Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of Indot Construction Smoothness Specifications, Terhi K. Pellinen, Shao-Fan Chou

JTRP Technical Reports

Currently, Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is using the California Profilograph as the standard measuring device in its smoothness specifications. The output derived from the profilograph is called Profile Index (PI). PI represents the total accumulated deviations of the profilograph output traces beyond a tolerance zone (blanking band). At present, INDOT is using 0.2-inch blanking band to evaluate the profile traces, which has raised some concerns because some small unpleasant surface irregularities are covered by the blanking band. The major objective of this study was to develop a rational method for interpreting profilograph traces using 0.0-inch blanking band (zero tolerance) …

Evaluation Procedures For Deploying Spread Spectrum Interconnect, J. V. Krogmeier

JTRP Technical Reports

This purpose of this project was the design and construction of a testbed network for experimentation with spread spectrum communications in the 900 and 2400 MHz band. The current network consists of five fixed nodes and two portable nodes. Of the fixed nodes, three are located in the Purdue MSEE building, one is located in the Harold L. Michael Traffic Operations Laboratory, and one is located in the experimental traffic signal cabinet at the intersection of Stadium and Northwestern Avenues in West Lafayette. The testbed has been used to evaluate spread spectrum radio technologies from vendors Microwave Data Systems, GINA, …

Implementation Of Full-Width Bridge Deck Panels: A Synthesis Study, Jose David Versace, J. A. Ramirez

JTRP Technical Reports

In this synthesis study, information related to full-depth precast deck systems has been collected and analyzed in order to facilitate implementation of full-depth precast deck systems in the state of Indiana. Nine full-depth precast deck systems were identified in the literature review. For girder bridges or similar, a full-depth precast, prestressed deck system (New England Region System) is recommended to be implemented. For bridges with decks spanning in the longitudinal direction, where no precast, prestress deck systems are available, the Exodermic™ Deck System is suggested to be implemented. This system is also an alternative to the New England Region System …

Innovative Environmental Management Of Winter Salt Runoff Problems At Indot Yards, James E. Alleman, Barry K. Partridge, Lee Yeung

JTRP Technical Reports

This INDOT-JTRP project examined an innovative strategy for mitigating, and possibly obviating, the environmental impact of wintertime salt release within INDOT yard areas specifically associated with the generation and release of salt truck wash waters, whereby these waste streams may be beneficially reused in the manufacture of salt brine solutions suitable for subsequent pre-wetting and anti-icing applications. The associated environmental problem stems from the fact that these wash waters carry high-level (e.g., from 100’s of mg/L to percentile-level) salt concentrations whose uncontrolled release via local surface or ground waters will have to be discontinued pursuant to the onset of tightened …

Interaction Between Micro-Cracking, Cracking, And Reduced Durability Of Concrete: Developing Methods For Considering Cumulative Damage In Life-Cycle Modeling, Zhifu Yang, W. Jason Weiss, J. Olek

JTRP Technical Reports

It is becoming increasingly popular to utilize numerical simulation models to predict the long-term performance of concrete pavements and structures. The majority of these models have been developed using laboratory test data that considers concrete in an uncracked state. While uncracked concrete exists as the best case scenario, frequent cracking occurs in real structures that could have a profound impact on life cycle performance. Cracks from several sources may accumulate and interact thereby accelerating the deterioration of concrete. For example, the distributed cracking caused by freeze/thaw damage can substantially increases the rate of water absorption and reduces the load carrying …

Mechanical Behavior Of Non-Textbook Soils (Literature Review), J. Antonio H. Carraro, Rodrigo Salgado

JTRP Technical Reports

Traditionally, soil mechanics has focused on the behavior of two distinct types of geomaterials: clean sands and pure clays. Under the application of external loads, these two types of geomaterials represent and are conveniently associated with two extreme types of soil responses: drained and undrained behavior. The drained behavior of clean sands and the undrained behavior of pure clays have been covered extensively in most soil mechanics textbooks. In order to provide some insight into the mechanical response of additional materials, a literature review on the mechanical behavior of “non-textbook” soils (i.e. soils other than clean sands and pure clays) …

