Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Applied Mechanics
Anchoring And Stiffening Techniques For Portable Concrete Barriers, Surajkumar Bhakta
Anchoring And Stiffening Techniques For Portable Concrete Barriers, Surajkumar Bhakta
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Portable concrete barrier (PCB) systems are utilized on federal and state highways in circumstances such as placing adjacent to vertical drop-offs and in construction zones. PCB systems are most commonly used in a free-standing configuration, which are known to have relatively large deflections when impacted. Large deflections are undesirable when dealing with limited space. In order to allow PCBs to be used in space restricted locations, seven PCB anchoring and stiffening techniques were tested and evaluated as per Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) testing standards. Results will allow the New Jersey Department of Transportation to update guidance for their …
Influence Of Spatial Variations Of Railroad Track Stiffness And Material Inclusions On Fatigue Life, Celestin Nkundineza
Influence Of Spatial Variations Of Railroad Track Stiffness And Material Inclusions On Fatigue Life, Celestin Nkundineza
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Railroad transportation is very important for economic growth and effective maintenance is one critical factor for its economic sustainability. The high repetitive forces from a moving railcar induce cyclic stresses that lead to rail bending and potential deterioration due to fatigue crack initiation and propagation. Previous research for prediction of fatigue life has been done under the assumptions of a uniform track bed and a homogeneous rail. However the spatial variation of the track stiffness is expected to increase the maximum stresses in the rail and, therefore, accelerate the fatigue process. The research described in this dissertation is focused on …