Engineering Commons^™

Effectiveness Of Softening Agents For Enhancing Properties Of Asphalt Mixes With High Rap Contents, Zahid Hossain, Ashraf Elsayed, Sumon Roy

Publications

A high percentage of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in new asphalt concrete can lead to developing premature failure of asphalt pavements due to fatigue or low-temperature cracking. The use of softening agents in asphalt binders can resolve these problems. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of softening agents for enhancing the properties of asphalt mixes with high RAP contents. Two waste products, namely, waste cooking oil (WCO), and engine bottom oil (EBO) along with a commercially produced rejuvenator were investigated in this study. The following three types of Performance Grade (PG) binders, each collected from two …

Feasibility Assessment Of Warm Mix Asphalt In Arkansas, Zahid Hossain, Ashraf Elsayed, Mohammad Najmush Sakib Oyan

Publications

The future of Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) technologies is promising in the U.S. However, the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) does not have any specific guidelines to implement them in the field. This research aims to provide necessary baseline data for WMA as a proof of concept. In this study, three ARDOT approved Performance Grade (PG) binders namely PG 64-22, PG 70-22, and PG 76-22 were investigated. Each of these binders was obtained from two different sources. They were modified by varying doses of four selected additives: Sasobit®, Advera®, Evotherm®, and Rediset®. Additionally, four different types of aggregates (sandstone, limestone, …

Development Of Cost-Effective High-Modulus Asphalt Concrete (Hmac) Mixtures Using Crumb Rubber And Local Construction Materials In Louisiana, Momen R. Mousa, Marwa Hassan, Ibrahim A.I.E Elnaml

Publications

One of the emerging solutions to enhance the durability of asphalt pavements is the use of a French asphalt mix known as “High-Modulus Asphalt Concrete (HMAC).” This mix uses a hard asphalt binder, high binder content (about 6%), and low air voids content as compared to Superpave mixtures. The key objective of this study was to develop a cost-effective HMAC mixture using crumb rubber and local materials in Louisiana. To achieve this objective, four HMAC mixtures were prepared using two asphalt binders (PG 82-22 and PG 76-22 plus 10% crumb rubber) and two Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) contents (20% and …

Evaluation Of Alternative Sources Of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (Scms) For Concrete Materials In Transportation Infrastructure, Gabriel A. Arce, Miladin Radovic, Zahid Hossain, Marwa Hassan, Sujata Subedi

Publications

Fly ash is the most utilized supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in the US. Nonetheless, rapid decline in coal-fired power generation threatens its supply. The objective of this study was to evaluate alternative SCMs for concrete transportation infrastructure in Region 6. SCMs investigated included reclaimed fly ash (RFA), reclaimed ground bottom ash (GBA), metakaolin (MK), and conventional Class F fly ash (FA) as a reference. SCMs were characterized and the fresh and hardened properties of concrete incorporating different dosages (i.e., 10, 20, and 30% cement replacement by mass) of the individual SCMs (i.e., binary systems) and blended SCM systems of RFA-MK …

Resilient 3d-Printed Infrastructure With Engineered Cementitious Composites (Ecc), Maryam Hojati

Publications

Conventional construction of reinforced concrete structures is slow, labor-intensive, and expensive. 3D printing holds great potential to assist engineers and architects in constructing fast and economical yet complex representational infrastructures. One of the most significant barriers to the broader adoption of concrete 3D printing in civil infrastructure is the difficulty of providing printed structural components with reinforcement to achieve sound structural performance under different loading conditions. Hence, it is essential to design concrete that can be utilized as a rebar-free material by considering strength and ductility. Recently, the development of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) has neared the possibility to achieve …

Evaluation Of Sustainable And Environmentally Friendly Stabilization Of Cohesionless Sandy Soil For Transportation Infrastructure, Miladin Radovic, Anand Puppala, Surya Sarat Chandra Congress, Jungyeon Jang, Oscar Huang

