Engineering Commons^™

Study Of Salt Wash Water Toxicity On Wastewater Treatment, Mostafa F. Hashad, Surabhi Sharma, Loring F. Nies, James E. Alleman

JTRP Technical Reports

This research effort focused on evaluating the toxicity of the saline waste water generated from washing of Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) deicing trucks and to study the feasibility of discharging it into wastewater treatment plants. Performance of activated sludge treating wastewater under varying levels of salt concentration was studied by measuring the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), activated sludge oxygen uptake rate (OUR) and Turbidity. For the COD tests, wastewater was tested with salt concentrations ranging from 0 mg/L – 1500 mg/L. Within this range there is no impact of salt on COD stabilization, suggesting that the microorganisms are not …

Development Of Criteria For The Utilization Of Cement Kiln Dust (Ckd) In Highway Infrastructures, R Asha Sreekrishnavilasam, Maria Caterina Santagata

JTRP Technical Reports

This research addressed the recycling of cement kiln dust (CKD), a by-product of cement manufacturing. While significant quantities of CKD are generated every year, its utilization in construction has been to this day quite limited. Additionally, the issue of reusing already landfilled CKD has remained almost completely unexplored. The work made use of three fresh CKDs collected at different instances from the same U.S. plant, as well as CKD obtained from different locations in a 12 year old landfill adjacent to the plant. A comprehensive experimental study of the physio-chemical and engineering properties of the CKDs was performed, and the …

Ramp Metering And High Occupancy Vehicle Facilities: A Synthesis Study, Abhishek Bhargava, Euridice A. Oware, Samuel Labi, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and ramp metering have been implemented at several places in the country to improve traffic conditions on freeways. This report presents a comprehensive study of the state of the art and state of the practice of these facilities in the U.S. and their effectiveness in improving traffic conditions on the freeway. The various types of HOV facilities have been discussed along with other system components such as park-and-ride facilities, ridership programs, enforcement areas and policies, ingress/egress facilities. The cost of several HOV facilities in the country has been presented and a set of guidelines have …

Advanced Compaction Quality Control, Carlos Zambrano, Vincent P. Drnevich, Philippe L. Bourdeau

JTRP Technical Reports

This Synthesis Study gathered the current knowledge on the topic of Intelligent Compaction and provides INDOT with recommendations for action. It appears that totally embracing this technology at this time is premature. On the other hand, it also appears that prudent use of this technology could provide tremendous benefit-to-cost ratios over the long term and position Indiana as a leader among the States in adopting it. After examining the technological developments over the last decade it is concluded that Intelligent Compaction is a near certainty in the future. The big question is: When is the right time to begin working …

Freight Flows Of Indiana, William R. Black

JTRP Technical Reports

Using data primarily from the 1997 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) this report develops a series of models for estimating the production and attraction of 41 different SCTG commodity groups for 145 geographic units in the United States; 92 of these are the counties of Indiana. This is followed by the calibration of fully-constrained gravity models for the flow of these commodities. Using modal share data from the CFS the generated traffic is divided between the various modes. This project looked primarily at the highway sector and used digital representations of these networks for traffic assignment purposes. A very detailed Indiana …

Primary Emergency Routes For Transportation Security, Srinivas Peeta, Georgios Kalafatas

JTRP Technical Reports

Security threats and natural disasters (such as hurricanes and cyclones) are events that have historically led to large scale evacuations. Evacuation operations are strongly characterized by traffic volumes that substantially exceed the network capacity, and consequently, the potential for severely degraded network performance. The efficient management of evacuations entails long-term planning and real-time operational paradigms that are, ideally, integrated. This study focuses primarily on the planning aspects of evacuation, while providing important insights for operations. Identifying capacity as a key element to efficient evacuation, the evacuation planning seeks to determine links where additional capacity is desired, as well as the …

Statistical Analysis Of Indiana Rainfall Data, A. Ramachandra Rao, Shih-Chieh Kao

JTRP Technical Reports

The basic objectives of research presented in this report are characterizing and modeling short time increment (hourly) rainfall data from Indiana. Characteristics of hourly rainfall data from Indiana were investigated. Data from 74 stations were used in the study.

The homogeneity of Indiana hourly rainfall data was tested as a part of the study. Indiana hourly rainfall data is found to be statistically homogeneous. Several probability distributions were evaluated. Surprisingly, both the type I extreme value as well as the generalized extreme value distributions were found to be acceptable to characterize Indiana hourly rainfall data. The generalized extreme value distribution …

Fatigue Strength And Evaluation Of Sign Structures, Volume 2: Sign Structure Inspection Manual, Xuejun Li, Timothy M. Whalen, Mark D. Bowman

JTRP Technical Reports

This is the second volume of a two-volume final report presenting the findings of the research work that was undertaken to evaluate the fatigue behavior of sign structures and, based on that evaluation, to recommend an inspection plan that can be effectively used to detect and minimize possible deterioration due to wind induced loadings of sign structures. The study included a number of signs that are commonly used in Indiana: single-mastarm and double-mastarm cantilever sign structures, box-truss sign structures, tri-chord sign structures, and monotube sign structures. Sign structures with typical dimensions and details were selected as prototypes for each of …

Effects Of Geometric Characteristics Of Rural Two-Lane Roads On Safety, Samuel Labi

JTRP Technical Reports

The study investigated the safety effects of geometric and other roadway characteristics of rural two-lane roads by collecting and analyzing data and developing crash prediction models, crash reduction factors (CRFs), and cost-effectiveness ratios (CERs). On the basis of these results, and the existing inventory of roads and their geometric deficiencies, physical and monetary needs assessments were carried out under alternative budgeting and crash costing scenarios for the rural two-lane state highway network. It was found that influential crash factors at such roads include section length, traffic volume, lane width, shoulder width, pavement condition, average horizontal curve radius, and grades of …

Indiana Furniture Supply Chain, Ananth V. Iyer, Svenja Sommer, Amanda Thompson, Justina Mikals

JTRP Technical Reports

An initial survey assessing overall supply chain issues was reviewed with twenty Indiana wood products companies. A longer follow up survey accompanied by in-person interviews, assessed more specific supply chain issues, and was reviewed with ten Dubois County wood products companies. From this, a supply chain map of major suppliers and customers located both inside and outside of Indiana was developed. The research also attempted to capture the industry trends and characteristics in a formal model, to explore the impact of INDOT projects on the competitiveness of the industry.