominal height of 38⅝ in. (981 mm). The barrier consisted of an upper steel tube rail attached to the top of 20-ft (6.1-m) long x 22.-in. (565-mm) wide precast concrete beams connected with wedge-shaped joints and supported by 11⅝-in. (295-mm) tall rubber posts and steel skids.

In test no. SFH-1, a 5,021-lb (2,277-kg) …

Integrated 3d Bridge-Condition Visualization (Bcv) To Facilitate Element-Based Bridge Condition Rating (Ebcr), Zhigang Shen, Wayne Jensen

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Routine inspection and maintenance records are essential for bridges to function well throughout their intended lifespan. Although existing bridge management systems are efficient at data storage, it is difficult to conduct comprehensive data analysis and management due to the lack of data integration mechanism. Engineers have to manually put many pieces of bridge drawings and inspection data together to make maintenance or repair/rehab decisions. Building information modeling (BIM) can be applied in bridge asset management area, including bridge inspection/rating to help to integrate the many data pieces. In this project we developed a 3D bridge inspection data management system, using …

Mash Test Nos. 3-17 And 3-11 On A Non-Proprietary Cable Median Barrier, Robert W. Bielenberg, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Ronald K. Faller, Brandt M. Humphrey, Tyler L. Schmidt, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Concrete Grinding Residue (Cgr) Slurry Application On Vegetation And Soil Responses Along Nebraska State Highway 31, Martha Mamo, Dennis L. Mccallister, Walter H. Schacht

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Development And Evaluation Of Weak-Post W-Beam Guardrail In Mow Strips, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Ronald K. Faller, Karla A. Lechtenberg, James C. Holloway

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objective of this study was to adapt and evaluate a weak-post, W-beam guardrail system for use within mow strips and other pavements. The weak-post guardrail system was originally designed as the MGS bridge rail and has also been adapted for use on culverts. It was envisioned that the weak-post design would absorb the impact forces and prevent damage to the mow strips, thereby minimizing maintenance and repair costs.

Evaluation of the weak posts in mow strips began with three rounds of dynamic bogie testing. Round 1 of bogie testing showed that 4-in. (102-mm) thick concrete would sustain only minor …

Conceptual Development Of An Impact-Attenuation System For Intersecting Roadways, Joseph G. Putjenter, Robert W. Bielenberg, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Longitudinal barriers are commonly used to shield hazards, including stiff bridge rail ends and slopes. In some locations, a secondary roadway intersects the primary roadway within the guardrail’s length-of-need (LON). Some intersections may have as little as 15 ft (4.6 m) between the intersection and beginning of the bridge railing, which require short-radius guardrail systems. One short-radius guardrail system has passed several crash tests under AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) standards.

Site conditions provided by the Nebraska Department of Roads were used to determine the constraints for a new safety treatment for intersecting roadways and include intersection radii, …

Mgs Dynamic Deflections And Working Widths At Lower Speeds, Nicholas A. Weiland, Cody S. Stolle, John D. Reid, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) has been full-scale crash tested in many configurations, including installations adjacent to slopes, with different types of wood posts, with and without blockouts, for culvert and bridge applications, and at high flare rates. Although the performance of the MGS and the dynamic deflection and working width of the barrier have been examined, little is known about the dynamic deflection and working width of the MGS when impacted at lower speeds. The MGS is a relatively low-cost barrier, and the Test Level 3 (TL-3) version could be installed for TL-2 and TL-1 applications. The barrier is …

Dynamic Characteristics And Seismic Response Analysis Of A Long-Span Steel-Box Basket-Handle Railway Arch Bridge, Xuhui He, Biao Wei, Yunfeng Zou, Dongyang Hu, Daniel G. Linzell

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The inside oblique angle between the vertical plane and the arch rib has been shown to be one of the main factors influencing dynamic properties of long-span steel-box basket-handle arch bridges. Details related to the extent, that the inside oblique angle influenced the dynamic characteristics and the seismic response of the arch bridge under the combined longitudinal and vertical seismic excitation and under the combined lateral and vertical seismic excitation, were reported herein. Four oblique angles (0°, 3°, 4.8°, and 6°) were selected based on the arch ribs height and bridge deck width. Findings suggested that a larger inside oblique …

Design And Evaluation Of An Energy-Absorbing, Reusable Roadside/Median Barrier, Scott Rosenbaugh, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, James C. Holloway, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Jennifer D. Schmidt, John D. Reid, Justice E. Kohtz

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Thin Asphalt Overlay Practice Preserving Nebraska's Asphalt Pavement, Soohyok Im, Yong-Rak Kim, Hamzeh Haghshenas Fatmehsari, Gabriel Nsengiyumva, Taesun You

