Engineering Commons^™

Right Turn Split: A New Design To Alleviate Weaving On Arterial Streets, Khaled Shaaban

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While weaving maneuvers occur on every type of roadway, most studies have focused on freeway maneuvers. Weaving occurring on non-freeway facilities, such as arterial streets, can cause significant operational problems. Arterial streets weaving typically occur when vehicles coming from a side street at an upstream intersection attempt to enter the main street from one side to reach access points on the opposite site at a downstream intersection by crossing one or more lanes. This dissertation investigates the type of problems occurring on arterial streets due to the weaving movements and recommends a new design to alleviate weaving on arterial streets. …

Structural Condition Assessment Of Prestressed Concrete Transit Guideways, Robert Zachary Shmerling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective condition assessment is essential to make better decisions for safety and serviceability of existing civil infrastructure systems. This study explores the condition of an existing transit guideway system that has been in service for thirty-five years. The structural system is composed of six-span continuous prestressed concrete bridge segments. The overall transit system incorporates a number of continuous bridges which share common design details, geometries, and loading conditions. The original analysis is based on certain simplifying assumptions such as rigid behavior over supports and simplified tendon/concrete/steel plate interaction. The current objective is to conduct a representative study for a more …

Modal Perturbation Method For The Dynamic Characteristics Of Timoshenko Beams, Meng-Lin Lou, Quihua Duan, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Timoshenko beams have been widely used in structural and mechanical systems. under dynamic loading, the analytical solution of a Timoshenko beam is often difficult to obtain due to the complexity involved in the equation of motion. In this paper, a modal perturbation method is introduced to approximately determine the dynamic characteristics of a Timoshenko beam. In this approach, the differential equation of motion describing the dynamic behavior of the Timoshenko beam can be transformed into a set of nonlinear algebraic equations. Therefore, the solution process can be simplified significantly for the Timoshenko beam with arbitrary boundaries. Several examples are given …

Integration Of Service-Learning Into Civil And Environmental Engineering Curriculum, T. C. Piechota, Shashi S. Nambisan

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Service-learning is defined as integrating the community service experience of students with their academic study so that learning is enhanced. The level of student participation in community service is at an all time high as students feel the need to confront today's technical and societal problems. However, service-learning is more than community service or volunteerism. Service-learning as defined above, integrates the community service experience with the student’s academic study (note the hyphen in "service-learning" means that both are considered equal). This enhances learning which is a fundamental goal of colleges and universities. Boyer highlights the need for service-learning stating that …

Attainable Compressive Strength Of Pervious Concrete Paving Systems, Ann Marie Mulligan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The pervious concrete system and its corresponding strength are as important as its permeability characteristics. The strength of the system not only relies on the compressive strength of the pervious concrete but also on the strength of the soil beneath it for support. Previous studies indicate that pervious concrete has lower compressive strength capabilities than conventional concrete and will only support light traffic loadings. This thesis investigated prior studies on the compressive strength on pervious concrete as it relates to water-cement ratio, aggregate-cement ratio, aggregate size, and compaction and compare those results with results obtained in laboratory experiments conducted on …

Assessing Crash Occurrence On Urban Freeways Using Static And Dynamic Factors By Applying A System Of Interrelated Equations, Rajashekar Pemmanaboina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traffic crashes have been identified as one of the main causes of death in the US, making road safety a high priority issue that needs urgent attention. Recognizing the fact that more and effective research has to be done in this area, this thesis aims mainly at developing different statistical models related to the road safety. The thesis includes three main sections: 1) overall crash frequency analysis using negative binomial models, 2) seemingly unrelated negative binomial (SUNB) models for different categories of crashes divided based on type of crash, or condition in which they occur, 3) safety models to determine …

