Engineering Commons^™

Preconstruction Support Cost Hours Estimating On Caltrans Pavement Rehabilitation Projects, Nigel Blampied, Tariq Shehab, Elhami Nasr, Laxmi Sindhu Samudrala

Mineta Transportation Institute

Because the construction phase accounts for the majority of project costs for pavement rehabilitation projects, most research on infrastructure project cost estimating focuses on that phase, rather than on the preconstruction phases. Nevertheless, costs incurred prior to construction, referred to in this report as "preconstruction costs" are significant and worthy of consideration (See Section 2.1 of the report for a more detailed and precise definition of preconstruction). In the 20202021 fiscal year, for instance, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) spent more than $169 million on preconstruction work for pavement rehabilitation projects. This report presents the results of a study …

Investigating The Severity And Rate Of Occurrence Of Motorcycle Crashes Across Different Land Uses In Georgia, Robert Edwards

Symposium of Student Scholars

In 2020, motorcycle crashes reached their highest number of fatalities nationally since 1975, when 5,579 motorcyclists were killed. Georgia, in recent years, has seen an increase in the number of fatal multi-vehicle crashes involving motorcycles. This would be indicative of the general trend and nothing more if the number of motorcycle crashes reported outside of urban populations did not increase—despite lockdown measures—by 1.7% in 2020. In this investigation, employing a thorough examination of the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Crash Data (GDOT) compiled from the last ten years and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) compiled from the last five years, …

Behavior Analysis Of Cement Concrete With Combination Of Waste Rubber And Glass, Abdulaziz Alebra

Symposium of Student Scholars

Glass and Rubber waste materials are valuable materials to use rather than throw which we have more than enough to use and recycle. Recycled glass and rubber materials can reduce and help major climate issues in our times based on the statistics reducing glass can bring down air pollution by 20% and also reduce water pollution by 50% as well as can reduce the use of landfill space. A laboratory study will be launched, and tests will be conducted following the ASTM standards, ASTM C143 for a concrete slump, and ASTM C31 for making and curing concrete specimens. Samples of …

The Effect Of Airflow Guiding Components On Effective Ventilation Rates In Single-Sided Ventilation Applications, Nima Najafi Ziarani, Malcolm Cook, Paul D. O’Sullivan

Publications

Wind-driven single-sided ventilation (SSV) is present in many existing buildings across Europe, and with new near-zero energy building (NZEB) regulations for the refurbishment of the existing building stock, its attractiveness as a noninvasive, low-energy solution is set to continue. As a strategy, however, in addition to its air change rate capacity, the distribution of fresh air is an important evaluation criterion for its performance. Airflow guiding components located in the external opening that enhance the effectiveness of the wind-driven flow in ventilating the occupied zone could improve the quality of indoor environments. To our knowledge, the literature is sparse on …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Mls Density Level Data On Dem, Essam Ghanem, Mostafa Rabah, Fekry Ashraf

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Mobile laser scanning (MLS) systems are quickly establishing themselves as the primary source of high-quality digital elevation models (DEM). Data density is the key element that determine the quality of DEMs. Moreover, point density acts a vital role in MLS operation planning and MLS project's cost. This study's goal was to evaluate the impact of point density from MLS on creating DEMs and the accuracy of computed volume in different interpolation methods. The finding demonstrated that the DEM's quality and the volume are more impacted by density level and interpolation method. Interpolation methods are affected by point density. There is …

Feasibility Study For A Continuous Mansfield Hollow State Park Multi-Use Path, Owen P. Spangler

Honors Scholar Theses

This report aims to design a pedestrian river crossing that connects the north and south ends of Mansfield Hollow State Park, utilizing both a new paved pathway and bridge construction. This report first uses GIS data to complete a feasibility study on pathway routing and cost. A preliminary route was selected based on grading and cost analysis. The requirements for constructing a multi-use pathway in the State of Connecticut were then explored, attempting to find a best-fit pathway alignment to accomplish that goal. Through a lengthy literature review, it was found that the pathway design would have to deviate from …

Improving Intersection Safety With Geographically-Targeted Crash Prediction Models In Utah, Atul Subedi

Student Research Symposium

This project aims to improve intersection safety in Utah by developing geographically-targeted crash prediction models. The lack of research investigating active mode crashes at signalized intersections in different geographical regions calls for this study. The objective of this research is to understand the factors associated with the frequency of active mode crashes at signalized intersections. Exposure variables such as AADT, pedestrian and bicycle volumes, and intersection-level variables such as crossing distance, speed limit, and presence of street lights were analyzed using a negative binomial regression model.

