Transportation Engineering Commons^™

Improving Intersection Design Practices Final Report - Phase I, Nikiforos Stamatiadis, Adam Kirk

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The purpose of this report is to document the development of the Intersection Design Alternative Tool (IDAT) developed for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. IDAT provides an automated objective design and evaluation approach of 14 alternative intersection designs to assist in the conceptual design of at grade intersections. The tool evaluates intersection operations, safety performance, bicycle/pedestrian accommodation and has the ability to assist access management implementation.

Offset Right-Turn Lanes For Improved Intersection Sight Distance, Karen Schurr, Timothy J. Foss Jr.

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Factors Affecting Asphalt Pavement Density And The Effect On Long Term Pavement Performance, Jonathan Fisher, Clark Graves, Phillip Blankenship, Salman Hakimzadeh-Khoee, R. Michael Anderson

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Center, the Asphalt Institute, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet worked together in order to identify factors that affect asphalt pavement density, and to then evaluate their effect on long term pavement performance.

By determining which variables are most influential to pavement performance (i.e. roller pattern, temperature when rolled, etc.), and then monitoring the attention given to those variables, Kentucky would be able to increase the service life of asphalt roadways by at least 25%, therefore saving as much as $30 million annually on a resurfacing budget of $129.2 million (2007), while still maintaining the current roadway level …

Distracted Driving – Preliminary Analysis And Survey, Jerry G. Pigman, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report primarily focuses on an attempt to document the level of driver distraction existing in Kentucky through an analysis of crash data and by conducting an observational survey of drivers. Additional research is cited as a means of comparing other studies with results from Kentucky, as well as establishing a definition of distracted driving. The status of laws related to use of cell phones in other states was summarized, and the recently passed legislation in Kentucky was noted by incorporation of the full text as an appendix.

It was determined from analysis of Kentucky data that if the three …

Safety And Driver Behavior Studies At Multiple Lane Approaches To Stop-Controlled Intersections, Karen Schurr, Daniel Sitorius

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Multiple-lane approaches (MLAs) controlled by stop signs are becoming increasingly common in Nebraska. Installation of MLAs occurs when a single approach lane can no longer adequately serve the minor road traffic volume, and a signal is unwarranted because Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) warrants are not satisfied (7, FHWA, 2003). A common example of a location at which MLA stop-controlled intersections can occur in Nebraska is the rural intersection of two state or federal highways. Forty such intersections in Nebraska were available for study in this research. Additionally, such intersections are often located in suburban areas of Nebraska …

Freight Performance Measures: Approach Analysis, B. Starr Mcmullen, Christopher M. Monsere

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report reviews the existing state of the art and also the state of the practice of freight performance measurement. Most performance measures at the state level have aimed at evaluating highway or transit infrastructure performance with an emphasis on passenger transportation. Freight performance measurement ultimately requires evaluation of performance of the entire freight transportation system, which includes highways, waterways, rail, air, and modal connections. This requires considerable expansion of thinking beyond the traditional focus of state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) on highway performance.

This project builds upon past and current work in the area of freight performance measurement and …

A Risk Analysis Of Stevedoring Operations In Seaport Container Terminals, Kuo-Chung Shang, Wen-Jui Tseng

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This research is a study of container terminals in Kaohsiung Harbor and investigates risk management in the loading and unloading of container terminals. The study shows that the top three factors associated with severity of accident risk are: “Moving the crane without raising the lifting arm of the gantry crane, resulting in damage to the pilot’s compartment,” “Transferring containers direct to the trailers,” and, “As a result of climatic factors (typhoons), the facility takes no action to prevent collisions.” The top three factors associated with frequency of accident risk are, “Ships go by and waves cause a declined-body, raised prow …

Ahp Model For The Container Port Choice In The Multiple-Ports Region, Chien-Chang Chou

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In this paper, a theoretical analysis of the effect of surface roughness on the lubrication characteristics of inclined stepped composite bearings with micropolar fluid is examined. A generalized form of surface roughness is mathematically modeled by a stochastic random variable with non-zero mean, variance and skewness. The generalized average Reynolds type equation is derived for the rough inclined stepped composite bearings with micropolar fluid. The closed form expressions are obtained for the fluid film pressure, load carrying capacity, frictional force. These expressions can be utilized to obtain the performance characteristics of four different types of bearing system viz; rough plane …

Analyzing The Effects Of Led Traffic Signals On Urban Intersection Safety, Deogratias Eustace, Valerie E. Griffin, Peter W. Hovey

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

In 2002, there were 1,299,000 crashes at signalized intersections in the United States. These crashes account for approximately 21 percent of total crashes and about 24 percent of all fatal and injury collisions. The social and financial impact of this number of collisions is substantial. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and other agencies have recognized the detrimental effects of intersection crashes on our society and continue to fund research that will lead to a decrease in crash frequency. Numerous countermeasures have been tested for their potential to reduce crashes. Infrastructure improvements such as the construction of left-turn lanes, the removal …

Pavement Settlement Issues And Hydro-Geochemical Water Testing Results For The Cumberland Gap Tunnel, Brad Rister, Clark Graves, Jim Dinger