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Cable-To-Post Attachments For Use In Non-Proprietary High-Tension Cable Median Barrier – Phase Ii, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Robert W. Bielenberg, Brandt M. Humphrey, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The research objectives reported herein were based on further development of cable-to-post attachment hardware for use in the non-proprietary high-tension cable barrier system. Specifically, this project aimed to develop and evaluate alternative attachment designs for the bolted, tabbed bracket and evaluate the use of a larger diameter, keeper rod for use in the top cable attachment. From a group of over 25 alternative attachment concepts, two tabbed bracket designs were selected for evaluation through dynamic component testing: 1) the lateral shear plate attachment and 2) the drop-in shear plate attachment. The drop-in shear plate concept did not perform as intended, …

Swift Fox Abundance Along The Heartland Expressway Corridor In Nebraska, Marc Albrecht

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Measuring Reliability In Dynamic And Stochastic Transportation Networks, Zifeng Wu

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As the traffic demand levels continue to grow in cities, more and more transportation systems experience instability during recurrent and non-recurrent congestion periods. Therefore, reliability has taken on increasing emphases in performance evaluation for transportation agencies, and in performance communication between agencies and the public. Existing reliability-related studies in transportation engineering focus on the long-term reliability of day-to-day travel time variations. This dissertation expands the reliability research literature with studies on the short-term reliability which is valuable for both real-time management and real-time traffic information systems.

This dissertation proposes a level of service reliability metric for system evaluation. Instead of …

A Guide For Planning A Bike Share System At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Wade M. Schuldt

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses and Student Projects

The purpose of this document is to serve as a framework for planning a bicycle share system at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with the possible inclusion of the City of Lincoln, Nebraska, in the system. This document provides a background review of the evolution of bike share systems and the recent rapid growth of these systems around the world. The document describes planning methodologies used in other locations and the lessons learned from the bike share systems around the world, as to what processes should be pursued to implement a successful bike share system. With the University of Nebraska-Lincoln move …

Ensc 300 (Energy Seminar) Annotated Bibliography, Supplementary Reading, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

Innovation
Sociology of Innovation, Business, & Work
Sustainable Business Strategy
Leadership
Science, Engineering, & Business History
Economics
Energy, Business, & Environmental Policy
Climate Change & Insurance
Education
Ethics

62 monographic resources

Design Of An Improved Post For Use In A Non-Proprietary High-Tension Cable Median Barrier, Robert W. Bielenberg, Ronald K. Faller, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Tyler L. Schmidt, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, John D. Reid, Dean L. Sicking

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objective of this research study was to develop a revised post section for the non-proprietary high-tension cable median barrier that improved the safety and function of the post by lowering strong-axis forces. A total of twenty dynamic component tests were performed, along with one cable pull test – ten tests with the 7-gauge C-section post, eight with the 10-gauge C-Section posts, and three with the Midwest Weak Post (MWP). The tests were conducted with the posts installed in either a compacted, crushed limestone soil or a rigid sleeve in order to determine the force vs. deflection and energy vs. …

Best Practices For Winter Maintenance Roadway Deicer Applications In The State Of Nebraska, Tregan Pd Albers Ii

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The cost of deicing chemicals is a significant part of the Nebraska Department of Road’s winter maintenance budget. The objectives of this research are to review literature to determine current winter maintenance practices, analyze and present information gathered in a survey of winter maintenance professionals across Nebraska, and correlate this information with data obtained via MDSS (Maintenance Decision Support System) software to determine current practices being used in the state of Nebraska. Best practices for winter maintenance deicer applications for rural city and county officials in Nebraska are recommended. An explanation of the development of the survey that winter maintenance …

Evaluating The Air Emissions From Solid Waste Refuse Trucks, Lauren D. Hauser

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The air emissions from solid waste refuse trucks is an issue that has not been widely studied, but is becoming an ever increasing issue. In the United States alone they have generated around 251 million tons of waste in 2012. This study in particular will collect data on 24 different refuse trucks (front-load, side-load, and roll-off, and diesel and compressed natural gas fuel) while on real-life routes in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. The collected data will then be aggregated and summarized based on the type of trucks. A regression analysis will also be done to determine the relationship between …

Conceptual Development Of An Impact-Attenuation System For Intersecting Roadways, Joseph G. Putjenter

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Longitudinal barriers are commonly used to shield hazards, including stiff bridge rail ends and slopes. In some locations, a secondary roadway intersects the primary roadway within the guardrail’s length-of-need (LON). Some intersections have as little as 15 ft (4.6 m) between the intersection and beginning of the bridge railing, which require short-radius guardrail systems. No short-radius systems have been tested and approved to current impact safety standards for shielding hazards with these conditions.

