Engineering Commons^™

Improving Incident Management Response And Coordination Of Resources, Jennifer R. Walton, Monica L. Barrett, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Highway crashes cause a major impact to the transportation network by critically limiting the operational efficiency of the roadway. Traveler delay is the problem most often associated with highway crashes, but by far the most serious problem is the resulting secondary crashes that occur. Another related issue is the danger posed to response personnel serving the public at the scene. The magnitude of these problems is severe. A coordinated plan for managing the scene is needed to reduce the impact of highway crashes and improve the safety for everyone.

A Checklist and interagency workshop has been developed to address ways …

Evaluation Of Automated Bridge Deck Anti-Icing System, Monica L. Barrett, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Driving in snow and ice can be dangerous. This is especially true on bridges. Under certain cold weather conditions, moisture on bridge decks freeze because of the open air flow under them while the adjacent roadway is unaffected. This creates potentially hazardous driving situations for motorists who may not be expecting a change of condition from the road to the bridge surface.

To combat this problem, a bridge deck anti-icing system was installed on a bridge on southbound Interstate 75 at the north interchange to Corbin, Kentucky in October 1997. This system can be actuated early before ice and snow …

Construction Monitoring And Procedures For I-275 “Warranty Project”, Kenton/Boone Counties, Tim C. Scully Jr., R. Clark Graves, David L. Allen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In the summer of 2000, it was decided by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet that a portion of eastbound and westbound I-275 needed repair due to fatigue. The design was 10 inches PCC or 13 inches of asphaltic concrete for Section B, and 9 inches PCC or 12 inches of asphaltic concrete for Section A. Alternate bids were accepted from asphalt and concrete contractors with a required warranty of 10 years or 10,000,000 ESAL’s, which ever came first.

The Kentucky Transportation Center will be monitoring the performance of the pavement for the duration of the warranty and will be submitting an …

Accommodating Pedestrian And Bicycle Access On Parkers Mill Road From New Circle Road To Man O War Boulevard In Lexington, Lisa Aultman-Hall, Eric Jackson

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In the fall of 2000 the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) began a planning study on behalf of the Kentucky Transporta tion Cabinet (KYTC) to investigate the bicycle and pedestrian access on KY 1968 (Parkers Mill Road) from Man O War Boulevard to New Circle Road in Lexington. The 1-mile section has a rural design with two 9-foot lanes, limited 3-foot earth shoulders and adjacent objects in the clear zone making travel on this road uncomfortable for pedestrians and cyclists. Yet this section of Parkers Mill Road represents a line of desired non-motorized travel due to parks, neighborhoods, a local high …

Fiscal Year 2001 Fhwa-536 Report For The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Steven Douglas Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires state transportation agencies to submit a biennial report on local highway finances. The purpose of these reports is to provide FHWA with the data it needs to capture the financing of highway activities at the local level. Based on this information, it can identify trends in revenue, expenditures, investments, and program development, and in turn make decisions about future investments. The report, FHWA-536, asks agencies to report on four areas of local highway finance: 1) disposition of highway-user revenues; 2) revenues used for roads and streets identified by source and funding type; 3) road …

Particle Separation System Using Parallel Multistage Electrostatic Separators, John M. Stencel, John L. Schaefer, James K. Neathery, Heng Ban, Dennis Finseth

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty Patents

An electrostatic separation apparatus includes of a plurality of separators is provided for separating a particle mixture into two constituent species. Each separator includes one and preferably a plurality of modular separation stages. Each stage of the separator includes a pair of separation subchambers each having an electric field zone for drawing selected charged particles from the particle mixture. A curtain gas flow is provided for each subchamber to entrain and carry the selected charged particles drawn from the particle mixture in the electric field zone to a collector associated with each subchamber for recovery. The inlets for the particle …

Monitoring Subsurface Drainage Flow At Remote Locations, Stephen R. Workman, Stephen F. Higgins, Scott A. Shearer

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Laboratory evaluations and field results are presented for a slotted weir used to measure discharge from subsurface drains. The head–discharge curve for the vertical slot is a simple power function with an exponent of 1.5. There was excellent agreement (r² > 0.99 and 1:1 slope) between predicted and observed discharge in laboratory testing of 12 test weirs representing five slot widths. The primary advantages of the vertical slot weir are its simplicity, ease of maintenance, and ability to measure small flow rates. Disadvantages include a tendency for the slot to close a small amount over time as a result of …

Silica-Based Membrane Sorbent For Heavy Metal Sequestration, Dibakar Bhattacharyya, Stephen M. Ritchie, Leonidas G. Bachas, Jamie A. Hestekin, Subhas K. Sikdar