Publications

Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is generally used to stabilize cohesionless sandy soils that are often found in coastal areas. Due to its high carbon footprint, many studies are being conducted to identify a suitable green alternative for stabilizing cohesionless soils. Previous studies have shown that partially replacing OPC with waste materials such as nano-silica and coal waste reduces the overall carbon footprint without significantly impacting the performance. Geopolymer (GP) received a lot of attention in the past few decades owing to its similar properties to that of OPC yet with a lower carbon footprint. This study investigated the feasibility of …

An Automated System For Inspecting Rock Faces And Detecting Potential Rock Falls Using Machine Learning, John Stormont, Fernando Moreu, Amir Bagherieh, Roya Nasimi, Solomon Atcitty

Publications

Rockfall is a hazard in mountainous areas threatening infrastructure and human lives. Rockfall hazards are often mitigated by manual inspections using pry bars. The inspector must access the rock face, hit the rock surface, detect, and remove the loose rocks. This method is very labor demanding, unsafe, and challenging. This research presents a method that automatize the inspection of rock blocks that are prone to rockfall events. A robot is developed to replace the manual hammer tap process and collect the sound data remotely; subsequently, the sound signal is used to identify different types of the discontinuity in rocks in …

Resource Guide For State Dot’S Maintenance Equipment Fleet Management Decisions, Yongwei Shan, Samir Ahmed, Lei Qiao

Publications

This research created a guide for state Departments of Transportation fleet management on utilizing equipment fleet management system data to make informed fleet management decisions. The research team took the historical equipment fleet data from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and developed workflows, algorithms, and examples to demonstrate the use of historical equipment data for equipment decisions. Specifically, the research team demonstrated 1) the use of life cycle analysis and dynamic programming models for equipment replacement decisions; 2) developed algorithms to calculate equipment rental rates that can be used by the Department to forecast and allocate equipment operational budget among …

Preventing Struck-By Hazards: Defying Risk-Habituation Via Virtual Accident Simulation, Changbum Ahn

Publications

Repeated exposure to struck-by hazards in road work zones generates workers’ habituation to risks related to those hazards, a key contributor to accidents in road work zones. Thus, analyzing the development of risk habituation and providing proper intervention are crucial to preventing accidents in road work zones. In this context, this study employs a virtual reality (VR) environment as a behavioral intervention tool to investigate its effect on mitigating a decline in workers’ vigilance with habituation to hazards in workplaces. A virtual environment that simulates a road maintenance task was developed and used to repeatedly expose subjects to struck-by hazards …

Bridge Cracks Monitoring: Detection, Measurement, And Comparison Using Augmented Reality, Fernando Moreu, Kaveh Malek

Publications

Crack occurrence and propagation are among critical factors that affect the performance and lifespan of civil infrastructures such as bridges. Consequently, numerous crack detection and measurement methods have been proposed and developed in the recent decades in the areas of Structural Health Monitoring and non-destructive testing. Many novel technologies have emerged with the potential to overcome the limitations of the presented techniques of crack detection and characterization. Crack detection and characterization method used in this research lies in supplementing human visual inspection capabilities in a systematic manner through an appropriate level of automation. The Augmented Reality (AR) tool developed in …

Maintenance And Restriping Strategies For Pavement Markings On Asphalt Pavements In Louisiana, Momen R. Mousa, Marwa Hassan

Publications

In Louisiana, most districts restripe their roadways using waterborne paints every other year; this strategy is questionable in terms of efficiency and economy. Meanwhile, previous studies showed substantial variability in the paint service life throughout the United States ranging between 0.25 and 6.2 years. Shortcomings in modeling the retroreflectivity of waterborne paints appear to significantly contribute to these variations as several studies predicted these values using degradation curves with a coefficient of determination (R2) as low as 0.1. Therefore, the objective of this study was to (i) develop new cost-effective restriping strategies using 4-inch (15-mil thickness) and 6-inch (25-mil thickness) …

Determination Of The Optimal Parameters For Self-Healing Efficiency Of Encapsulated Bacteria In Concrete Simulated Subtropical Climate, Momen R. Mousa, Marwa Hassan, Gabriel Andres Arce Amador, Ricardo Hungria, Andrea Gavilanes, Omar Kamal

