Engineering Commons^™

Performance Evaluation Of Experimental Paint-Stripe Beads, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Eight experimental bead types in addition to Kentucky's currently used bead were applied with standard striping equipment at a field test location. Reflectivity measurements using a portable retroreflectometer were conducted, along with visual observations, to rate each bead type. The objective was to determine whether any of the experimental beads was superior to the currently used bead, and if so, would they be economically feasible for widespread use. The differences in bead types involved gradation, refractive index, and surface coating. Based on performance and economic considerations, it was recommended that Kentucky change its bead gradation specifications to correspond to that …

Development Of Pavement Thickness Designs Using Pozzolanic Base Materials, Gary W. Sharpe, Herbert F. Southgate, Robert C. Deen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

With the escalating costs of materials and construction for highways and streets, many agencies chargedwith the repsonsibility of designing and constructing highwyas are utilizing by-product materials. One application of by-product materials has involved the use of stabilized aggregate bases where pozzolanic materials are used as a stabilizing agent.

The use of pozzolanic materials is not new. However, the use of pozzolanic materials is relatively new to Kentucky. This may be primarily attributed to the availability o an abundant supply of economical aggregate materials. However, as costs of production and processing of aggregate materials have increased, so has the feasibility of …

Concrete Barrier Geometrics (Us-41 Bridge In Henderson, Kentucky), Kentucky Transportation Research Program

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The bridge railing constructed on the approaches to the US-41 northbound bridge over the Ohio River at Henderson, Kentucky, is not in conformance with specifications The vertical face was constructed to be an average height of 4 3/4 inches above the pavement surface rather than the specified 3 inches. From the top of the vertical face, the barrier conformed to a standard New Jersey barrier. However, this meant the intersection between the two sloping surfaces was 14 1/2 inches rather than 13 inches above the pavement surface.

An analysis was conducted to ascertain whether the in-place barrier walls (bridge rail) …

Survey Of Guardrail End Treatment Usage, Jerry G. Pigman, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Whenever a guardrail terminates within the "clear zone," a crashworthy end treatment is required. To be crashworthy, the end-treatment should not spear, vault, or roll a vehicle during a head-on impact while maintaining vehicle decelerations below recommended limits. As a means of determining types of end treatments currently used in various states and criteria to determine what type to use, a survey letter was sent to each state.

It was found that, generally, the preferred method to use to end roadside steel beam guardrail is to bury the end in a cut slope. When this is not feasible, either a …

Evaluation Of Asphaltic Pavements For Overlay Design, Robert C. Deen, Herbert F. Southgate, Gary W. Sharpe

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

To evaluate projects involving approximately 200 route-miles of interstate and primary pavements in Kentucky and Tennessee in relatively short time frames, it was decided to test, analyze, and design overlays using test equipment (Road Rater) and procedures developed by the University of Kentucky Transportation Research Program. This paper presents the analysis methodology and the evaluation and overlay designs for selected projects, including the before-and-after analysis of milling on one project.

The Road Rater applies a dynamic sinusoidal loading of known force and frequency. The velocity of the vibration waves are measured by sensors and integrated electronically to obtain surface deflections …

Structural Design And Installation Criteria For Rigid And Flexible Conduit, Ronald D. Hughes

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Structural design criteria according to current AASHTO guidelines for pipe, pipe-arch, and arch culverts are presented. Fill-height tables, based upon fhose criteria, and proposed bedding details are included.

Highway Skid Resistance, James H. Havens

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The physics of friction and traction are reviewed. Hypotheses are presented. Use of a scanning electron microscope to detect and identify polishing aggregate is presented.

Size reduction (crushing) produces greater concentrations of sharp edges, reducing flat and plane surfaces not otherwise contributing to traction.

Surface permeability and drainage through macrotexture was evaluated by an air-percussive device. An air-efflux device was contrived for evaluating hydroplaning potential and for evaluating open-graded surface courses. In-filling has been observed where road debris is abundant.

Grippers and sharpness are needed for wet traction . Drainage is needed to lower hydroplaning potentials. Sand-sizes optimize the concentration …

Alcohol Impact Evaluation (Interim Report), Jerry G. Pigman, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report is an evaluation of increased police enforcement to reduce alcohol related accidents in Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky. Three types of information were collected for the analysis; accident data, arrest and adjudication data, and personal opinion data obtained by means of a questionnaire survey. Accident data were collected for two years before the Traffic Alcohol Program (TAP) and one year during the program. A 25 percent sample of arrest and adjudication data was collected one year before and one year during TAP. The questionnaire was sent to 2,500 registered vehicle owners.

Results from before-and-after comparisons and time-series analysis show alchol …

Child Safety Seat Usage In Kentucky After Enactment Of A Mandatory Usage Law, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The 1982 Kentucky General Assembly enacted a law requiring use of child safety seats for children 40 inches or less in height. To evaluate the effectness of this law, usage surveys had to be completed before and after the law became effective. This study summarizes data collected one year after enactment of the law and compares this with ''before" data.