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Patents

An apparatus providing for metal ion/nitrate entrapment comprises a chemically activated, microfiltration, composite polymer and silica-based membrane including a polyamino acid attached thereto through reaction of a terminal amine group of the polyamino acid with the membrane. A method for preparing such a chemically activated or polyamino acid functionalized membrane includes the steps of permeating the silica-based membrane with a solution of silane and a solvent so as to react methoxy groups of the silane with silanol groups of the membrane to incorporate epoxide groups and attaching a polyamino acid to the membrane by reacting a terminal amine group of …

Process For Making A Lubricating Composition, Stephen J. Miller, Gerald P. Huffman, Naresh Shah

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Patents

The invention includes a process of making a lubricating oil composition including: a process for making a high VI lubricating oil composition including the steps of (1) contacting a waste plastics feed including mainly polyethylene in a pyrolysis zone at pyrolysis conditions, whereby at least a portion of the waste plastics feed is cracked, thereby forming a pyrolysis zone effluent including 1-olefins and n-paraffins; (2) passing the pyrolysis zone effluent, including a heavy fraction and a middle fraction, the pyrolysis effluent middle fraction including 1-olefins, to a separations zone; where the pyrolysis effluent heavy fraction portion is separated from the …

Determining Matric Stress With The Modified Cam Clay Energy Relationship, Richard A. Rohlf, Larry G. Wells

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The stress generated by matric suction, or matric stress, was determined at points along the stress path with an analytical and experimental procedure based on the modified Cam clay energy relationship. Matric stress was found to be approximately constant at large strain for constant water content triaxial compression tests. Matric stress was included in both shear and volume relationships in a critical–state soil model that employed the modified Cam clay yield function. Shear was modeled with a constant matric stress. Slope of the normal compression and recompression lines was adjusted for matric stress using a state function that expressed matric …

Analysis Of Traffic Crash Data In Kentucky (1996-2000), Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman, Monica L. Barrett

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky for the years of 1996 through 2000. A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Average and critical numbers and rates of crashes were calculated for various types of highways in rural and urban areas. These data can be used in Kentucky’s procedure to identify locations that have abnormal rates or numbers of crashes.

The other primary objective of this study wa s to provide data which can be used in the preparation of the problem identification portion of Kentucky’s Annual Highway …

Intelligent Transportation Systems Business Plan For Kentucky (Final Report), Jennifer R. Walton, Joseph D. Crabtree, Monica L. Barrett, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report presents a Business Plan for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in Kentucky. The purpose of the Business Plan is to define ITS projects that are planned for implementation from 2002 through 2007. The list of projects contained within this document was developed using Kentucky’s ITS Strategic Plan, the ITS National Architecture, and stakeholder input.

There are 21 projects planned for implementation over the next 6 years at a total estimated cost of nearly $80 million. Another five projects will be considered when the Business Plan is updated in two years. These projects cover a wide range of topics including: …

The Paris To Lexington Road Reconstruction Project, Raymond F. Werkmeister, Donn E. Hancher

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report summarizes the effort to provide the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet with an evaluation of the results obtained for the Paris to Lexington Road Reconstruction Project from 1997 to 2001. A unique pre-qualification process was used for the project to select a fixed pool of contractor to provide input to the design and to bid on the work. The research started in 1996 during the design process and continued following construction until September of 2001.

Input was received from the Cabinet personnel working on the project, from the design firms, from the contractors, from the property owners involved, and from …

Quality Based Prequalification Of Contractors, Donn E. Hancher, Sean E. Lambert, William F. Maloney

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report summarizes the efforts to provide the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet with a system for evaluating the quality of the performance of contractors on highway construction projects and using that evaluation in the Cabinet’s annual prequalification process for contractors. Contacts with several other state departments of transportation were made to identify best practices and concerns. An advisory committee of experienced KyTC engineers plus Kentucky contractor representatives met extensively to develop the final performance evaluation documents to be used in the process.

A performance evaluation process was developed to evaluate a contractor’s work on projects and the results from all of …

Development Of Concrete Qc/Qa Specifications For Highway Construction In Kentucky, Kamyar C. Mahboub, Donn E. Hancher

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

There is a growing trend toward quality-based specifications in highway construction. A large number of quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) specifications shift the responsibility of day-to-day testing from the state DOH to the contractor. This requirement for contractor-performed quality control testing has been partly due to the fact that state agencies are operating with a smaller pool of employees compared to previous years. Another driving force has been the application of performance-based specifications and realization that the contractor and the producer need some degree of flexibility in order to be more efficient and innovative. This report presents the background information behind …

Evaluation Of Kentucky’S Click It Or Ticket Campaign, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of this report was to document the results of the Click It or Ticket campaign in Kentucky. The campaign involved a combination of earned media, paid media, and enforcement. The earned media started about three weeks prior to Memorial Day 2001 and continued through the enforcement period. The paid media started about two weeks prior to Memorial Day. The enforcement period was a two-week period including the week before and the week of Memorial Day.