Publications

Concrete is a remarkable construction material. However, its low tensile strength makes it prone to cracking, which negatively affects its durability. To address this issue, bacterial concrete has been implemented as a self-healing alternative due to its capability to seal microcracks through microbial-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICCP). In this study, a bacterial strain (i.e, Bacillus Pseudiformus) was encapsulated through three different methods: encapsulation through hydrogel beads, vacuum impregnation on lightweight aggregates, and attachment to cellulose nanocrystals. Furthermore, three precursor types were used, magnesium acetate, calcium lactate, and sodium lactate were implemented. Compressive strength tests and flexural strength tests were performed …

Development Of A Multi-Level Dynamic Model To Measure The Resilience Level Of Transportation Infrastructure Networks, Sharareh Kermanshachi, Jianling Li, Thahomina Jahan Nipa

Publications

The recent increase in disasters is making the largest critical infrastructure system namely the transportation infrastructure system susceptible to unexpected damage. Discontinuation of services provided by transportation infrastructures will create significant societal, economic, and collateral damages. Therefore, this study aims to identify dimensions to measure the resilience of the transportation infrastructures. This study also aims to develop a model to measure the resilience of the transportation infrastructures resilience. To fulfill the aims of this study, a questionnaire was developed which was supported by a comprehensive literature review. 92 valid responses were received and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Statistically significant variables …

Exploration Of Corridor-Based Tolling Strategies For Virginia’S Express Toll Lanes, Shanjiang Zhu, Mecit Cetin, Hong Yang, Olcay Sahin, Atabak Mardan

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Virginia has invested significant resources in the development of express toll lanes (ETLs), which adjust toll rates dynamically based on the level of toll lane usage. A tool is needed to investigate the potential impact of the I-66 Outside-the-Beltway (OTB) ETLs on regional traffic patterns. This study developed a microscopic traffic simulation model in TransModeler to evaluate a set of corridor-based tolling strategies for the I-66 ETLs in NOVA. This model also considered the changes in vehicle occupancy, mode split, and departure time among travelers because of tolls based on locally collected data. An interactive map-based analyzer based on the …

Performance Evaluation Of Transportation Systems For Sustainability And Smart-Growth Of Cities: An Integrated Assessment Of Health Impacts, Ahmad Feizi

Dissertations

The performance of transportation systems is a significant component that influences the quality of life. The performance evaluation refers to a process of determining how well transportation systems perform regarding their intended goals and objectives. The advancement of information and communication technology and the integration between transportation systems and advanced technologies have directed more attention to the concept of smart cities. Smart cities are constituted of several interrelated components. Therefore, this offers comprehensive and integrated frameworks to evaluate the transportation performance and understanding of multifaceted interactions between the components from a transportation engineering perspective in four sections.

In the first …

Prediction Of Four-Days Soaked California Bearing Ratio (Cbr) Values From Soil Index Properties, Pascal Ambrose, Siya P. Rimoy Dr

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

California Bearing Ratio (CBR) laboratory testing is the conventional method for determining soaked strengths of pavement subgrades. The test requires careful preparation of soil samples followed by four days of water soaking before penetrating the samples using a standard plunger at prescribed rates to set depths. When the number of samples becomes large the determination of soaked CBR values becomes cumbersome as the test is laborious and time consuming. This study aimed at establishing an alternative way of determining soaked CBR by developing a model that would be used for estimating soaked CBR of fine- and coarse- grained soils without …

From Attitude To Satisfaction: Introducing The Travel Mode Choice Cycle, Jonas De Vos, Patrick A. Singleton, Tommy Gärling

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Many studies analysing the relationship between attitudes and travel behaviour have found that travel attitudes have an important impact on travel mode choice. More recently, studies focusing on how people experience travel have shown that travel satisfaction is influenced by the chosen travel mode. The desire and intention of using a travel mode – which can be considered as important predictors of mode choice – have, however, received limited attention. Furthermore, existing studies mostly have a narrow scope and lack integration of the above constructs. In this paper, we introduce the travel mode choice cycle (TMCC), a comprehensive model aiming …

Long Term Impact Of New Jersey National Summer Transportation Institute Hosted At Rowan University On Career Choices Of Cohorts (Evaluation), Kristine Rivera, Ayman Ali, Yusuf Mehta, Shivani D. Patel

