Engineering Commons^™

The Examination Of Infra-Red Techniques For Inspection Of Steel Structures I & Ii, Vachirapun Trakulyingyong, Mark D. Bowman

JTRP Technical Reports

Infra-red thermography systems that have been developed over the last few years offer great potential to locate and discover flaws in steel highway bridge structures at a relatively early stage in their development. Under ideal conditions, the use of infra-red instrumentation should allow bridge inspection personnel to rapidly scan the structure and determine if a potential structural problem has developed. If a problem spot is located by the infra-red camera, then the trouble spot can be examined carefully to determine the need for corrective maintenance. The primary purpose of this research study is to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of …

Updating Procedures To Estimate And Forecast Vehicle-Miles Traveled, Jon D. Fricker, Raymond K. Kumapley

JTRP Technical Reports

Procedures developed for the estimation of Vehicle-Miles of Travel (VMT) have been fraught with problems of inaccuracy. Emphasis on environmental issues (air quality), as mandated by current regulations (CAAA, ISTEA-91, and TEA 21), requires State DOTs to accurately estimate travel on their highway infrastructure. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has developed, and subsequently modified, the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) to assist in data collection and reporting. INDOT currently estimates VMT by a method that closely follows the HPMS method. Roads that are not on the state highway system (minor collectors, urban collectors and local) are not represented in the …

Worker Exposure To Airborne Contaminates When Using Waste Foundry Sand In The Construction Of Road Embankments, Waseem Afzal, Robert Bertram Jacko

JTRP Technical Reports

A section of road was constructed in Northeastern Indiana in the summer of 1996 using waste foundry sand as the embankment construction material. Initial testing on the waste sand had determined no detrimental health effects. However, it was observed during construction that once the sand had dried, tire-road interaction raised copious clouds of black dust. This led to worker concern regarding airborne silica and silicosis. This study aimed at determining whether the threat of overexposure to airborne crystalline silica existed in regard to Occupation Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL). Experiments carried out at the Auburn Foundry …

An Evaluation Of Innovative Transportation Financing Techniques For Indiana, Kristine Drike, A. Vincent Genetti, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

Innovative financing techniques can complement current methods of financing highway projects in Indiana. Annual federal apportionments and Indiana state revenues are not sufficient to maintain and improve state highways, so innovative approaches in transportation project financing should be sought. There are several available innovative financing techniques associated with the use of federal funds. Although, they do not provide new sources of revenue and cannot create enough funds for all identified projects, they provide flexibility in the use of available funds that can expedite the implementation of individual projects. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the major innovative …

An Initial Evaluation Of Design-Build Highway Projects Performed By The Indiana Department Of Transportation, Nicholas Tymvios, Bob G. Mccullouch, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

Design-Build has been an effective contracting method in the private and public arenas. Departments of Transportation have used this contracting method on various projects for a variety of reasons. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has used this contract delivery method on a few projects with mixed responses from those involved in the process. INDOT therefore felt that an evaluation of the Design-Build program was appropriate to determine its future use in Indiana. This report gives a historical perspective of Design-Build and how the program has been received and perceived by INDOT; describes the project’s survey and the data collected …

Design Of Durable Concrete Railroad Crossings, Anthony J. Lamanna, Charles F. Scholer

JTRP Technical Reports

Existing precast concrete railroad crossings in the state of Indiana are experiencing too short a life expectancy. This study proposes methods that can be used to produce durable concrete railroad crossings with satisfactory rideability, durability, and longevity. Thirty-two precast concrete railroad crossings were visited in central and northern Indiana. Failures were determined to belong to three major categories: structural capacity causes, environmental causes, and material property causes. A concrete mix was evaluated at three different polyolefin fiber contents and without fibers. Beams were tested in flexure, and modulus of rupture and first crack deflection were recorded for each beam. Cylinders …

Evaluation Of Selected Video Detection Systems At Signalized Intersections, Jeromy L. Grenard, Darcy M. Bullock, Andrzej P. Tarko

JTRP Technical Reports

Video detection technologies have been emerging in recent years as a viable alternative to inductive loop detectors to actuate intersection signal controllers. There is a need for quantitative evaluation procedures for documenting the performance of video detection technologies. This quantitative data is needed to qualify systems for procurement and provide benchmarks for training traffic signal technicians that deploy and maintain these systems. This research makes use of two new evaluation procedures for video detection, with several measures of performance. The first of these evaluation procedures involves the comparison of the occupancy times of inductive loop detectors and video detectors to …

Fatigue Behavior Of Beam Diaphragm Connections With Intermittent Fillet Welds, Part I, Volume 1, Field Evaluation, Tammy L. Canna, Mark D. Bowman

