Engineering Commons^™

Integrating Pro-Environmental Behavior With Transportation Network Modeling: User And System Level Strategies, Implementation, And Evaluation, Husain M. Abdul Aziz

Open Access Dissertations

Personal transport is a leading contributor to fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse (GHG) emissions in the U.S. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that light-duty vehicles (LDV) are responsible for 61\% of all transportation related energy consumption in 2012, which is equivalent to 8.4 million barrels of oil (fossil fuel) per day. The carbon content in fossil fuels is the primary source of GHG emissions that links to the challenge associated with climate change. Evidently, it is high time to develop actionable and innovative strategies to reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions from the road transportation networks. This dissertation …

A Multi-Criteria Methodology For Measuring The Resilience Of Transportation Assets And Prioritizing Security Investments, Michelle S. Dojutrek, Samuel Labi, J Eric Dietz

International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction (I3R2) Conference

Transportation project prioritization uses performance measures that are related to the transportation asset, its operations, and its environment. However, in the state of practice, evaluation does not consider directly the likelihood of natural or man-made threats, the infrastructure resilience, or the consequences of the infrastructure damage in the event that the threat occurs. Thus, during the prioritization of investments, assets of low security do not receive the due attention they deserve. In defining security as the lack of risk of damage from threats due to inherent structure or functional resilience, this paper is based on the premise that the inclusion …

Concession Analysis For Highway Infrastructure Projects Financed As Public-Private Partnerships, Tanaphat Jeerangsuwan

Open Access Dissertations

Public funds allocated to the improvement and maintenance of highway infrastructure have reached the limits due to a rapid rate of socioeconomic growth and deterioration in infrastructure system performance. A public-private partnership (PPP) concessions a contractual and project financing mechanism that helps public authorities lessen the impact of their limited financial resources. In this project financing scheme, a public authority enters into a partnership with a private concessionaire for the purpose of developing a specific infrastructure facility. In return, the concessionaire receives the right to operate for a specified period of time. This creates strong potential for the delivery of …

Partners On Campus: Open Access Transportation Research At Purdue University, David Scherer

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

In the third community webinar presentation on regional and community partnerships, David Scherer, the Scholarly Repository Specialist at Purdue University, described how institutional repositories can support community engagement through the rewards of the partnership between Purdue's institutional repository, Purdue e-Pubs, and Indiana's Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP). The Purdue Libraries and the Purdue University Press have worked to archive and showcase the fruits of over 75 years of strong collaboration between Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Transportation on research that has a significant impact on the safe and efficient operation of transportation systems throughout Indiana, the United States, …

The Impacts Of Biofuels On Transportation And Logistics In Indiana, Frank Dooley, Wallace Tyner, Kumares C. Sinha, Justin Quear, Lydia Cox, Maria Cox

JTRP Technical Reports

Like the rest of the US, the ethanol industry in Indiana has rapidly expanded, growing from one plant in 2006 to a projected 13 by 2010. One result of this expansion is that truck and rail traffic flows in Indiana are shifting, as more corn and beans are processed in state. Most of the change in transportation requirements will likely be concentrated in regions of Indiana where the ethanol plants are constructed.

The goal of this work was to determine how the entry of ethanol and biodiesel plants changes the inbound and outbound transportation flows of corn, soybeans, DDGS, and …

Italgrip System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

The ever increasing number of registered vehicles has resulted in, up until the present time, a parallel increase in the number of road accidents. One of the reasons for this is that the quality of the road surface has not adequately kept pace with the increased volume of traffic. The Italgrip System increases skid resistance, reduces hydroplaning risk, reduces noise, and reduces salt consumption and can be applied to asphalt, concrete, or steel surfaces. It has been applied to several roadways in Europe, particularly road sections exhibiting problem areas.

Applicability Of Borman Decision Tree Its Management Tool To Other Expressway Systems, Ahmed S. Soliman, Robert Bertram Jacko, Barry K. Partridge

JTRP Technical Reports

An empirical model called the Traffic Air Quality Model (TAQ) was developed from meteorological and PM2.5 measurements adjacent to the Borman Expressway in Northwest Indiana to estimate PM2.5 road emissions. It concluded that on average a 74% improvement in air quality is expected (based on reduction of mass emitted per mile [g/mi]) when the average Borman speed range is improved from < 30 mph to >50 mph. An additional 39% (on average) improvement in the PM_2.5 emissions on the Borman Expressway was found when traffic flow speeds increased from 55 mi/h to 75 mi/h. The TAQ model was found to perform well when tested …

Reduction Of Automobile And Aircraft Collisions With Wildlife In Indiana, David J. Glista, J. Andrew Dewoody, Travis Lee Devault

JTRP Technical Reports

Conflicts between wildlife and human interests have increased in recent decades due to growing human populations and the resulting expansion of anthropogenic pressures into wildlife habitat. Our overall objectives were to evaluate the the potential impacts of wildlife on transportation in Indiana and vice-versa. The results presented in this final report summarize two aspects of our research: the impact of automotive traffic on wildlife (“road kill”; Part I), and the wildlife hazards present at general aviation airports around the state (“airstrike”; Part II). The road kill dataset indicated that at 13 survey routes traversing 180 linear km of road, 11,068 …

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.

Continuation Of Research To Determine The Effectiveness Of Its On Borman Expressway, Robert Bertram Jacko, William H. Schneider, Ahmed S. Soliman, Barry K. Partridge

JTRP Technical Reports

This study is a continuation and the final phase of the SPR-2338 project that involves monitoring the ambient air quality levels adjacent to the Borman Expressway. The purpose of this phase was to classify the traffic conditions along the Borman Expressway in terms of ambient air quality levels. The duration of the phase was from April 1, 2002 to April 30, 2004. The study has shown that, in a close proximity to the Borman Expressway, air quality levels mirror the dynamic nature of traffic along the Borman, despite being surrounded by major industrial stationary sources. Therefore, a descriptive model was …

Effectiveness Of The Borman Expressway Its Program On Local Air Quality, Timothy M. Labreche, Robert Bertram Jacko, Barry K. Partridge, William H. Schneider, Ahmed S. Soliman

JTRP Technical Reports

Particulate Matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), and meteorological parameters were monitored at 10 second averaging intervals adjacent the Borman Expressway in Northwestern Indiana before and during the implementation of an Intelligent Transportation System. Traffic data was collected from sensors on the expressway. The high-resolution data permitted the expressway contribution to local air quality to be separated from background components of local air quality and significant correlations were made between pollutant flux and traffic flow and pollutant flux and highway occupancy. Traffic incidents (accidents / congestion) were shown to have a rapid impact on local …