The evaluation of the campaign included documenting the activities associated with the program (publicity and enforcement) and evaluating the results. The evaluation involved …

2001 Safety Belt Usage Survey In Kentucky, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of this study was to establish 2001 safety belt and child safety seat usage rates in Kentucky. The 2001 survey continues to document the results after enactment of a statewide mandatory safety belt law in 1994. It also documented the long term results of the Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign which was conducted around Memorial Day. Data were collected at 200 randomly selected sites spread across Kentucky. Data from the individual sites were combined into a statewide percentage considering function classification, geographic region, and vehicle miles traveled.

The data show that the usage rate increase found in …

Analysis Of Traffic Growth Rates, Monica L. Barrett, R. Clark Graves, David L. Allen, Jerry G. Pigman, Ghassan Abu-Lebdeh, Lisa Aultman-Hall, Sarah T. Bowling

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The primary objectives of this study were to determine patterns of traffic flow and develop traffic growth rates by traffic composition and highway type for Kentucky’s system of highways. Additional subtasks included the following: 1) a literature search to determine if there were new procedures being used to more accurately represent traffic growth rates, 2) development of a random sampling procedure for collecting traffic count data on local roads and streets, 3) prediction of vehicle miles traveled based on socioeconomic data, 4) development of a procedure for explaining the relationship and magnitude of traffic volumes on routes functionally classified as …

Fault Tolerant Operation Of Field Programmable Gate Arrays, Miron Abramovici, Charles E. Stroud

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Patents

A method of fault tolerant reconfiguration and operation of a field programmable gate array (FPGA) during normal on-line operation includes selecting a programmable logic block as a programmable logic block under test, testing the programmable logic block under test, and detecting the existence of any faults in the programmable logic block under test. During testing, the programmable logic block under test is repeatedly reconfigured in order to test the programmable logic block completely in all possible modes of operation. Based on the results of the test, a test result indication is sent to a controller in communication with a memory …

Evaluation Of Residual Chlorothalonil Levels On Processing Tomato Foliage Using The Tom-Cast Spray Program, Jane M. Patterson, Sue E. Nokes, Mark A. Bennett, Richard E. Riedel

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Field tomatoes were sprayed with chlorothalonil on a fixed–interval spray program and a TOM–CAST spray program with disease severity value threshold of 18. Foliage samples from upper and lower canopy layers were collected prior to spray re–applications. Chlorothalonil residue data were compared to the chlorothalonil efficacy threshold (1.2 μg/cm²). Using a seven–day interval program, eight of the nine and seven of the nine spray intervals had chlorothalonil residues above the critical level for the upper and lower canopy layers, respectively. Using the TOM–CAST program, four of the five spray intervals had chlorothalonil residues above the critical level for …

Influence Of Inoculum Size On Phytase Production And Growth In Solid-State Fermentation By Aspergillus Niger, Chundakkadu Krishna, Sue E. Nokes

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Solid–state fermentation is experiencing renewed interest for industrial enzyme production. Previous studies on the effects of fungal inoculum size on product yield have focused on spore inoculum. However, some organisms require vegetative inocula. This study investigated the effects of initial inoculum colony age, vegetative inoculum size, and duration of fermentation on the production of fungal biomass and phytase in solid–state fermentation using Aspergillus niger grown on wheat bran and soy meal. Initial inocula from 7– and 14–day–old potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates were used to study the effect of inoculum colony age in liquid culture and its further influence on …

Public Involvement In Highway Improvement: A Comparison Of Three Different Visualization Modes For A Case Study In Central Kentucky, Joel Brumm, Keiron Bailey, Ted H. Grossardt

Kentucky Transportation Center Faculty and Researcher Publications

Public involvement in highway improvement presents a set of complex problems involving many stakeholders.Since visualizations are increasingly regarded as essential tools in this process, a clearer understanding of the specific merits of advanced visualization techniques and their potential contributions must be developed.As a step towards integrating visualizations into an improved public planning paradigm termed Structured Public Involvement (SPI), this paper investigates the utility and performance of three visualization modes, termed 2D, 3D and VR (Virtual Reality), for a case study highway in Central Kentucky.