Evaluation Of Proprietary Stormwater Treatment Devices In Field And Laboratory Conditions, Saheeda Marie Romah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proper stormwater management acknowledges both water quantity and water quality. Historically, stormwater quantity and quality have been separately considered; runoff was routed as quickly as possible into the nearest body of water. Although this alleviates potential flooding concerns, water quality is often compromised. Common stormwater quality problems include gross pollutants, sediment, nutrients, and heavy metals. The chronic elevated presence of these pollutants is detrimental to the environment. As a result, the government has passed legislature to protect waterways. The passage of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requires that municipalities implement stormwater treatment techniques, known as Best Management …

Adapting The Modified Cam Clay Constitutive Model To The Computational Analysis Of Dense Granular Soils, Jose Arvelo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The computational constitutive Modified Cam Clay Model (MCCM) was developed at Cambridge to study the behavior of clays and has been proven to be effective. In this study, this model is extended to the case of dense sands to analyze the accuracy of the stress-strain behavior. This analysis is based on triaxial test data applied to remolded and compacted sand samples under drained conditions. The laboratory triaxial tests were performed by the Florida Department of Transportation to research the permeability effect in sandy soils compacted up to 95% of maximum unit weight at the optimum moisture content. Each soil sample …

Infrared Thermography And High Accuracy Gps For Automated Asphalt Crack Detection, Tarek M. Abdel-Monem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Roads are major public assets. The USA spends billions of dollars each year on road construction and maintenance. To keep these roads in a healthy condition and for better planning and allocation of maintenance budgets, knowledge of distressed locations is needed. Roads develop cracks when they are subjected to stresses that exceed their designed criteria or their materials properties. Early detection and repair of cracks has proven to be the most cost-effective strategy in limiting the damage to roads and reducing expenditures. Various methodologies of crack detection were developed and significant techniques were made in the last few years. One …

Effects Of Bedding Void On Internal Moment Increase In Concrete Pipes, Jad Kazma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Large diameter concrete pipes have been used in many areas of central Florida to carry pressured sewage flow. These pipes have been typically located at six feet below finished roadway elevation, and ranges in diameter from thirty six to sixty inches. The water table is typically located at shallow depth below finished roadway elevation, and generally fluctuates between five to ten feet depending on the relative roadway elevation to mean sea level. These pipes are under pressure when carrying the sewage flow, but return to normal atmospheric pressures when the flow stops. Since the water table encases most of the …

Development Of An Artificial Neural Networks Model To Estimate Delay Using Toll Plaza Transaction Data, Aparna Muppidi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In spite of the most up-to-date investigation of the relevant techniques to analyze the traffic characteristics and traffic operations at a toll plaza, there has not been any note worthy explorations evaluating delay from toll transaction data and using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) at a toll plaza. This thesis lays an emphasis on the application of ANN techniques to estimate the total vehicular delay according to the lane type at a toll plaza. This is done to avoid the laborious task of extracting data from the video recordings at a toll plaza. Based on the lane type a general methodology …

Neural Network Trees And Simulation Databases: New Approaches For Signalized Intersection Crash Classification And Prediction, Piyush Nawathe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intersection related crashes form a significant proportion of the crashes occurring on roadways. Many organizations such as the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) are considering intersection safety improvement as one of their top priority areas. This study contributes to the area of safety of signalized intersections by identifying the traffic and geometric characteristics that affect the different types of crashes. The first phase of this thesis was to classify the crashes occurring at signalized intersections into rear-end, angle, turn and sideswipe crash types based on the traffic and geometric properties of …

Quality Of Service Measures At Signalized Intersections, Kamal Goyal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The concept of using qualitative measures to describe the quality of service at signalized intersections provided by different designs and controls has been discussed in numerous conferences. Such measures may include driver's comfort, convenience, anxiety, and preferences. The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using the University of Central Florida's interactive driving simulator to execute several scenarios involving different unusual design and operation practices to measure the quality of service at a signalized intersection. This thesis describes the scenarios, the experiments conducted, the data collected, and analysis of results. Signalized intersections with 3 types of …