Minimizing Truck-Car Conflicts On Highways, Srinivas Peeta, Weimin Zhou

JTRP Technical Reports

Trucks represent the predominant form of domestic freight movement. Due to the substantial increase in freight truck traffic on the nation’s highways, its influence on traffic flow performance, safety, and quality of travel experience, is garnering increased attention. Several existing studies have addressed the impacts of trucks on highway traffic flow conditions and crashes. This research models the behavior of non-truck drivers vis-à-vis their interactions with trucks by associating a “discomfort level” with every non-truck driver. This discomfort of non-truck drivers in the vicinity of trucks is assumed to be affected by situational factors such as time-of-day, weather, and ambient …

Methodology For The Development Of A Highway Asset Management System For Indiana, Zongzhi Li, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

Highway asset management is a systematic process that aims to preserve, expand, and operate highway assets in the most cost-effective manner. It is an analytical tool that facilitates organized, logical, and integrated decision-making in asset management practice. This study proposes a methodology for the development of a highway asset management system that addresses asset valuation, performance modeling, marginal benefit analysis, and multicriteria decision-making, including tradeoff analysis as well as project selection and programming. While most existing management systems deal with individual physical highway assets or system usage only under certainty or risk, this research focuses on the management of an …

Predicting Traffic Conditions At Indiana Signalized Intersections, Rafael I. Perez-Cartagena, Andrzej P. Tarko

JTRP Technical Reports

All of the methods for predicting traffic conditions at intersections provide default values for saturation flow rates and their adjustment factors, lost times, and other parameters. Because these parameters are difficult to measure, the use of the default values is a common practice and it can cause significant bias in the results if the actual local values are different. The main objective of this research was to investigate the variability of capacity and delay parameters used in engineering tools for predicting delays and for determining level of service (LOS) at signalized intersections in Indiana. The variability investigation produced Indiana default …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Software Quality Revisited, Ronan Fitzpatrick

Conference papers

Definitions of software quality have focused on software product quality factors. Quality that focuses on product quality is referred to by Kaoru Ishikawa as a narrow view of quality and he suggests that a broader more embracing and inclusive view is really necessary. The requirements of successful E-Commerce Web sites demonstrate this view. While the site might be considered as the product, Web site producers, owners and visitors also have a “quality” requirement. This broader view gives rises to the need to research and understand quality-of-development, quality-of-ownership, quality-of-engagement as well as quality-of-product. From the quality-of-product perspective, while many of the …

Software Quality Challenges., Ronan Fitzpatrick, Peter Smith, Brendan O'Shea

Conference papers

This paper sets out a number of challenges facing the software quality community. These challenges relate to the broader view of quality and the consequences for software quality definitions. These definitions are related to eight perspectives of software quality in an end-to-end product life cycle. Research and study of software quality has traditionally focused on product quality for management information systems and this paper considers the challenge of defining additional quality factors for alternative domains like the World Wide Web.

Towards A Unified Spatial-Temporal Data Model And Query Language For Geographical Information Systems., Patrick Browne, Mike Jackson

Conference papers

This paper outlines the principle features of a Ph.D. programme of work. Section one describes the aims of the research. Section two looks at the nature of digital maps and their importance in the broader context of geographic information. Section three looks at the two major aspects of the research. Section four discusses the role of category theory in the research. Finally the conclusion is presented in section five.

Bluetooth Enabled Ad-Hoc Networks: Performance Evaluation Of A Self-Healing Scatternet Formation Protocol, Rade Trimceski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Bluetooth wireless technology is a robust short-range communications system designed for low power (10 meter range) and low cost. It operates in the 2.4 GHz Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) band and it employs two techniques for minimizing interference: a frequency hopping scheme which nominally splits the 2.400 - 2.485 GHz band in 79 frequency channels and a time division duplex (TDD) scheme which is used to switch to a new frequency channel on 625 μs boundaries. During normal operation a Bluetooth device will be active on a different frequency channel every 625 μs, thus minimizing the chances of continuous interference …