Examining The Impact Of Different Street Lighting Schemes On Traffic Safety And Drivers’ Behaviors At Unsignalized Intersections, Hisham Mohamed Abdu Kunnah

LSU Master's Theses

Lack of visibility is one of the main challenges that significantly impact drivers’ ability to safely perform driving tasks at night especially at unsignalized intersections. Several prior studies indicated that lighting enhances nighttime traffic safety. Nevertheless, lighting is not mandatory at unsignalized intersections in many states including Louisiana. This study aimed to investigate if lack of lighting is a contributing factor that affects traffic safety at unsignalized intersections in Louisiana. In addition, this study strived to identify current lighting policies adopted by other states, examine if there are any low-cost countermeasures implemented by other states to improve nighttime visibility, and …

A Comprehensive Study On Non-Proprietary Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Containing Supplementary Cementitious Materials, Seyedsaleh Mousavinezhad, Gregory J. Gonzales, William K. Toledo, Judith M. Garcia, Craig M. Newston, Srinivas Allena

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a novel cement-based material with exceptional mechanical and durability properties. Silica fume, the primary supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in UHPC, is expensive in North America, so it is often substituted with inexpensive class F fly ash. However, future availability of fly ash is uncertain as the energy industry moves toward renewable energy, which creates an urgent need to find cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to fly ash. This study investigated replacing cement, fly ash, and silica fume in UHPC mixtures with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), metakaolin, and a natural pozzolan (pumicite). To identify acceptable …

Paved With Good Intentions? A Geopolitical Analysis Of The Belt And Road Initiative In Central And Eastern Europe, Vincent Zhang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this analysis is to reveal the geopolitical and geoeconomic significance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to the region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Launched in 2013 as a proposal for increased economic interconnectivity between China and Kazakhstan, the BRI has since grown to encompass hundreds of countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe. The region of CEE is of note as it is coterminous with important regional groupings like the 14 + 1 Cooperative Framework between China & CEE and a point of overlapping interests from actors like the European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty …

Incorporating Variability In Kytc Planning And Project Development, Reginald Souleyrette, Teng Wang, Riana Tanzen, Arnold Stromberg

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Transportation planning and design decisions are typically made using point estimates of traffic and safety measures. This report addresses the uncertainty of data used to make these decisions. It focuses on two data elements — project safety ratings and volume estimates from traffic counts. For safety ratings, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT) crash history score is used as a case study. Confidence intervals are developed for the Cabinet’s new safety metric, which incorporates estimates of future crashes by severity as well as excess expected crashes above safety goals. For traffic counts, the report develops …

Incorporating Crash Severity And Continuous Improvement Of Shift, Reginald Souleyrette, Riana Tanzen, Teng Wang

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT) is the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's data-informed approach for comparing capital improvement projects and prioritizing limited transportation funds. SHIFT 2022 incorporates advancements in methods and flexibility. This project revises the SHIFT crash data safety metric. The crash data safety metric from the previous version of SHIFT was excess expected crashes (EECs). It is computed using the total number of crashes of all severities. Locations with a higher proportion of severe (fatal and injury) crashes received the same weight as locations with an equal number of property damage only crashes. This project redefines the …

Modeling And Evaluating Alternatives To Enhance Access To An Airport And Meet Future Expansion Needs, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha, Abimbola Ogungbire, Chirag Akbari

Mineta Transportation Institute

The continued growth of air travel calls for the incessant construction effort at many airports and their surroundings. Thus, there is a need to determine how airports can better manage existing infrastructure to accommodate this growth. This study, therefore, focuses on (1) investigating how changes in transportation infrastructure have affected travel time reliability (TTR) of the surrounding road network within the airport vicinity over time, and, (2) exploring selected unconventional intersection designs and proposing new inbound/outbound access routes from the nearby major roads to the airport. The efficiency of road networks that surrounds large airports is discussed using Charlotte Douglas …

Investigating The Detriment Of Development Assistance: A Geopolitical Analysis Of Sino-Djibouti Relations Through The Lens Of China’S Belt And Road Initiative, Elizabeth Elenwo-Roger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper will evaluate Africa’s past with debt accumulation, focusing on the role of the Washington Consensus spearheaded by the Bretton Woods Institutions in its failed attempts to relieve the continent’s debt distresses and further aggravate Africa’s already fractured relationship with the West. It will highlight the goals of the Belt and Road Initiative, assessing China’s South-South cooperation approach to its relations with Djibouti and the Horn of Africa. Specifically, it will investigate claims of China engaging in debt-trap diplomacy and the extent to which this term infringes upon the agency of African leaders. The general research question investigates …

Using Thermal Remote Sensing To Quantify Impact Of Traffic On Urban Heat Islands During Covid, My-Thu Tran, Bo Yang

