Engineering Commons^™

A Field And Laboratory Examination Of Weathering Effects On Petroleum And Blended Petroleum-Natural Asphalts In Paving Mixtures, Ellis G. Williams

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The relative merits of various asphalts and asphaltic materials have been the subject of considerable controversy almost from the beginning of flexible pavement construction in this country. In this early period petroleum asphalt had not yet entered the picture and controversy centered about naturally occurring products such as Trinidad natural asphalt and impregnated stones. In 1876 Congress directed that comparative service tests be made on a rock asphalt* and a sheet asphalt containing Trinidad natural asphalt. The sheet asphalt was considered the more successful of these and thus Trinidad natural asphalt became firmly established as a paving material in this …

Hydraulic Model Studies Of Culvert Operation, Eugene M. West

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Since 1951 the Division of Research has been engaged in a comprehensive study of highway drainage problems. This study has included special investigations of rainfall and runoff, drainage structures in use and the practices used in their design, culvert hydraulics, and other relevant investigations. To date, reports have been published concerning runoff and rainfall variables (1 and 2)* and the effects of barrel roughness upon culvert operation (3), together with the preparation of a drainage manual for the use of Highway Department engineers and consultants.

The most recent special project, part of the over-all study, has dealt with the effects …

Analysis Of Pavement Riding Quality: A Triaxial Evaluation Of Pavement Roughness, William S. Foy

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

For the last twenty-five years considerable research has been directed toward developing reliable equipment for evaluating pavement roughness. Since roughness inhibits passenger riding comfort and safety, as well as inducing vehicle deterioration, the determination of the features that cause roughness would indicate possible improvements in pavement design, materials, construction practices and equipment. For example, certain types of base design might be found to produce smoother surfaces than others; and a construction practice such as a blade-spread leveling course might result in more uniform pavements. Then too, evaluation of pavement roughness would permit relative comparison of pavements as one of several …

Model Study Of Flow Through Culverts, Eugene M. West

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Within the past four years, the Highway Materials Research Laboratory has expended considerable effort upon investigating and developing new approaches to the problem of estimating the quantity of runoff from small drainage areas. Particular interest has been given to areas of sizes that require culverts or small bridges with less than twenty feet of span. The results of these studies have been included in the Drainage Manual recently adapted for use by the Department of Highways.

A Hydraulic Analysis Of The Channel Relocation Of Stephens Creek, Eugene M. West

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Recently Mr. J.O. Cornell requested the assistance of the Drainage Section of the Research Laboratory in investigating the channel that the U.S. Corps of Engineers has designed in conjunction with the raising of Dam No. 39 and the changing of the locking system. The principal reason for this investigation was to determine the effect, if any, that this project will have upon the five-span highway bridge on U.S. 42, located approximately two thousand feet upstream from the confluence of Stephens Creek and the Ohio River and at the upstream end of the new channel.

Kentucky Soils: Their Origin, Distribution And Engineering Properties, Robert C. Deen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Soil is the product of the action of climate and living organisms upon parent materials, as conditioned by local relief. The length of time over which these forces are operative is of great importance in determining the properties of the final soil product. Altogether, there are five principal factors in soil formation: 1.) climate, 2.) biological activity, 3.) nature of the parent material, 4.) topography, and 5.) time.

The major differences in the soils of Kentucky result chiefly from differences in 1.) the rocks from which the parent materials were derived and 2.) the topographic position of the materials.

The Application Of Kentucky Flexible Pavement Design Method To Washo Test Road Conditions, William B. Drake

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In the summer of 1952 the Flexible Pavement Design Committee of the Highway Research Board began the sponsoring of a comparative design project. Several state highway departments and other organizations were invited to submit flexible pavement designs, based upon their own current practices, for the subgrade, materials, and traffic conditions of the Western Association of State Highway Officials (WASHO) test road. This road was being constructed in Malad, Idaho, through the participation of 13 western states and the Bureau of Public Roads. The Kentucky Department of Highways was one of the organizations invited to participate in the comparative design project.

A Study Of The Properties And Performance Of Kentucky (Natural Sandstone) Rock Asphalt, James H. Havens, Ellis G. Williams

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Kentucky (natural sandstone) rock asphalt derives its esteem as a highway surfacing material from its uniform appearance on the road, its riding characteristics, and the fact that it affords the highest protection against skidding (slipperiness) of any of the paving materials now generally available (see Appendix IV). The usual methods of handling, steaming, laying and spreading offer some of the conveniences and advantages of a ready-to-use material. Although its service history during the past 50 years has been generally favorable, there has also been a certain amount of risk involved in its use, particularly in recent years on roads sustaining …

A Concrete Pavement Without Transverse Joints [Jan. 1956], Dave H. Sawyer

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

For a period of more than six years the Research Division has had under observation the concrete pavement built without transverse joints on U.S. 31-W between Franklin and the Tennessee Line. The primary reason for observing performance year after year is to record the incidence of cracks and other more serious defects; but also the grooving of cracks in 1949 and the application of different joint sealing materials became an important part of the observations.