One year after enactment of the mandatory usage law the statewide child safety seat usage rate was 22.7 percent. This compared to 14.4 percent usage before the law and represents a statistically significant increase. Usage increased in 18 of the …

Problem Identification For Highway Safety Plan (Fy 1984), Jerry G. Pigman, Kenneth R. Agent, Tom Creasey

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

An annual highway safety program is proposed each year for the State of Kentucky in order to comply with Section 402, Title 23 of the United States Code. This program includes the identification, programming, budgeting, and evaluation of safety projects. This report is the fifth in a series of annual reports which have been included as the problem identification portion of Kentucky's Annual Highway Safety Plan.

In the past, the approach to problem identification has been to identify problem areas in the 18 highway safety program areas (standards). While the search for problems in each of these standard areas will …

Low-Strength (Pozzolanic) Materials For Highway Construction, Gary W. Sharpe, Larry Epley, David L. Allen, Herbert F. Southgate, Robert C. Deen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

No abstract provided.

Crushed Rock Bases, James H. Havens, Gary W. Sharpe

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Prepared in cooperation with the US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.

Gradations containing high, medium, and low percentages of fines were evaluated by laboratory tests and by behavioral responses in situ. Significant differences in strength parameters were not found. Differences in densities were not significant.

Identification Of Shales, Tommy C. Hopkins, Robert C. Deen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Engineering tests were performed on 40 different types of shales. Both hard and soft shales, as well as shales having histories of embankment failures and shales having little known involvements, were tested. The suitability of ten different slake-durability test procedures were evaluated as a means of broadly characterizing the engineering performance of Kentucky shales. Two procedures devised during the study appeared to better characterize slake-durability properties than procedures previously proposed. Natural water contents and jar slake tests were performed to determine if such tests might provide a fairly rapid means of identifying troublesome shales. The natural water content of a …

Water Under Pavements, James H. Havens, Gary W. Sharpe

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report summarizes the construction and performance of a Cedergren-type underdrain system. Other installations of edge drains are reported for record. Outflows have been sufficient to cause minor erosion of fill slopes. Road Rater tests disclosed no weaknesses. Remaining life was estimated.

User’S Manual For Dynamic Programming For Highway Safety Improvement Program, Jesse G. Mayes, Joseph D. Crabtree

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The term, dynamic programming, was first used by Bellman to represent the mathematical theory of a multistage decision process. Dynamic programming is applied to allocate expenditures so that maximum benefits result. Three types of applications of dynamic programming are single-stage, multistage, and multistage with a time factor. Single-stage programming is used to evaluate a single project having several alternatives. Multistage programming involves selection of several projects having several alternatives. Multistage dynamic programming with a time factor is used where several projects and alternatives are considered and where various time periods are involved.

The Alabama Highway Department did considerable work on …

Geotechnical, Hydrologic, And Hydraulic Investigation Of Mill Creek Dam-Phase Ii, Tommy C. Hopkins, Ronald D. Hughes, David L. Allen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The general scope of this study, Phase II, was to assess the safety of Mill Creek Dam. Findings obtained from detailed geotechnical, hydraulic, and hydrological investigations are presented. The structural stability, as well as the hydrological and hydraulic stability, were investigated. Specifically, objectives of the study were as follows:

1. To determine the engineering characteristics of the clay core, shells, and random fill. 2. To evaluate the potential for piping. 3. To evaluate seepage conditions at the site. 4. To evaluate the structural stability of the earth and rockfill dam. 5. To evaluate erodability. 6. To assess geologic conditions at …

Traffic Accident Rates In Kentucky (1981), Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The primary objective of this study was to determine average accident statistics in Kentucky for 1981. Those statistics could then be used in Kentucky's high-accident location identification program. Similar statistics were determined in 1978 and 1980. The objective is to calculate rates on an annual basis to allow the most recently available data to be used as well as the possibility of combining several years of data or conducting trend analyses.

Average accident rates were calculated using several methods of classifying highways. A series of tables were prepared giving criteria that may be used to determine whether specific locations have …

Improved Structural Monitoring With Acoustic Emission Pattern Recognition, David W. Prine, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A unique acoustic emission monitoring system originally developed for inprocess weld monitoring has been used to monitor fatigue crack growth in a highway bridge during normal traffic loading. The system was able to clearly and reliably detect the presence of fatigue cracks that were adjacent to a row of bolts. The results of the brief experiment show that the signal processing used in this AE system may allow drastic improvements in the ability of acoustic emission to reliably detect propagating bridge flaws under adverse conditions.

Development Of A Portable Retroreflectometer, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

There is a need for a portable retroreflectometer which can perform reflectivity measurements in the field . This could eliminate the need for subjective ratings or taking samples of materials from the field to test in the laboratory. This report describes the development of a portable retroflectometer (PRR).