Mineta Transportation Institute

A three-month lockdown in the U.S. at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 greatly reduced the traffic volume in many cities, especially large metropolitan areas such as the San Francisco Bay Area. This research explores the impact of transportation on climate change by using remote sensing technology and statistical analysis during the COVID-19 lockdown. Using thermal satellite data, this research measures the intensity of the urban heat island, the main driver for climate change during the urbanization process. The research team acquired morning and afternoon MODIS data in the same periods in 2019 before the pandemic and 2020 …

Utilizing The System Engineering Trade Study Analysis Method To Analyze Patient Aeromedical Evacuation, Sara Shaghaghi, Jeremy M. Slagley, Michael E. Miller, Gaiven Varshney

Faculty Publications

The US Air Force has gone through many aeromedical patient isolation transport system designs. The first designs were developed in response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. The trade study analysis part of the system engineering design method was used to analyze the historic and current aeromedical patient contamination control transport systems. A trade study is a process that evaluates alternatives based upon various “-ilities”, such as reconfigurability, flexibility, durability, cost, and more, and performs a systematic analysis to aid designers in producing a ‘good’ design alternative given the large set of possible solutions. …

Establishment Of Wildflower Islands To Enhance Roadside Health, Ecological Value, And Aesthetics Phase Ii, Jackson Ebbers, Heidi L. Hillhouse, John A. Guretsky, Thomas J. Weissling

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Urban Mass Transit: New York State And The Mta Sustainability Initiatives On Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction, Omosehin Moyebi

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Dr. Omosehin Moyebi, Health - Urban Mass Transit: New York State and the MTA Sustainability Initiatives on Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction

Motivators And Preferences Of Route Diversion During Roadway Incidents, Grace Cole

LSU Master's Theses

When confronted with congestion and delay, drivers often divert their route. Depending on factors like purpose, urgency, destination, route alternatives, type of disruption, and mode options, common diversionary options can range from changing departure time, route, and mode to canceling a trip altogether. One of the foundational building blocks of travel forecasting is traffic assignment, which is used to distribute trips over a network using complex algorithms to aggregately represent the desire of drivers to minimize travel time.

While these assignment models are backed by decades of research and observational experience, they are also limited by the fact that they …

Port-Of-Entry Simulation Model For Potential Wait Time Reduction And Air Quality Improvement: A Case Study At The Gateway International Bridge In Brownsville, Texas, Usa, Benjamin Stewart, Hiram Moya, Amit U. Raysoni, Esmeralda Mendez, Matthew Vechione

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The mathematical study known as queueing theory has recently become a major point of interest for many government agencies and private companies for increasing efficiency. One such application is vehicle queueing at an international port-of-entry (POE). When queueing, fumes from idling vehicles negatively affect the overall health and well-being of the community, especially the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents that work at the POEs. As such, there is a need to analyze and optimize the border crossing queuing operations to minimize wait times and number of vehicles in the queue and, thus, reduce the vehicle emissions. For this …

Study On Thermal Property Of Fast Growing Grass Fiber And Its Asphalt Mortar, Xia Chaoming, Jiang Kang, Wu Chaofan, Liu Kefei

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to investigate the thermal properties of fast-growing grass fiber and its asphalt mortar, the physical properties and thermal properties of bamboo fiber, reed fiber, and its asphalt mortar were tested and compared with those of lignin fiber and its asphalt mortar by physical property test, thermal weight loss test, and differential scanning calorimetry test. The results show that the addition of plant fiber can effectively improve the high temperature performance of asphalt, but it has a slight inhibition effect on the low temperature performance of asphalt. The quality loss of plant fiber in different temperature ranges is the …

Influence Of Curvature Radius On Mechanical Properties Of Small And Medium Span Continuous Rigid Frame Bridge During Construction Stages, Xie Yangfu, Ye Yuansheng, Gui Shuirong, Yang Yu

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to study the mechanical properties and the influence of curvature radius on the mechanical properties of curved rigid frame bridge constructed by span-by-span assembly method, this paper took the continuous rigid frame bridge with a two-box standard section (35 + 35 + 35) m of Hongdu Overpass in Nanchang City as the engineering background. By changing the curvature radius, the influence of curvature radius on the mechanical properties of small- and medium-span continuous rigid frame bridges constructed by span-by-span assembly method during construction was studied. The results show that the mechanical properties such as the main beam stress, …

Study On Pavement Performance Of Waterborne Epoxy Emulsified Asphalt And Its Application In Micro‐Surface, Jiang Hai, Liu Dachang

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to improve the pavement performance at micro-surface, waterborne epoxy resin was used to modify the emulsified asphalt, and the compatibility, microstructure, mechanical properties, rheological properties, and pavement performance of mixtures of the modified emulsified asphalt were studied. The storage stability test shows that the epoxy emulsion has good compatibility with emulsified asphalt. With the increase in waterborne epoxy resin content, the modified emulsified asphalt tends to form an epoxy resin-dominated skeleton structure. At the same time, with the increase in waterborne epoxy resin content, the adhesion and mechanical properties of emulsified asphalt and aggregate are significantly improved. At …

