Engineering Commons^™

Sidewalks To Nowhere: A Tool To Prioritize Pedestrian Improvements, Ho Yan Lai

Master's Theses

Walkability as a concept that captures the ability to walk from one place to another has multiple dimensions. Between traversability to being a proxy for better urban places, there are also numerous measurements of walkability that attempts to quantify certain or all aspects of walkability. It is, however, unclear, through a review of available literature, how these measurements of walkability relate to each other statistically. This methodology focuses on generating a framework for analysts to evaluate and prioritize pedestrian infrastructure. WalkScore™ (WS), HCM Pedestrian Level of Service (PLOS), Average Nodal Degree (AND), and Intersection Density are the four metrics selected …

Minimizing Vehicular Traffic Via Optimized Land Use Development For A Sustainable And Equitable Future, Babu Veeregowda

Dissertations

Mixed-use developments and transit-oriented developments are becoming very common in urban areas in an effort to reduce sprawl. Numerous studies have shown that such programs would not be successful unless the mix of land uses and sizes is well-balanced and integrated with the surrounding neighborhood. Developers often ignore this aspect in favor of immediate financial gain and do not realize that there are sustainable financial benefits in land use optimization. In addition, professionals often work with limited logistics, resources, and technical knowledge and therefore struggle in setting goals and suggesting land uses that have less auto dependency based on travel …

Proposed New Military Live Load For Highway Bridges In The United States, Walter P. Parker

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the results of a mathematical analysis of various live load combinations on highway bridge spans up to 304.8 meters (1,000 feet) total lengths. The analysis included continuous beams, but only the results for simple beams is presented. The analysis was performed using an independently developed Microsoft EXCEL spreadsheet computation, based on superposition and classical mechanics.

In this thesis, several actual bridge live loadings and several hypothetical live loadings were analyzed and compared to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Load and Resistance Factor Design method. Also considered was the new bridge design method adopted …

A Comparative Study Of Insertion Loss Of Traffic Noise Barriers In Georgia, Pablo Giraldo, Jidong Yang

Master of Science in Civil Engineering Theses

In this paper, three types of traffic noise barriers, interlocking steel panels, precast concrete panels, and Paragon panel 23-T, were evaluated in terms of insertion loss. Field test was conducted for the noise barriers recently installed as part of the Northwest Express Project in Georgia. The noise insertion loss was measured as noise difference in A-weighted decibels (dBA) immediately before and after the barriers. The insertion loss was then evaluated by correlating with noise barrier types and other influential variables, including the separation distance of barriers from traffic, the level of traffic, wind speed, and pavement types. The results showed …

Applications Of Deep Learning Models For Traffic Prediction Problems, Rezaur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Deep learning coupled with existing sensors based multiresolution traffic data and future connected technologies has immense potential to improve traffic operation and management. But to deal with complex transportation problems, we need efficient modeling frameworks for deep learning models. In this study, we propose two different modeling frameworks using Deep Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network (LSTM NN) model to predict future traffic state (speed and signal queue length). In our first problem, we present a modeling framework using deep LSTM NN model to predict traffic speeds in freeways during regular traffic condition as well as under extreme traffic demand, such …

Auto-Calibration Of Wim Using Traffic Stream Characteristics, Johnson Baker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project evaluates the performance of Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) auto-calibration methods used by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT). Typical auto-calibration algorithms compare the WIM measured weights of vehicles from the traffic stream to reference values, using five-axle tractor-trailer configured trucks for comparisons, e.g. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Class 9. Parameters of the existing algorithms including the Front Axle Weight (FAW) reference value, the sampling frequency required to update the calibration factor, and thresholds for Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) bins were evaluated. The primary metric used to estimate algorithm performance was Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) between the WIM and static …

Structural Design Guidelines For Pervious Concrete Pavements, April Smith

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Pervious pavements have gained popularity in recent years as the transportation industry focuses on sustainability and environmental impact. This research investigated the structural design of pervious concrete pavements. There is no standard design method; therefore, the goal was to lessen ambiguity surrounding the use of pervious concrete for pavement structures. By characterization of the rigid pavement design equation from the 1993 AASHTO Structural Design Guide for Design of Pavement Structures through laboratory exploration and review of existing literature, a guide was created to assist engineers in the design of pervious concrete pavements.