The Use Of The Ucf Driving Simiulator To Test The Contribution Of Larger Size Vehicles (Lsvs) In Rear-End Collisions And Red Light Running On Intersections., Rami Charles Harb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Driving safety has been an issue of great concern in the United States throughout the years. According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), in 2003 alone, there were 6,267,000 crashes in the U.S. from which 1,915,000 were injury crashes, including 38,764 fatal crashes and 43,220 human casualties. The U.S. Department of Transportation spends millions of dollars every year on research that aims to improve roadway safety and decrease the number of traffic collisions. In spring 2002, the Center for Advanced Traffic System Simulation (CATSS), at the University of Central Florida, acquired a sophisticated reconfigurable driving simulator. This …

Slope Stability Of Laterite Soil Embankments, Ikiensinma Gogo-Abite

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Embankments are key elements in the infrastructural development of structures such as dams, bridges, and roads. Residual soils are generally used as fills in the construction of embankments in areas were residual soils such as laterite is the dominant soil types. Laterite soils have the characteristics of losing its shear strength with time and in fully saturated conditions and its properties varies from region to region. The soil property is influenced by the chemical composition and the environment. The binding agent iron oxide in such soils changes its composition with time and in the presence of moisture. Sudden failures of …

Evaluating Ramp Metering And Variable Speed Limits To Reduce Crash Potential On Congested Freeways Using Micro-Simulation, Albinder Dhindsa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent research at UCF into defining surrogate measures for identifying crash prone conditions on freeways has led to the introduction of several statistical models which can flag such conditions with a good degree of accuracy. Outputs from these models have the potential to be used as real-time safety measures on freeways. They may also act as the basis for the evaluation of several intervention strategies that might help in the mitigation of risk of crashes. Ramp Metering and Variable Speed Limits are two approaches which have the potential of becoming effective implementation strategies for improving the safety conditions on congested …

The Influence Of Ammonia And Carbon Dioxide On The Sorption Of A Basic Organic Pollutant To A Mineral Surface, Maneerat Ongwandee, Glenn Morrison, S. S. Bettinger

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Indoor surfaces have a sorptive capacity for organic pollutants which may be significantly influenced by other gases and the pH of the surface. in this research, we examine the influence of a common indoor gaseous acid, CO₂, and base, NH₃, on the adsorption of a volatile organic base, trimethylamine (TMA), to a mineral surface, zirconium silicate beads. Varying ammonia and CO₂ within concentration ranges of indoor relevance substantially influences the sorptive capacity of this mineral surface. Increasing the CO₂ mixing ratio to 1000 p.p.m. enhances surface capacity of TMA by 40-50%; increasing the NH3 …

Engineered Struvite Precipitation: Impacts Of Component-Ion Molar Ratios And Ph, Jun Wang, Joel Gerard Burken, Xiaoqi Zhang, Rao Y. Surampalli

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Struvite precipitation has the potential for removing and recovering phosphorus from agricultural wastewater streams, such as concentrated animal feeding operations wastewater. However, impacts of anticipated component-ion molar ratios and potentially interfering ions are unknown as are the compounding pH relationship with respect to all potential complexes. This research experimentally investigates and mathematically models these factors. Emphasis is placed upon the composition of formed deposits and model validation with experimental data. Results show that calcium is a major interfering ion affecting the deposit composition, decreasing struvite purity. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy + energy dispersive spectrometry were used to …

Configuration Methodology For Traffic-Responsive Plan Selection: A Global Perspective, Montasir M. Abbas, Nadeem A. Chaudhary, Geza Pesti, Anuj Sharma

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Although several studies have shown the potential great benefits of traffic-responsive plan selection (TRPS) control, time-of-day operation continues to be the primary method used to select patterns for signal control applications. This practice could be largely attributed to the minimal guidelines available on the setup of the TRPS mode. An innovative framework for TRPS system setup is provided, and guidelines for implementing TRPS in a simplified manner are shown. The guidelines, developed at Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), use a comprehensive approach that incorporates a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm and a supervised discriminant analysis. Engineers can directly implement the guidelines presented as …

