Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Geometric And Operational Improvements At Continuous Flow Intersections To Enhance Pedestrian Safety, Angela Coates, Ping Yi, Peng Liu, Xinlu Ma

Ping Yi

Traditional four-phase, four-legged intersections may operate inefficiently under high traffic demand. Innovative geometric design configurations for intersections allow more efficient traffic operations and can significantly increase vehicle throughput. Continuous flow intersections (CFIs), also referred to as displaced left-turn intersections, use an unconventional lane arrangement to maximize the vehicular throughput. This arrangement involves displacing left-turn lanes across opposing through traffic before reaching the main intersection. Such an alteration allows left-turning and through vehicles to proceed simultaneously, and both intersection capacity and delay are improved as a result. Numerous studies have validated these operational improvements, but pedestrian accommodation often is low because …

Multi-Barge Flotilla Impact Forces On Bridges, Peng Yuan, Issam Harik, Michael Davidson

Issam E. Harik

The current AASHTO equations for barge impact loads are based on scale models of barges, and may not accurately predict impact loads on bridge piers. The results of this study produce more realistic flotilla impact design loads, potentially leading to a reduction in construction costs of bridges over navigable waterways. The objectives of this study are: (1) To conduct theoretical finite element analysis on various types of flotillas impacting bridge piers. The flotillas and the respective barges will be of the type commonly traversing Kentucky’s waterways; and (2) To generate design equations for barge/flotilla impact loads. The study concludes the …

Equivalent Barge And Flotilla Impact Forces On Bridge Piers, Peng Yuan, Issam Harik

Issam E. Harik

Bridge piers located in navigable inland waterways are designed to resist impact forces from barges and flotillas in addition to other design considerations (e.g., scour, dead and live loads, etc.). The primary design tool for estimating these forces is the AASHTO Guide Specification which provides a simple hand calculation method for determining an “equivalent impact force”. The simplicity comes at a cost of excluding the effect of the pier shape, impact duration, and interaction between barges in a flotilla. The objective of this report is to present a hand calculation method for determining barge or flotilla equivalent static impact forces …

Using Simulated Virtual Interactivity In Construction Education, Saeed Rokooei, James Goedert

Saeed Rokooei