Characterizing Truck Parking Shortages In Arkansas: A Data Analytical Approach, Morgan Hartsell

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Truck Parking Problem occurs when drivers have met the daily driving limit and encounter a decision between driving over time or parking in unauthorized locations. This research applies data analytics to gain further knowledge to characterize the truck parking shortage in Arkansas. Truck parking shortages are a serious problem that truck drivers face daily and is complex due to Hours of Service (HOS) regulations restrictions on legal parking areas and design. Existing research includes a one-day annual survey which compiles where public rest stops, businesses, and private rest stops are utilized by truck drivers. This research expands on the …

Exploring The Compactability And Workability Of Rap, Elizabeth Poblete

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Despite its economic and environmental benefits, the widespread use of Cold In-Place Recycling (CIR) is currently inhibited, to some degree, by a lack of laboratory testing and evaluation, specifically in the areas of compactability and workability of the reclaimed mixture stabilized with asphalt emulsion. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of admixtures in CIR using modified Superpave Gyratory Compactor (SGC) compaction metrics. The primary stabilization technique considered in this research was asphalt emulsion, an application in which asphalt binder is suspended in water, allowing it to be stored and applied at ambient temperature, rather than the …

Equilibrium-Based Workload Balancing For Robust Emergency Response Operations In Metropolitan Areas, Parya Roustaee

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an equilibrium-based modeling framework for emergency response (ER) workload balancing to achieve robust operation in large-scale metropolitan areas. The problem is formulated as a non-linear mathematical program (NLP), which determines the optimal workload cutoff for each ER station such that the weighted sum of the area-wide expected response time and its variation are minimized. The concept of Marginal Cost of Uncertainty (MCU) is introduced to measure the impact of a station’s workload increase on the area-wide service performance. The solution of the NLP is proved to be equivalent to a state of equilibrium in which all stations …

Laboratory Evaluation And Neural Network Modeling For Rotational Viscosity Of Reacted And Activated Rubber Modified Binders, Mayzan Isied

Civil Engineering Theses

Crumb rubber surface activation and pretreatment are considered as one of the promising newly introduced methods for asphalt rubber production. Reacted and Activated Rubber (RAR) is an elastomeric asphalt extender produced by the hot blending and activation of crumb rubber with asphalt and Activated Mineral Binder Stabilizer (AMBS). Besides RAR ability in enhancing the performance of asphaltic mixtures, its dry granulate industrial form enabled its addition directly into the mixture utilizing pugmill or the dryer drum with very minimal to no modification required on the plant level.

This study aims to evaluate the rotational viscosity of RAR modified binders and …

Examining The Effect Of Multiple Route Choice Criteria On Hurricane Evacuation Traffic Through External Validation Of Simulations, Haggai D. Davis Iii

LSU Master's Theses

Hurricane evacuations can be a chaotic experience for individuals involved, but researchers have attempted to find patterns in the routes people take. One paper laid out a model for predicting route choice based upon features that are different than standard route choice influencers. This thesis attempted to evaluate the accuracy of that model by using TransModeler modeling software. Using the building blocks of the HEMP project, this project compared the new model to the standard model and evaluated the two based upon the ability to reproduce real-world results. Interestingly, the two did not come out significantly different possibly because the …

Variable Speed Limit Control At Sag Curves Through Connected Vehicles: Implications Of Alternative Communications And Sensing Technologies, Reza Vatani Nezafat

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Connected vehicles (CVs) will enable new applications to improve traffic flow. This study’s focus is to investigate how potential implementation of variable speed limit (VSL) through different types of communication and sensing technologies on CVs may improve traffic flow at a sag curve. At sag curves, the gradient changes from negative to positive values which causes a reduction in the roadway capacity and congestion. A VSL algorithm is developed and implemented in a simulation environment for controlling the inflow of vehicles to a sag curve on a freeway to minimize delays and increase throughput. Both vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) …

The Evaluation Of High Molecular Weight Methacrylate As A Treatment Option For Shrinkage Cracks In Airfield Pavement, Austin R. Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force policy dictates that only epoxy can be used as a treatment option for shrinkage cracks in concrete airfield pavement. However, since epoxy is not ideal for shrinkage cracks, this research focuses on the evaluation of high molecular weight methacrylate (HMWM) as a treatment option. Laboratory experiments were performed on four sealants to determine whether they could penetrate a crack 24 inches deep, bond to the concrete, and resist water intrusion. Three HMWMs (TK-2415, Kwik Bond KBP 103, and Castek Transpo T-70) and one epoxy (TK-2110) were assessed. The four sealers were applied to 32 concrete specimens with crack …

Modeling And Optimizing Routing Decisions For Travelers And On-Demand Service Providers, Xinlian Yu

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis investigates the dynamic routing decisions for individual travelers and on-demand service providers (e.g., regular taxis, Uber, Lyft, etc). For individual travelers, this thesis models and predicts route choice at two time-scales: the day-to-day and within-day. For day-to-day route choice, methodological development and empirical evidences are presented to understand the roles of learning, inertia and real-time travel information on route choices in a highly disrupted network based on data from a laboratory competitive route choice game. The learning of routing policies instead of simple paths is modeled when real-time travel information is available, where a routing policy is defined …