Constructability, Maintainability, And Operability Of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (Frp) Bridge Deck Panels, Makarand Hastak, Daniel W. Halpin, Taehoon Hong

JTRP Technical Reports

Recent advances in composite materials for civil engineering have created interesting possibilities for replacing conventional structural forms with components made out of fiber reinforced composite materials. Composite materials offer several advantages over conventional materials such as a superior strength/weight ratio, a better stiffness/weight ratio, a high degree of chemical inertness, and flexible custom design characteristics. Some of the potential down-stream benefits include lower life-cycle costs, lighter members, high corrosion and fatigue resistance, and higher live load capacity (Seible and Karbhari 1996). Composite materials are clearly having a major impact on how facilities are designed, constructed, and maintained. In order to …

Hazard Elimination Program - Manual On Improving Safety Of Indiana Road Intersections And Sections; Volume 1: Research Report And Volume 2: Guidelines For Highway Safety Improvements In Indiana, Andrzej P. Tarko, Mayank Kanodia

JTRP Technical Reports

The Hazard Elimination Program (HEP) is the section of the Safety Management System that focuses on road improvements and includes analytical tools for identification of safety problems and their remedies. This research project reviews the results of the past research for Indiana and other states and to develop guidelines that present a set of tools for hazard elimination through road improvements. It also includes developing regression models for predicting crash frequencies at all-way and two-way stop-controlled intersections. Negative Binomial regression was used to develop separate models for two-way and all-way stop controlled intersections. These models predict typical frequency of all …

Stimulation Of Capacitative Calcium Entry In Hl-60 Cells By Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields, Jody A. White, Peter F. Blackmore, Karl H. Schoenbach, Stephen J. Beebe

Bioelectrics Publications

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) are hypothesized to affect intracellular structures in living cells providing a new means to modulate cell signal transduction mechanisms. The effects of nsPEFs on the release of internal calcium and activation of calcium influx in HL-60 cells were investigated by using real time fluorescent microscopy with Fluo-3 and fluorometry with Fura-2. nsPEFs induced an increase in intracellular calcium levels that was seen in all cells. With pulses of 60 ns duration and electric fields between 4 and 15 kV/cm, intracellular calcium increased 200-700 nM, respectively, above basal levels (similar to100 nM), while the uptake of …

Regionalization Of Indiana Watersheds For Flood Flow Predictions Phase I: Studies In Regionalization Of Indiana Watersheds, A. Ramachandra Rao

JTRP Technical Reports

The following five methods of regionalization of watersheds were tested with Indiana watershed and annual maximum flood data: (1) the L-moment based method, (2) the method based on hybrid cluster analysis, (3) the hybrid cluster method using rainfall data, (4) the fuzzy cluster method, and (5) the method based on artificial neural networks. The results of the L-moment based method and the hybrid cluster method with rainfall data were unacceptable because of the subjectivity involved with the former and the heterogeneity of the of the results obtained by the latter. The remaining three methods gave very similar results. The fuzzy …

The Development Of A Highway Tort Liability Management System For The Indiana Department Of Transportation, Thomas Giraud, Vorasett Chovichien, Samuel -1962 Labi, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

The loss of states’ sovereign immunity in the 1970’s opened the gates for highway-related tort liability suits against the states. Between January 2001 and September 2002, the State of Indiana investigated and settled hundreds of highwayrelated tort cases, involving several millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money. There is a need to assess the frequency of occurrence and financial impacts of such claims, and to examine how the growth of highway tort claims could be arrested. This study aimed at reviewing existing highway tort liability risk management practices at other states for possible applicability to INDOT, developing a framework for managing …

Upgrading The Indot Pavement Friction Testing Program, Shuo Li, Samy Noureldin, Karen Zhu

JTRP Technical Reports

This study investigated many important issues associate with pavement surface friction testing, in particular using the smooth tire. This study utilized 3-D FEM program to investigate the fundamental friction phenomenon in light of energy dissipation during friction process. It was demonstrated that the pavement friction depends on many factors such as test tire, test speed, surrounding conditions, pavement surface texture, and pavement type. A great amount of friction data has been collected so as to investigate variations involved in pavement friction measurements. System variations depend on the feature of pavement surface. The standard deviations due to system errors are usually …