Study On The Effect Of Quicklime On The Properties Of Cold Mix Asphalt, Liu Tao, Yi Ming, Song Tao

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

The low initial strength of cold mixed asphalt mixture leads to the delay of traffic opening time, and the large void ratio leads to poor water stability and other problems, which seriously hinder the development of cold mixed environment-friendly construction mode. In this paper, based on the principle that the heat of quicklime in the presence of water promotes the rapid loss of water in the cold mixed mixture, the mixing test and cohesion test of the MS-3 slurry cold mixed asphalt mixture with quicklime were carried out to explore the influence of quicklime on the demulsification time and cohesion. …

The Calculation Theory Of Humidity For Subgrade ：A Perspective Review

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

Subgrade humidity has a significant impact on its stiffness, deformation, and other properties. The theoretical calculation method of humidity field has always been one of the key issues in road engineering as a research method to evaluate its evolution law and mechanism. This paper reviewed and summarized the control equation of subgrade humidity calculation, hydraulic characteristics of unsaturated subgrade soil, and influencing factors of humidity. It was found that there were few studies on the coupling effects of multiple fields and factors such as stress, seepage, vegetation, and atmosphere in the whole calculation method system. It is suggested to carry …

Experimental Study On Shear Strength Of Ehp Piles, Wang Nanjiang, Liu Jianlong, Qiu Chengchun, Zhang Yuting, Tao Xiaoyu

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

The new environmental homogeneous plastic (EHP) pile improves the construction technology of traditional soil-cement mixing piles. It mixes the soil-cement slurry evenly in advance and then pours it into holes, so as to form piles with controllable physical properties. In order to test the strength of EHP piles, direct shear tests were carried out on field core sampling, field stirring sampling, and laboratory sampling, and the effects of pile depth, cement content, age, and curing conditions on shear strength were discussed. The test results show that the shear stress-displacement curve of the in-situ core sample is strain-softening; the shear strength …

Analysis On Influence Factors Of Swelling Deformation Of Gravel Pile In Soft Soil Area Based On Orthogonal Numerical Test, Fan Liujun, Lu Xiaoming, Miao Peng

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

The gravel pile composite foundation is usually accompanied by swelling deformation when vertical settlement deformation occurs. The research on the swelling deformation characteristics and influencing factors of gravel pile composite foundations is of great importance for analyzing the settlement rule and deformation mechanism of gravel pile composite foundations. Based on an orthogonal numerical test, this paper used the finite element software Midas GTS to analyze the main influencing factors of the swelling deformation of the gravel pile and used range and variance analysis to analyze the sensitivity and significance of each influencing factor. Finally, through regression analysis, the optimized swelling …

Test And Finite Element Analysis On Flexural Properties Of Steel Plate‒Uhpc Composite Beam, Huang Yun, Zhao Hua, Tu Lei

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to study the flexural properties of steel plate-ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) composite beams, the static test of the flexural properties of a steel sheet-UHPC composite beam was first carried out. Then, Abaqus finite element software was used to simulate the whole process of static loading of the specimen, and different ways were used to simulate the studs in the composite beam. The most appropriate model was thus selected. Finally, based on the calibrated finite element model, the parameters of the steel plate-UHPC composite beam were analyzed, the main parameters included: UHPC compressive strength, steel plate strength, and stud …

Research On Reasonable Completion State And Construction Stage Of Fenghuang Road Bridge, Chen Qiang, Gao Libao, Du Hongliang

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

In order to study the reasonable completion state of Fenghuang Road Bridge and analyze the construction stage, the finite element model was first established by Midas/Civil, and the correlation matrix was extracted. The minimum strain energy of Fenghuang Road Bridge was used as the objective function, and the mathematical optimization model was established by Matlab to determine the reasonable completion state and construction sequence of the bridge. To ensure reasonable cable force of the bridge, the construction cable force was solved by the forward assembly iteration, and the law of the construction cable force was basically the same as that …

Experiment Research Of High Pressure Jet Grouting Pile On Ultra‐Shallow Buried Tunnel In Strong Weathered Stratum, Lu Liyang, Liu Huan, Li Pinpin

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

By taking the ultra-shallow buried construction of Xinwu Tunnel in Luoding–Xinyi Expressway in Guangdong Province as the engineering background, the key construction parameters and formation reinforcement effect of high-pressure rotary churning pile in ultra-shallow buried tunnel surrounding rock of fully weathered strata were compared. The results show that: ① slurry pressure, rotary churning speed, and lifting speed have obvious effects on the static load bearing capacity of a single pile. Under the same static load condition, greater slurry pressure indicates a lower cumulative settlement value of a single pile and a smaller increase in cumulative settlement value, and the change …