Applications Of Machine Learning Methods In Macroscopic Crash Analysis For Transportation Safety Management, Somaye Garmroudi Dovirani

Doctoral Dissertations

Transportation Safety Planning (TSP) is a statewide-scale tool and combines transportation planning processes with safety aims to increase safety and reduce transportation fatalities and injuries. Traffic safety, which continues to remain a critical issue worldwide, has led to a myriad of modeling techniques to improve analytical capabilities with respect to crash modeling and prediction. State and metropolitan transportation planning processes must be consistent with Strategic Highway Safety Plans. This research aims to identify models and methods to improve the ability to capture variables that have the most significant impact on traffic safety through crash prediction modeling. In order to achieve …

Effect Of Different Traffic Signal Control Plans On Simulation Of Hurricane Evacuation Traffic, Divya Kolasani

LSU Master's Theses

The majority of hurricane evacuation modeling studies concentrate on evacuation traffic on freeways with relatively little attention being given to traffic on arterials. This study is focused on evaluating the evacuation efficiency of a network under different traffic signal settings on arterials using microscopic simulation. This is achieved by changing the traffic signal settings from existing signal timing plans to flashing yellow on major evacuation routes and flashing red on cross streets, for a given evacuation order. Time-dependent origin-destination matrices for hurricane evacuation up to 72 hours away from landfall for No Evacuation order, as well as a Voluntary/Mandatory Evacuation …

Arterial-Level Real-Time Safety Evaluation In The Context Of Proactive Traffic Management, Jinghui Yuan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the context of pro-active traffic management, real-time safety evaluation is one of the most important components. Previous studies on real-time safety analysis mainly focused on freeways, seldom on arterials. With the advancement of sensing technologies and smart city initiative, more and more real-time traffic data sources are available on arterials, which enables us to evaluate the real-time crash risk on arterials. However, there exist substantial differences between arterials and freeways in terms of traffic flow characteristics, data availability, and even crash mechanism. Therefore, this study aims to deeply evaluate the real-time crash risk on arterials from multiple aspects by …

Safety, Operational, And Design Analyses Of Managed Toll And Connected Vehicles' Lanes, Moatz Saad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Managed lanes (MLs) have been implemented as a vital strategy for traffic management and traffic safety improvement. The majority of previous studies involving MLs have explored a limited scope of the impact of the MLs segments as a whole, without considering the safety and operational effects of the access design. Also, there are limited studies that investigated the effect of connected vehicles (CVs) on managed lanes. Hence, this study has two main objectives: (1) the first objective is achieved by determining the optimal managed lanes access design, including accessibility level and weaving distance for an at-grade access design. (2) the …

Designing An On-Demand Dynamic Crowdshipping Model And Evaluating Its Ability To Serve Local Retail Delivery In New York City, Shirin Najaf Abadi

Dissertations and Theses

Nowadays city mobility is challenging, mainly in populated metropolitan areas. Growing commute demands, increase in the number of for-hire vehicles, enormous escalation in several intra-city deliveries and limited infrastructure (road capacities), all contribute to mobility challenges. These challenges typically have significant impacts on residents’ quality-of-life particularly from an economic and environmental perspective. Decision-makers have to optimize transportation resources to minimize the system externalities (especially in large-scale metropolitan areas). This thesis focus on the intra-city mobility problems experienced by travelers (in the form of congestion and imbalance taxi resources) and businesses (in the form of last-mile delivery), while taking into consideration …

Adapting Crash Modification Factors For The Connected And Autonomous Vehicle Environment, Federico Valentin Lause Iii

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The Crash Modification Factor (CMF) clearinghouse can be used to estimate benefits for specific highway safety countermeasures. It assists safety professionals in the allocation of investments. The clearinghouse contains over 7000 entries of which only 446 are categorized as intelligent transportation systems or advanced technology, but none directly address connected or autonomous vehicles (CAVs). Further, the effectiveness of highway safety countermeasures is assumed to remain constant over time, an assumption that is particularly problematic as new technologies are introduced. For example, for the existing fleet of human-driven vehicles, installation of rumble strip can potentially reduce “run-off-road” crashes by 40%. If …

Field And Numerical Study For Deteriorating Precast Double-Tee Girder Bridges, Brian Kidd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two deteriorating DT bridges in South Dakota, both over 30-years old, were field tested with a static and dynamic load. From the recorded strain values, the liveload distribution factors (LLDFs) and dynamic load allowance (IM) factors were calculated. The AASHTO LRFD and AASHTO Standard Specifications were compared with the field LLDFs and IMs. It was determined that the AASHTO LRFD Specifications were conservative for deteriorating DT girder bridges, with two exceptions. The AASHTO Standard codified LLDFs were significantly higher than the field LLDFs in all cases. The AASHTO LRFD and AASHTO Standard specifications were conservative when calculating the IM factors …

Diagnóstico Del Estado De La Movilidad En Barrio Carlos Pizarro Comuna Cuatro Soacha, Juliana Katherine Jurado Romero, Rubén Darío Zabala Granados

Ingeniería Civil

No abstract provided.