Optimization Of Time Of Day Plan Scheduling Using A Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm, Montasir M. Abbas, Anuj Sharma

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Coordinating traffic signals can provide great savings to motorists in terms of reduced delays and number of vehicular stops. In order to maximize benefits, engineers need to use a mechanism by which the most optimal timing plans are activated when the traffic patterns change. Common ways of accomplishing this need is by using Time of Day (TOD) plan scheduling, or Traffic Responsive Plan Selection (TRPS). Out of the two modes, the TOD mode is by far the most common. Engineers, however, typically use their judgment to determine the TOD plan scheduling. Unless traffic patterns change at certain times of the …

Shear Reinforcement Requirements For High-Strength Concrete Bridge Girders, J. A. Ramirez, Gerardo Aguilar

JTRP Technical Reports

A research program was conducted on the shear strength of high-strength concrete members. The objective was to evaluate the shear behavior and strength of concrete bridge members with compressive strengths in the range of 10 000 to 15 000 psi. The goal was to determine if the current minimum amount of shear reinforcement together with maximum spacing limits in the 2004 AASHTO LRFD Specifications, and the upper limit on the nominal shear strength were applicable to concrete compressive strengths up to 15 000 psi.

A total of twenty I-shaped specimens were tested monotonically to failure. Sixteen specimens were reinforced concrete …

Its Strategies For Minimization Of Fine Particulates, Ahmed S. Soliman, Robert Bertram Jacko, Barry K. Partridge

JTRP Technical Reports

The purpose of the study was to quantify the impact of traffic conditions such as free flow and congestion on local air quality. The Borman Expressway in Northwest Indiana is considered a test-bed for this research due to the high volume of class-9-truck traffic traveling on it, as well as the existing and continuing installation of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to improve the traffic management along the highway stretch. An empirical Traffic-Air-Quality model (TAQ model) was developed to estimate the PM2.5 emission factors (g/mi) based solely on the measured traffic parameters such as average speed, average acceleration and truck …

An Assessment Of Highway Financing Needs In Indiana, Kumares C. Sinha, Samuel Labi, Stacey D. Hodge, Gabriel U. Tine, Hardik Rajendra Shah

JTRP Technical Reports

In recent years highway revenues in Indiana have been eroding due to inflation, increased costs, and the increased use of fuel-efficient vehicles. It is necessary, therefore, to reliably assess the current and future needs for highway funding in order to facilitate informed fiscal planning. This study provides a methodology for tracking current and future demand for highway financing, along with a systematic modeling approach for revenue projections such that financing plans can be developed for state and local highway networks. Highway infrastructure needs for pavements, bridges, safety, and capacity improvements for the 15-year period between 2006 and 2020 are assessed …

Comparison Of Various Indot Testing Methods And Procedures To Quantify Variability In Measured Bituminous And Concrete Properties, Terhi K. Pellinen, W. Jason Weiss, Thomas Kuczek, Geoffrey Dauksas

JTRP Technical Reports

This study was designed to analyze the variability associated with several test procedures used by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) in their Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP), and superstructure concrete protocols. The aim of this work was to document the variability associated with each of these test procedures toward application of this information of the development of acceptance criteria, pay factors, and pay incentives and disincentives. The studied parameters for HMA production included the air void content and VMA of the gyratory compacted mixture, in-place density, binder (asphalt) content, aggregate bulk specific gravity and water …

Damage Analysis Of Jointed Plain Concrete Pavements In Indiana, Part I: Finite Element Modeling And Damage Analysis, Part Ii: Indislab, A Software Tool For Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement Design, Elisa D. Sotelino, Alireza Asgari, Andrew C. Saksa, Guillermo Cedeno