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

In the summer of 2017, 2018, and 2019, the Center for Research in Education in Advanced Transportation Engineering Systems (CREATEs) at Rowan University hosted the National Safety Transportation Institute. The goal of this program is to provide an exposure to high school students to transportation engineering. More than 50% from underrepresented minority groups, including women, African American, and Hispanics/Latinos attended the twoweek program. In the summer of 2017 and 2019, the program was non-residential lasting four and two weeks, respectively. In summer 2018, the program was two-week residential. In all programs, the students got a chance to explore different modes …

Development Of A Model For Analysis Of Traffic Accidents Taking Into Account The Level Of Automobilization And Population In The Republic Of Uzbekistan, Jamshid Abdunazarov

Scientific-technical journal

This article is devoted to the development of a model for the analysis of traffic accidents in the Republic of Uzbekistan, taking into account the level of motorization and population. And also, statistical data of a road traffic accident throughout the country is processed to determine the forecast of a possible accident rate using the model of prof. R. Smid. In conclusion, a comparison of the methods for predicting the fatalities in road accidents is provided.

Data-Driven Methods To Address Truck Parking Shortages For Long-Haul Commercial Truck Drivers, Sharif Mahmud

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Truck parking is a critical concern for both the trucking industry and the truck drivers. Long-haul commercial truck drivers rely on safe and adequate parking to support interstate commerce, which has become a challenge due to parking shortages. The recent electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, forcing a strict compliance to hours of service (HOS) regulations, are leading to higher demand for parking. A number of federal, regional, and local studies reveal that truck activity will increase and truck parking demand will outpace parking supply in the coming years. Such parking shortages likely disrupt freight flows and pose risks to truck …

Mitigating Calcium Oxychloride Damage In Cementitious Paste And Concrete Utilizing Supplementary Cementitious Materials, Casey Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is understood among engineers in the United States (U.S.) that improvement is needed throughout the transportation infrastructure. In the 2021 Infrastructure Report Card produced by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the roadways of this nation merit a D. This leaves room for improvement in order to provide durable pavements throughout this nation. Areas with significant winter weather may have exacerbated effects in decreased roadway longevity due to freezing/thawing cycles and the use of chemical deicers to mitigate gelid roadway conditions. Much research focuses on surface scaling and reinforcement corrosion using these materials; however, joint deterioration, due to chemical …

Evaluation Of Liquid Deicing Materials For Winter Maintenance Applications, Erin Lammers-Staats

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Winter weather can often pose difficulties for transportation agencies as they work to clear roads of snow and ice quickly so that motorists can travel safely and efficiently. Kentucky has made efforts to maximize efficiency within its winter maintenance program by focusing on optimized equipment usage and personnel time management. In this study, KYTC evaluated anti-icers and how their performance compared to the current performance of brine and calcium chloride mixture. New brine additives claim to offer better results, but there is very little guidance about how to systematically evaluate new anti-icers. Researchers were tasked with developing a testing methodology …

Safety Of Vulnerable Road Users (Vru's) In Light-Rail Transit (Lrt) Environment, Samir Ahmed, Rifat Bulut

Data

Light-rail transit (LRT), which includes modern streetcars, trolleys, and heritage trolleys, is one of the fastest growing modes of public transportation in the United States. To reduce the cost and complexity of construction, most LRT systems have their tracks placed on city streets, in medians, or in separate at-grade rights-of-way with at-grade crossings. Operating light-rail vehicles (LRVs) along these alignments introduces new conflicts and increases the risk of collisions with vulnerable road users (VRUs) including pedestrians, bicyclists, and electric scooter riders. This study has two main objectives: (1) to review and evaluate the existing body of knowledge and the state …

Safety Of Vulnerable Road Users (Vru's) In Light-Rail Transit (Lrt) Environment, Samir Ahmed, Rifat Bulut