Visualization scenarios were designed and engineered according to the principle of elemental decomposition.Using a combination …

Kentucky Highway User Survey 2000, Ronald E. Langley

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The purpose of this study was to continue the efforts begun in 1997 to monitor Kentucky public opinion regarding the quality of the highway system and also includes a portion to measure satisfaction with the current drivers’ license and registration renewal processes. Kentucky’s 2000 public opinion is compared to data collected since 1997 to gauge Kentucky’s progress over the past years, and is compared to the NQI 2000 Survey done on the national level to show how Kentuckians’ opinions compare to those nationwide.

Development And Proposed Implementation Of A Field Permeability Test For Asphalt Concrete, David L. Allen, David B. Schultz Jr., L. John Fleckenstein

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Pavement drainage contributes greatly to long-term pavement performance. Pavements undergo surface, as well as subsurface, drainage during prolonged rain events. It is this subsurface drainage that is of concern in this study. In the advanced asphalt pavements of today, where a drainage layer may be incorporated to facilitate the movement of water out of the above overlying pavement layers, water can be a problem in areas with variable permeability. High permeability may also cause other problems related to drainage such as frost heave, stripping, asphalt emulsification, and water coming out of the pavement surface from deeper layers in the pavement …

State Road Fund Revenue Collection Processes: Differences And Opportunities Of Improved Efficiency, Robert J. Eger Iii, Merl M. Hackbart

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Research regarding the administration and collection of road fund revenues has focused on gaining an understanding of the motivations for tax evasion, methods of evasion, and estimates of the magnitude of evasion for individual states. To our knowledge, little attention has been focused on the impact road fund collection, assessment, audit, and enforcement processes have on tax evasion. The purpose of this study is to review the current road fund assessment, collection, audit, and enforcement processes and procedures and to develop recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the process.

Highway Rock Slope Management Program, Tommy C. Hopkins, Tony L. Beckham, Liecheng Sun, Bixian Ni, Barry Butcher

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Development of a comprehensive geotechnical database for risk management of highway rock slope problems is described. Computer software selected to program the client/server application in windows’ environment, components and structure of the geotechnical database, and some of the primary factors considered in constructing the database are discussed. In the establishment of a large database that will be used widely, it is extremely important to select development software that will allow simultaneous use of the database by numerous users. Major integrated components of the database include rock slope, landslide, and soil and rock engineering data. This report mainly focuses on the …

Resilient Modulus Of Kentucky Soils, Tommy C. Hopkins, Tony L. Beckham, Charlie Sun, Bixian Ni

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In recent years, the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has recommended the use of resilient modulus for characterizing highway materials for pavement design. This recommendation evolved as of a result of a trend in pavement design of using mechanistic models, which are based on the theory of elasticity (layered elastic analysis) or linear and non-linear, finite elements (and finite difference methods), or a combination of both of those theoretical approaches. Although much progress has been made in recent years in developing mathematical, mechanistic pavement design models, results obtained from those models are only as good as the …

Evaluation Of Reference Markers (Final Report), Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of this research evaluation was to evaluate the reference markers which were installed on sections of interstates and freeways in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County area, the Louisville-southern Indiana area, and the Indianapolis area. The evaluation was conducted to determine if the use of reference markers at spacings of 0.1 or 0.2-mile intervals could improve the effectiveness of the emergency response and incident management processes. Also evaluated were color of the markers and the placement location within the right-of-way. Both "white on blue" and "white on green" markers were installed various projects, with some installed …

Management And Effective Use Of Changeable Message Signs (Final Report), Jennifer R. Walton, Monica L. Barrett, Joseph D. Crabtree

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Changeable message signs (CMS) are used to communicate accurate, timely, and pertinent information to travelers on Kentucky’s roadways. This information helps travelers avoid hazards or delays and respond properly to changing roadway conditions. In an ideal environment, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) would be able to allocate CMS to various areas of the state based upon changing needs. The location of each sign would be monitored, and the message could be controlled and checked remotely.

Currently these capabilities do not exist. KYTC has four different types of portable CMS in use throughout the state. Each type has different internal and …

The Impact Of A New Bypass Route On The Local Economy And Quality Of Life, Eric C. Thompson, Joseph Miller, Jonathon Roenker

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Highway improvements such as bypass construction typically are motivated by a desire to improve the flow and safety of travel. But, given the importance of travel, transportation improvement projects often can affect the local economy and quality of life. This study assesses these potential impacts. The study was conducted by the University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research, as part of a subcontract with the Kentucky Transportation Center. The study is one component of a larger Kentucky Transportation Center study entitled Planning Decisions Related to Bypass Construction, Life-Cycle Costs of Access Control, and Safety Impacts of Rural Road …