JTRP Technical Reports

Current design procedures for concrete pavements do not account for several factors that can influence their service life. In this work, these factors are investigated and the findings are integrated into a procedure for better predicting longterm performance of concrete pavements. To achieve this, sophisticated finite element techniques are employed and parametric studies are performed. The findings are then integrated into a nonlinear procedure for damage accumulation. In the development of the comprehensive 3D Finite Element (FE) model several issues are studied including the geometry of the model, mesh refinement, element selection, interaction between pavement components, and loading simulation. The …

Emergency Earthquake Routes; Part I, Criteria For Selection Of Primary Routes; And Part Ii: Route Seismic Vulnerability Aspects, Julio Ramirez, Srinivas Peeta, Mete Sozen, Luis Garcia, Kannan Viswanath

JTRP Technical Reports

The occurrence of a strong earthquake in Indiana or neighboring states, as has occurred in the past, has serious implications for the State Transportation System with respect to adequate response. The definition of Earthquake Emergency Routes for the State of Indiana became a priority for the Indiana Department of Transportation. These Emergency Routes take into account various aspects related to transportation including coverage of population and area and travel time along these routes, and issues related to structural and geotechnical seismic vulnerability of the roads and bridges along these routes. Part I of the overall study report formulates a multi-commodity …

Family Of Compaction Curves For Chemically Modified Soils, Radha Krishna Daita, Vincent P. Drnevich, Daehyeon Kim

JTRP Technical Reports

Lime and Lime Kiln Dust (LKD) are widely used for modifying/stabilizing pavement subgrades. The addition of lime or LKD involves chemical processes that are dependent on many parameters. For natural subgrades, quality control is based on moisture and unit weight requirements using manual interpolations of one-point test data on a family of curves. For modified soils, moisture and unit weight measurements are insufficient for quality control and other tests must be considered. Various possible quality control methods for LKD-modified subgrades were evaluated. This research produced an Excel-based program to automate the generation of a family of curves and one-point data …

Life Cycle Cost Analysis For Indot Pavement Design Procedures, Geoffery Lamptey, Muhammad Z. Ahmad, Samuel Labi, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

Given the aging of highway pavements, high traffic levels, and uncertainty of sustained preservation funding, there is a need for balanced decision-making tools such as LCCA to ensure long-term and cost-effective pavement investments. With driving forces such as ISTEA 1991, the NHS Act of 1995, and TEA-21, LCCA enables evaluation of overall long-term economic efficiency between competing alternative investments and consequently has important applications in pavement design and management. It has been shown in past research that more effective long-term pavement investment could be made at lower cost using LCCA. Current LCCA-based pavement design and preservation practice in Indiana could …

Non-Destructive Estimation Of Pavement Thickness, Structural Number And Subgrade Resilience Along Indot Highways, Samy Noureldin, Karen Zhu, Dwayne Authur Harris, Shuo Li

JTRP Technical Reports

Nondestructive testing has become an integral part for evaluation and rehabilitation strategies of pavements in recent years. Pavement evaluation employing the Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) and the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) can provide valuable information about pavement performance characteristics and be a very useful tool for project prioritization purposes and estimation of construction budget at the network level. FWD deflection testing is an accurate tool for determining pavement structural capacity and estimating the required thickness of overlays and hence is an accurate tool for planning for or estimating required current and future construction budgets. GPR is the only tool that …

Procedures For The Estimation Of Pavement And Bridge Preservation Costs For Fiscal Planning And Programming, Kumares C. Sinha, Samuel Labi, Marcela Rodriguez, Gabriel U. Tine, Rucci Dutta

JTRP Technical Reports

Facility preservation generally refers to the set of activities that are carried out to keep a facility in usable condition until the next reconstruction activity. For fiscal planning and programming, it is necessary to know the expected costs of preservation projects and how long they would last. Such information, coupled with minimum standards and facility inventory data enable estimation of overall monetary needs for bridge and pavement preservation, and would assist INDOT in undertaking appropriate programming and attendant financial planning over the long term. However, detailed engineering analyses are not possible every year because of the time and effort involved, …