Publications

Light-rail transit (LRT), which includes modern streetcars, trolleys, and heritage trolleys, is one of the fastest growing modes of public transportation in the United States. To reduce the cost and complexity of construction, most LRT systems have their tracks placed on city streets, in medians, or in separate at-grade rights-of-way with at-grade crossings. Operating light-rail vehicles (LRVs) along these alignments introduces new conflicts and increases the risk of collisions with vulnerable road users (VRUs) including pedestrians, bicyclists, and electric scooter riders. This study has two main objectives: (1) to review and evaluate the existing body of knowledge and the state …

Risk-Based Construction Inspection, Timothy Taylor, Shannon Rush, Steve Waddle, Hala Nassereddine, Ryan Griffith, Makram Bou Hatoum

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Retirements and other forms of attrition have reduced employment levels at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) over the past 20 years. Left in the wake of staff departures is a younger and more inexperienced workforce that shoulders numerous responsibilities. Although operations throughout the Cabinet have been affected by staff losses, construction inspection has suffered disproportionately. Strategies for mitigating the impacts of staff loss include robust knowledge management and risk-based construction inspection. This project developed several tools to help KYTC implement a risk-based construction inspection program, including (1) heat maps that qualitatively rate the levels of risk for different construction activities; …

Signal Processing And Data Analysis For Real-Time Intermodal Freight Classification Through A Multimodal Sensor System., Enrique J. Sanchez Headley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Identifying freight patterns in transit is a common need among commercial and municipal entities. For example, the allocation of resources among Departments of Transportation is often predicated on an understanding of freight patterns along major highways. There exist multiple sensor systems to detect and count vehicles at areas of interest. Many of these sensors are limited in their ability to detect more specific features of vehicles in traffic or are unable to perform well in adverse weather conditions. Despite this limitation, to date there is little comparative analysis among Laser Imaging and Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensors for freight detection …

A Machine Learning Approach To Understanding Emerging Markets, Namita Balani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Logistic providers have learned to efficiently serve their existing customer bases with optimized routes and transportation resource allocation. The problem arises when there is potential for logistics growth in an emerging market with no previous data. The purpose of this work is to use industry data for previously known and well-documented markets to apply data analytic techniques such as machine learning to investigate the uncertainty in a new market. The thesis looks into machine learning techniques to predict miles per stop given historical data. It mainly focuses on Random Forest Regression Analysis, but concludes that additional techniques, such as Polynomial …

Design And Validation Of A High-Power, High Density All Silicon Carbide Three-Level Inverter, Zhongjing Wang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transportation electrification is clearly the road toward the future. Compared to internal combustion engine, the electrified vehicle has less carbon-dioxide emission, less maintenance costs and less operation costs. It also offers higher efficiency and safety margin. More importantly, it relieves human’s dependence on conventional fossil energy. In the electrification progress, the revolution of electric traction drive systems is one of the most important milestone. The traction system should keep high efficiency to avoid performance reduction. Moreover, the motor drive should be designed within limited space without sacrificing output power rating. Based on the road map from US Drive Electrical and …

Novel Eco-Friendly, Recycled Composites For Improved Ca Road Surfaces, Daniel Whisler, Rafael Gomez Consarnau, Ryan Coy

Mineta Transportation Institute

The continued use of structural plastics in consumer products, industry, and transportation represents a potential source for durable, long lasting, and recyclable roadways. Costs to dispose of reinforced plastics can be similar to procuring new asphalt with mechanical performance exceeding that of the traditional road surface.

This project examines improved material development times by leveraging advanced computational material models based on validated experimental data. By testing traditional asphalt and select carbon and glass reinforced composites, both new and recycled, it is possible to develop a finite element simulation that can predict the material characteristics under a number of loads virtually, …

Performance Testing Of Hot Mix Asphalt Modified With Recycled Waste Plastic, Shadi Saadeh, Pritam Katawał

Mineta Transportation Institute

Plastic pollution has become one of the major concerns in the world. Plastic waste is not biodegradable, which makes it difficult to manage waste plastic pollution. Recycling and reusing waste plastic is an effective way to manage plastic pollution. Because of the huge quantity of waste plastic released into the world, industries requiring a large amount of material, like the pavement industry, can reuse some of this mammoth volume of waste plastics. Similarly, the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has also become common practice to ensure sustainability. The use of recycled waste plastics and RAP in HMA mix can …