JTRP Technical Reports

This report is the first of a two-part, three volume final report presenting the findings of the research work that was undertaken to evaluate the behavior of Indiana highway bridges with diaphragm members welded directly to the web of the primary beams and girders. Fatigue cracks have been observed at several bridges that utilize the welded diaphragm connection. The seriousness of the cracking and the corresponding potential risk on the integrity of the bridge superstructure were assessed. Inspection and repair guidelines for bridges with the welded diaphragm connections were also developed as part of the research effort. This volume presents …

Fatigue Behavior Of Beam Diaphragm Connections With Intermittent Fillet Welds: Part Ii, Brittle Fracture Examination Of The I-64 Blue River Bridge, Mark D. Bowman

JTRP Technical Reports

This report is the second of a two-part, three volume final report presenting the findings of the research work that was undertaken to evaluate the behavior of Indiana highway bridges with diaphragm members welded directly to the web of the primary beams and girders. Fatigue cracks have been observed at several bridges that utilize the welded diaphragm connection. The seriousness of the cracking and the corresponding potential risk on the integrity of the bridge superstructure were assessed. Inspection and repair guidelines for bridges with the welded diaphragm connections were also developed as part of the research effort. This volume presents …

Fatigue Behavior Of Beam Diaphragm Connections With Intermittent Fillet Welds, Part I, Volume 2, Laboratory Fatigue Evaluation, Amy S. Barth, Mark D. Bowman

JTRP Technical Reports

This report is the second of a two-part, three volume final report presenting the findings of the research work that was undertaken to evaluate the behavior of Indiana highway bridges with diaphragm members welded directly to the web of the primary beams and girders. Fatigue cracks have been observed at several bridges that utilize the welded diaphragm connection. The seriousness of the cracking and the corresponding potential risk on the integrity of the bridge superstructure were assessed. Inspection and repair guidelines for bridges with the welded diaphragm connections were also developed as part of the research effort. This volume presents …

Development Of A Portable Video Detection System For Counting Turning Vehicles At Intersections, Andrzej P. Tarko, Robert Scott Lyles

JTRP Technical Reports

This research was conducted to test the feasibility of using existing video-detection techniques for counting turning volumes with a portable installation. This was accomplished by integrating a forty-five foot mechanical tower mounted on a van with two video detection systems, Autoscope and VideoTrak. The research project has produced results in three categories: prototype methods of counting turning volumes, evaluation results, and general specifications of a portable video-based system for counting vehicles at intersections. The method based on spot detection uses redundancy of data (more spots than movements) to improve the results quality. The method for VideoTrak one-dimensional tracking classifies maneuvers …

Effects Of Heavier Truck Loadings And Super-Single Tires On Subgrades, Rodrigo Salgado, Daehyeon Kim

JTRP Technical Reports

Due to their efficiency and economy, super-single tires have gradually been replacing conventional dual tires in the trucking industry. According to recent studies, super-single tires generate much higher vertical contact stresses than do conventional dual tires, resulting in larger deformations and more severe damage to the subgrade. In order to better assess the higher stresses generated by super-single tires and their effect on the subgrade, analyses are done taking into account soil plasticity rather than simple elastic analysis. In this study, the effects of super-single tires on subgrades for typical road cross-sections are investigated using plane-strain (2D) and 3D static …

Use Of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (Rap) Under Superpave Specifications: A Regional Pooled Fund Project, Rebecca Mcdaniel, Hamid Soleymani, Ayesha Shah

JTRP Technical Reports

This regional pooled fund project was conducted to investigate the performance of Superpave asphalt mixtures incorporating RAP. This study was closely coordinated with a national study on the same topic (NCHRP 9-12, Incorporation of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement in the Superpave System). Specifically, this regional project looked at typical materials from the North Central United States to determine if the findings of NCHRP 9-12 were valid for Midwestern materials and to expand the NCHRP findings to include higher RAP contents.

Three RAP materials from Indiana, Michigan and Missouri were evaluated. Mixtures were designed and tested in the laboratory with each RAP, …

Counting Device Selection And Reliability: Synthesis Study, Srinivas Peeta, Pengchang Zhang

JTRP Technical Reports

Accuracy in traffic data detection is important for transportation operations and planning. Currently, inductive loop detectors are the most commonly used traffic counting devices in the field. New technologies are being developed to meet growing data counting and traffic surveillance needs. They include passive infrared, active infrared, passive magnetic, Doppler microwave, radar, passive acoustic, pulse and Doppler ultrasonic and video image processor. However, the relatively recent, but widespread, emergence of these technologies and the consequent sparseness in information on their performance characteristics preclude traffic agencies from making informed choices in the selection of traffic counting devices. This study performs a …