Using Precast Concrete Panels For Pavement Construction In Indiana, Luh M. Chang, Yu-Tzu Chen, Sangwook Lee

JTRP Technical Reports

The closure of roadways for new pavement, overlays, or removal and replacement applications constantly causes traffic congestions. To minimize the effects of traffic congestions, the study is intended to assess the feasibility of using Precsat Concrete Pavement (PCP) method in INDOT pavement construction. The research investigated the state-of-the-art of the PCP methods lately developed in United States. The conventional concrete pavement methods such as Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP) including Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP), Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP), and Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) were reviewed and compared with PCP methods. With the speedy construction and lower user …

Experimental Study Of Active Separation Flow Control In A Low Pressure Turbine Blade Cascade Model, Mark Mcquilling

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The flow field around a low pressure turbine (LPT) blade cascade model with and without flow control is examined using ejector nozzle (EN) and vortex generator jet (VGJ) geometries for separation control. The cascade model consists of 6 Pak-B Pratt andamp; Whitney low pressure turbine blades with Re = 30,000-50,000 at a free-stream turbulence intensity of 0.6%. The EN geometry consists of combined suction and blowing slots near the point of separation. The VGJs consist of a row of holes placed at an angle to the free-stream, and are tested at two locations of 69% and 10.5% of the suction …

Developing Software For Wound Measurement, Savo Kordic

Theses : Honours

Chronic wounds such as leg ulcers, pressure ulcers and diabetic ulcers affect many thousands of people in Australia. In addition to the costs of these wounds in terms of human suffering, loss of income and resources, there are costs related to the treatment of ulcers. Thus, there is a genuine need to develop an accurate and a fully objective application for wound measurement. The aim of this project was to create software for the measurement of wounds. In achieving this goal, several issues were addressed: an accurate measurement method capable of detecting small changes in an open wound surface area, …

Nebraska Summary: S498 New Holland Ts115a, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Nebraska Summary: S451 Case-Ih Jx1070c, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Tests 2269 & 2270: Challenger Mt465b Diesel, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

No abstract provided.

Tractor Test 1837b: Case Ih Farmall 55, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Modeling, Fabrication, And Optimization Of Niobium Cavities, Robert A. Schill Jr., Mohamed Trabia, William Culbreth

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

One of the key technologies for the deployment of acceleratordriven transmutation systems is the accelerator itself. Elliptical superconducting niobium cavities are used to increase the efficiency of the high-power accelerators needed to support the transmutation mission.

One of the major sources of energy loss from a superconducting accelerator cavity is a process known as multiple impacting (or “multipacting”) of electrons. This phenomenon limits the maximum amount of energy and power that the niobium cavity can store. As a result, the maximum power available for accelerating the desired charge, as well as the overall performance of the accelerator is reduced. Furthermore, …

Neutron Multiplicity Measurements Of Target/Blanket Materials, Denis Beller

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

To optimize the performance of accelerator-driven transmutation subcritical systems (ADS), engineers will need to design the system to operate with a neutron multiplication factor just below that of a critical, or self-sustaining, system. This design criterion requires particle transport codes that instill the highest level of confidence with minimal uncertainty, because larger uncertainties in the codes require larger safety margins in the design and result in a lower efficiency of the ADS transmuter. For current design efforts in the U.S., a Monte Carlo particle transport code MCNPX is used to model neutron production and transport for spallation neutron systems.

While …

Studies In Cardiac Defribrillation, Eamonn Mckenna

Masters

Cardiac disease resulting in cardiac arrest is one of the most common fatal diseases in the developed world. Defibrillation is the medical procedure used to correct the irregular cardiac rhythm (ventricular fibrillation (VF)) which is very often detected in patients suffering cardiac arrest. In the work reported in this thesis, two aspects of the defibrillation of patients in VF were examined. The first area of investigation concentrated on the use of multiple defibrillation electrodes to be used during closed chest (transthoracic) defibrillation. This study was carried out in a saline bath and centred on “focusing” electric fields from perimeter electrodes …