Site conditions provided by the Nebraska Department of Roads were used to determine the constraints for a new safety treatment for intersecting roadways and include intersection radii, …

Safety And Operational Analysis Of Lane Widths In Mid-Block Segments And Intersection Approaches In The Urban Environment In Nebraska, Anuj Sharma, Wei Li, Mo Zhao, Laurence Rilett

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This research examined the safety and operational effects of roadway lane width on mid-block segments between signalized intersections as well as on signalized intersection approaches in the urban environments of Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. In the safety analysis, the Poisson and negative binomial regressions with fixed or random parameters were estimated to evaluate the effects of lane width on annual crash frequencies at mid-block segments and intersection approaches. In the operational analysis, linear regressions were used to examine lane width effects on the vehicles’ speed at mid-block segments. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied to explore the effects of lane width …

Development Of Socketed Foundations For S3x5.7 Posts, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Tyler L. Schmidt, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objective of this study was to develop a socketed foundation for use with the S3x5.7 (S76x8.5) weak post. The design focused on cylindrical, reinforced concrete foundations with a steel tube placed in the center for use as the socket. The foundation was to prevent both damage and displacements exceeding 1 in. (25 mm), as measured at groundline, during an impact event. To evaluate various foundation designs, ten dynamic bogie tests were conducted over three separate rounds of testing. Round 1 was conducted in a weak, sandy soil; Round 2 was conducted in a strong, stiff soil; and Round 3 …

Characterization Of Bridge Deck Runoff, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Elizabeth G. Jones, Renys Barrios

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

In this study, time-weighted composite samples of bridge runoff and hourly traffic data were collected at four sampling locations in Nebraska. Total suspended solids (TSS) and hexane extractable material (HEM) had the highest concentrations during the first rainfall event of the year, while other constituent concentrations peaked during the third rainfall event of the year. In general, constituent concentrations were highest in the spring, and then decreased throughout the summer and fall. Average concentrations of TDS, TSS, chloride, iron, and lead measured in this study were higher than those found in the previous NDOR study at the same sampling locations. …

Evaluating The Constructability Of Nudeck Precast Concrete Deck Panels For Kearney Bypass Project, George Morcous, Afshin Hatami, Micheal Assad

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The first generation of precast concrete deck system, NUDECK, was implemented on the Skyline Bridge, Omaha, NE in 2004. The second generation of NUDECK system was developed to further simplify the system and improve its constructability and durability. The new generation consists of full-width full-depth precast concrete deck panels that are 12 ft long to minimize the number of deck panels and transverse joints, and consequently accelerate bridge construction. It also uses covered individual pockets and bundled shear connectors at 4 ft spacing to simplify panel and girder production and eliminate the need for deck overlay. Precast deck panels are …

Cable-To-Post Attachments For A Non-Proprietary High-Tension Cable Barrier – Phase Ii, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Robert W. Bielenberg, Brandt M. Humphrey, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The research objectives reported herein were based on further development of cable-to-post attachment hardware for use in the non-proprietary high-tension cable barrier system. Specifically, this project aimed to develop and evaluate alternative attachment designs for the bolted, tabbed bracket and evaluate the use of a larger diameter, keeper rod for use in the top cable attachment.

From a group of over 25 alternative attachment concepts, two tabbed bracket designs were selected for evaluation through dynamic component testing: 1) the lateral shear plate attachment and 2) the drop-in shear plate attachment. The drop-in shear plate concept did not perform as intended, …

Attachment Of A Combination Bridge Rail To Concrete Parapet Utilizing Epoxy Adhesive Anchors, Robert W. Bielenberg, John D. Reid, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Austin J. Haase, Ronald K. Faller

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The Iowa Department of Transportation (IaDOT) was interested in investigating the use of epoxy adhesive anchorages

for the attachment of posts used in the BR27C combination bridge rail system. Alternative anchorage concepts were developed using a modified version of the ACI 318-11 procedures for embedded anchor design. Four design concepts were developed for review by IaDOT, including: (1) a four-bolt square anchorage, (2) a four-bolt spread anchorage, (3) a two- bolt centered anchorage, and (4) a two-bolt offset anchorage. IaDOT representatives selected the four-bolt spread anchorage and the two-bolt offset anchorage as the preferred designs for evaluation. In addition to …

Feasibility Analysis Of Phase Transition Signals Based On E-Bike Rider Behavior, Sheng Dong, Jibiao Zhou, Li Zhao, Keshuang Tang, Renfa Yang

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

This article evaluates the feasibility of two scenarios of phase transition signals, that is, the flashing green together with red–yellow light and the green countdown together with red countdown, at signalized intersections in terms of e-bike rider behavior. An evaluation framework is first proposed. During the phase transition, the stop-go and start-up behavioral parameters are collected at four intersections in Shanghai, China. Sensitivity analysis is then performed to identify the most significant factors that influence the occurrence of traffic conflicts during the phase transition. Based on the above analysis results, case studies were finally done to look into safety performance …

Accounting For The Short Term Substitution Effects Of Walking And Cycling In Sustainable Transportation, Daniel P. Piatkowski, Kevin J. Krizek, Susan L. Handy

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

The environmental benefits of bicycling and walking depend on the degree to which their use substitutes for car driving. Assuming that every walking and bicycling trip replaces a driving trip is likely to produce overestimates of the potential for such modes to reduce vehicle travel and city-scale greenhouse gas emissions. Measuring this ‘‘substitution effect’’ is not straightforward. There are many dimensions of the substitution effect, including trip type, substituting mode, extent, time horizon, and activity patterns. Previously used approaches to measure substitution include indirect inference and direct questioning. This study piloted an intercept survey using the direct questioning approach at …