Smart Roads: Investigating Roadways As Energy Sources For Potential Application Of In-Lane Charging, Dhruvalkumar Hitendrakumar Patel

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The main aim of this thesis is to explore the potential for using pavements as part of energy harvesting infrastructure. Asphalt pavements can be used for multiple purposes such as for energy harvesting, eco-friendly use of the car, and the utilization of the natural renewable resources to produce electricity and that electricity use for in-lane charging technology which helps to charge a car when it is being driven on the road. The wireless charger is set-up under the asphalt pavement, and it will produce the magnetic field. The piezoelectric material and wind turbine are the electric source for applications such …

Developing A Traffic Safety Diagnostics System For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Usingdeep Learning Algorithms, Ou Zheng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an automated traffic safety diagnostics solution using deep learning techniques to process traffic videos by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Mask R-CNN is employed to better detect vehicles in UAV videos after video stabilization. The vehicle trajectories are generated when tracking the detected vehicle by Channel and Spatial Reliability Tracking (CSRT) algorithm. During the detection process, missing vehicles could be tracked by the process of identifying stopped vehicles and comparing Intersect of Union (IOU) between the tracking results and the detection results. In addition, rotated bounding rectangles based on the pixel-to- pixel manner masks that are generated by …

A System Dynamics Approach On Sustainability Assessment Of The United States Urban Commuter Transportation, Tolga Ercan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transportation sector is one of the largest emission sources and is a cause for human health concern due to the high dependency on personal vehicle in the U.S. Transportation mode choice studies are currently limited to micro- and regional-level boundaries, lacking of presenting a complete picture of the issues, and the root causes associated with urban passenger transportation choices in the U.S. Hence, system dynamics modeling approach is utilized to capture complex causal relationships among the critical system parameters affecting alternative transportation mode choices in the U.S. as well as to identify possible policy areas to improve alternative transportation mode …

Development Of Decision Support System For Active Traffic Management Systems Considering Travel Time Reliability, Whoibin Chung

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As traffic problems on roadways have been increasing, active traffic management systems (ATM) using proactive traffic management concept have been deployed on freeways and arterials. The ATM aims to integrate and automate various traffic control strategies such as variable speed limits, queue warning, and ramp metering through a decision support system (DSS). Over the past decade, there have been many efforts to integrate freeways and arterials for the efficient operation of roadway networks. It has been required that these systems should prove their effectiveness in terms of travel time reliability. Therefore, this study aims to develop a new concept of …

Improving Traffic Safety At School Zones By Engineering And Operational Countermeasures, Md Hasibur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Safety issues at school zone areas have been one of the most important topics in the traffic safety field. Although many studies have evaluated the effectiveness of various traffic control devices (e.g., sign, flashing beacon, speed monitoring display), there is a lack of studies exploring different roadway countermeasures and the relationship between school-related factors and crashes. In this study, the most crash-prone school zone was identified in Orange and Seminole Counties, Florida, based on crash rate. Afterward, a microsimulation network was built in VISSIM environment to test different roadway countermeasures in the school zones. Three different countermeasures: two-step speed reduction …

Redefining Construction “As-Built” Plans To Meet Current Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Needs, Victoria Lynn Lasley

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

As-built drawings are the traditional method used by the construction industry to record changes made during construction. As-builts provide valuable information for new design projects as well as rehabilitation and remediation projects. The completeness and accuracy of these plans are essential for transportation industries and their success. While the importance of as-builts is widely recognized, the process of creating them has proven to be difficult. It is a time consuming process and entities often lack the resources necessary to complete accurate and detailed as-builts. After an investigation of current as-built operations within State Transportation Agencies, recommendations have been made to …

Evaluate Probe Speed Data Quality To Improve Transportation Modeling, Fahmida Rahman

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Probe speed data are widely used to calculate performance measures for quantifying state-wide traffic conditions. Estimation of the accurate performance measures requires adequate speed data observations. However, probe vehicles reporting the speed data may not be available all the time on each road segment. Agencies need to develop a good understanding of the adequacy of these reported data before using them in different transportation applications. This study attempts to systematically assess the quality of the probe data by proposing a method, which determines the minimum sample rate for checking data adequacy. The minimum sample rate is defined as the minimum …