A PRR was built with the objective of approximating the angles of incidence and divergence used in the ESNA Reflex-Photometer (ESNA). Tests showed a good relationship between readings taken with the PRR and ESNA. The recommendation was made that the PRR is suitable for use as a means of measuring reflectivity in …

Analysis Of Lost Times At Signalized Intersections, Kenneth R. Agent, Joseph D. Crabtree

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

When determining the capacity of a signalized intersection, knowledge of certain traffic parameters is necessary. The previous investigation conducted under this study dealt with an analysis of saturation flow values. The objective of this investigation was to determine appropriate values to use for lost times at signalized intersections. The lost times at the beginning and ending of the phases were analyzed, as well as lost times during the phase due to the interference of pedestrians, local buses, and opposing traffic for left turns. Factors affecting those lost time values were identified. The lost time values, along with the previously identified …

Engineering Properties Of Two Spent Shales And Minus 1/4-Inch Raw Shale For The Means Project, Vincent P. Drnevich, David L. Allen, Tommy C. Hopkins

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A geotechnical investigation was performed to determine the physical properties (classification) and engineering properties of the Sunbury oil shale from a proposed oil shale mining site in Montgomery County (Means Project). Three materials were recieved in sealed metal drums and were labeled Raw Oil Shale (only material less than 0.25 inch), Sunbury, spent shale, and Sunbury shale (2.5-inch to 1/4-inch). The material labeled Sunbury, spent shale, (hereafter referred to as Spent Shale No. 1), has very little fines and the particles were angular in shape. The Sunbury, spent shale, 2.5-inch to 0.25 inch, (hereafter referred to as Spent Shale No. …

Design Of Oil Shale Disposal Embankment, Vincent P. Drnevich, Tommy C. Hopkins, Samuel S. Hale

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Mining processes and associated regulations for oil shale development in eastern United States are discussed with emphasis given to overburden and spent shale disposal at the mining site. Curves are presented which allow for quick determination of stripping ratios, overburden quantities and oil shale quantities. Procedures are outlined for determining quantities of materials to be disposed and graphs are given for sizing various zones of the disposal embankment. These procedures are demonstrated with an example.

Stability of slopes and magnitude of settlement are functions of the engineering properties of the embankment materials. Procedures for obtaining these data are from field …

Development Of A Thickness Design System For Portland Cement Concrete Pavements, Herbert F. Southgate, James H. Havens, Robert C. Deen, Donald C. Newberry Jr.

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report covers the merger of criteria used in the Portland Cement Association's and MSHTO's pavement thickness design systems. The combined criteria is coupled with the principle of equal work as defined in classical physics to produce thickness design curves for portland cement concrete pavements. The thickness of portland cement concrete varied by approximately 0.15 inches for the same CBR and design EAL when the thickness of crushed-stone base varied from 3 to 6 inches. Therefore, the design thickness of the portland cement concrete is relatively insensitive to changes in thickness of the crushed stone base.

Traffic Safety Analysis: University Of Kentucky Area, Kentucky Transportation Research Program

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The concept of Transportation System Management (TSM) is based on the use of transportation facilities for the efficient and safe movement of people and goods. Through a grant administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government contracted with the University of Kentucky (UK) to develop and implement a "Ridesharing Program" and a "Minor Traffic Control Improvements Program".

Discussions of the traffic safety problems around the University area by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council coincided with UK's initial work in the traffic safety portion of the grant. Following those discussions, a request was made by the Council …

A Computerized Analysis Of Flexible Pavement Rutting Behavior (Pavrut), David L. Allen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Flexible pavements are known to fail in several modes, one of which is rutting. In an effort to determine where in the pavement structure and to what extent rutting occurs and to determine the factors that control rutting, a comprehensive laboratory testing program was performed. Various traffic and environmental parameters were controlled in the study; and from the data, mathematical models that describe the rutting characteristics of an asphalt concrete, a dense graded aggregate, and a subgrade soil were formulated. Details of the materials, equipment, and laboratory procedures were reported by Allen in a previous report. Also, the mathematical models …

Mechanical And Engineering Properties Of A Cherty Paleozoic Material, Robert C. Deen, David L. Allen, Tommy C. Hopkins

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In September 1982, Research Report UKTRP-82-16 was issued to document the sampling of a cherty Paleozoic material from a test pit on Divide Cut Section 3A of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Results of laboratory testing of the samples were also reported.

Subsequent to the issuance of Report UKTRP-82-16, additional testing and analyses have been completed. The purpose of this report is to document the results of those tests and analyses.

Sandstone As A Construction Material Ky 80, Hazard To Watergap, Gary W. Sharpe, Herbert F. Southgate, David L. Allen, James H. Havens, Robert C. Deen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

KY 80 (Hazard to Watergap) was constructed using abundantly available crushed sandstone. The pavements were designed to have adequate load-carrying capibilities and stability but were considered to be experimental (see Figure 1). It was intended that performance would be monitored and that undesirable features and performance would be identified and studied. Such surveillance was discontinued before construction was completed.

Recently, the need has arisen for testing and evaluation of some of the experimental sections. Some spalls, scuffs, and artesian water have been observed. Excessive water has appeared in the shoulder, median, and mainline. There has been at least one spot …