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Both Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys and Hydro-Geochemical Water Testing (HGWT) have been performed at the Cumberland Gap Tunnel to determine why the reinforced concrete pavement has settled in various areas throughout both tunnels. To date, approximately 7,300 total square feet of pavement surface has voids beneath it that range from 0.05 to 40 inches in depth. Both GPR and HGWT results indicate that approximately 0.75 to 1.5 cubic yards of limestone sub-base material leaves the tunnel in solution form on a monthly basis. Furthermore, HGWT results indicate that the ground water beneath the tunnels is calcium deficient. Thus allowing …

Nondestructive Testing Of Defective Astm A 514 Steel On The I ‐ 275 Combs‐Hehl Twin Bridges Over The Ohio River In Campbell County, Kentucky, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Three defective ASTM A 514 steel splice plates were discovered on the I-275 Combs-Hehl twin bridges over the Ohio River. A follow-on in-depth field inspection of 1,356 A 514 steel plates on the bridges revealed 14 additional defective gusset and splice plates. The A 514 steel was improperly heat-treated resulting in a brittle crack-prone microstructure. Ultrasonic and impact hardness tests were used to identify the defective steel. Subsequently, the defective steel plates were either removed or lapped with additional steel plates.

The Role Of Driver Age And Gender In Motor Vehicle Fatal Crashes, Heng Wei, Deogratias Eustace

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

This study compares the age and gender of at-fault drivers who were involved in fatal crashes and the corresponding driving errors that contributed to these crashes. This comparison provides insights that may help traffic engineers devise countermeasures to lessen the number of these unnecessary deaths. Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for the years 2001 through 2003 were used in this study. The analysis included passenger vehicles (automobiles, utility vehicles, minivans, and pickup trucks) involved in either single or two vehicle crashes. The driver responsible in each crash was identified through the driver error variable codes as listed …

Melnikov Analysis Of A Ship's Stability With Water-On-Deck, Ying-Guang Wang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The nonlinear ship rolling motion with water-on-deck in regular beam waves is studied by utilizing a global geometric method. A ship stability criterion based upon the Melnikov function is obtained to provide an upper bound on the domain of the potential chaotic rolling motion. Phase plane diagrams and Poincare maps are used to validate the ship stability criterion obtained in this article.

Instrumentation For Mechanistic Design Implementation, Todd Scholz

TREC Final Reports

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Pavement Services Unit is in the process of implementing a new pavement design procedure being developed under the sponsorship of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Fatigue cracking is a key distress mechanism that is predicted as part of the overall process using a theoretical model calibrated to empirical data. Tensile strain at the underside of the hot-mix asphalt pavement layers induced by truck axle loads is, in turn, a key input into the fatigue cracking model. In the new design procedure tensile strain is predicted utilizing a layered elastic analysis …

Evaluation Plan For The Ticketing Aggressive Cars And Trucks (Tact) Program In Kentucky, Eric R. Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Kentucky State Police Division of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement in cooperation with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has started a concentrated education and enforcement campaign in an effort to increase the safety and awareness of drivers around commercial vehicles. The University of Kentucky Transportation Center has evaluated this campaign and reported the effectiveness of this effort. This study is a follow‐up to a 2007 study that focused on two high volume, high crash interstate areas: one in northern Kentucky on I‐75, and one in the Louisville area on I‐65. This study’s focus was moved to I‐75 around Fayette County (Lexington) …

Development And Evaluation Of The Midwest Guardrail System Placed Adjacent To A 2:1 Fill Slope, Mitchell J. Wiebelhaus, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, John R. Rohde, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Dean L. Sicking, Gopi Dey, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Development And Evaluation Of The Midwest Guardrail System (Mgs) Placed Adjacent To A 2:1 Fill Slope, Mitchell J. Wiebelhaus, Ronald K. Faller, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Dean L. Sicking, Robert W. Bielenberg, John R. Rohde, John D. Reid, Gopi Dey

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Operating Characteristics Of Passenger Screening Processes And The Development Of A Paced Inspection System, Geraldine Kelly Leone

Dissertations

The airport checkpoint security screening (ACSS) system is an important line of defense against the introduction of dangerous objects into the U.S. aviation system. Recently, there has been much interest in modeling these systems and to derive operating parameters which optimize performance. In general there are two performance measures of interest (i) the waiting time of the arriving entities, and (ii) the allocated screening resources and its utilization. Clearly, the traveling public would like a zero waiting time, while airports are limited both in terms of space and resource capital. The arrival and exit entity in the ACSS system are …

Direct Detection Of Localized Modulation Of On Concentration On An Electrode-Electrolyte Interface, Ravi Saraf, Gaurav Singh

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The present invention directly measures localized electrochemical processes on a planar electrode using differential interferometry. The ionic charge accumulation at the electrode-electrolyte interface may be directly measured by using differential interferometry as a function of magnitude and frequency (for example, 2-50 kHz) of an external potential applied on an electrode. Methods in accordance with the present invention probe the ion dynamics confined to the electrical double layer. An electric field is applied using a pure AC potential and a superposition of AC and DC-ramp potential to measure ion concentration and detect redox processes.

Infrared Thermography-Driven Flaw Detection And Evaluation Of Hot Mix Asphalt Pavements, Yong K. Cho, Thaddaeus Bode, Yong-Rak Kim

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.