Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

A Simulation Way To Investigate The Reason For Congestion In Urban——A Case Study In Hohhot China, Junqing Wang, Hong Yang, Yuan Zhu, Qingwen Pu, Shunlai Cui

College of Engineering & Technology (Batten) Posters

In the case of high density traffic flow, traditional traffic data statistical analysis methods, which not only have certain errors and lead to inaccurate data, but also have many limitations such as labor consumption, can no longer meet the demand for traffic analysis. Drones for traffic data, based on an aerial bird's-eye view, no offset, and error-free complete statistics of urban road shooting section of all data, while greatly reducing cost consumption. A multi-dimensional simulation model is established for the UAV data to the Hohhot central urban area's road simulation platform. This project will test and explore multidimensional data in …

Investigating The Impacts Of Connected Vehicles On Driving Aggressiveness And Situational Awareness In Highway Crash Scenarios: A Driving Simulator Study, Abdalziz Alruwaili

College of Engineering & Technology (Batten) Posters

Psychological factors such as aggressiveness and situational awareness can impact driving performance. Connected vehicles (CV), equipped with advanced sensors and able to communicate safety messages to drivers, have the potential to influence driving performance by altering drivers’ aggressiveness and situational awareness. This paper aims to investigate the impacts of the CVs on driving aggressiveness and situational awareness in highway crash scenarios where a primary crash has already occurred, and a second crash may occur as a result. To achieve this goal, a driving simulator experiment was conducted, and questionnaires focused on driving aggressiveness and CV effectiveness were distributed. Structural equation …

The Impact Of Precipitation As An Adverse Weather Condition On Transportation Construction In South Dakota, Akosua Ofosua Okyere-Addo

Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Students Plan B Capstone Projects

This research assessed the impact of precipitation as an adverse weather condition on the transportation construction in South Dakota. A statistical survey of the data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was conducted on 554 original stations, which was reduced to 433 stations of them were in South Dakota, then reduced to 170 stations with 30-year data coverage higher than 70 %. Eventually, the data were reduced further for pilot study purposes to a final 10 stations used for analysis in this study. The objective of this study is to examine potential precipitation thresholds towards determination of related adverse …

Developing A Physics-Informed Deep Learning Paradigm For Traffic State Estimation, Jiheng Huang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The traffic delay due to congestion cost the U.S. economy $ 81 billion in 2022, and on average, each worker lost 97 hours each year during commute due to longer wait time. Traffic management and control strategies that serve as a potent solution to the congestion problem require accurate information on prevailing traffic conditions. However, due to the cost of sensor installation and maintenance, associated sensor noise, and outages, the key traffic metrics are often observed partially, making the task of estimating traffic states (TSE) critical. The challenge of TSE lies in the sparsity of observed traffic data and the …

Spatial Ensemble Distillation Learning Based Real-Time Crash Prediction And Management Framework, Md Rakibul Islam

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Real-time crash prediction is a complex task, since there is no existing framework to predict crash likelihood, types, and severity together along with a real-time traffic management strategy. Developing such a framework presents various challenges, including not independent and identically distributed data, imbalanced data, large model size, high computational cost, missing data, sensitivity vs. false alarm rate (FAR) trade-offs, estimation of traffic restoration time after crash occurrence, and real-world deployment strategy. A novel spatial ensemble distillation learning modeling technique is proposed to address these challenges. First, large-scale real-time data were used to develop a crash likelihood prediction model. Second, the …

Safety Considerations For Setting Variable Speed Limits On Freeways, Md Tarek Hasan

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This thesis focuses on evaluating the appropriate speed at which vehicles should travel under different traffic conditions on freeways and its impact on crash frequency. The common belief is that the lower speed results in fewer crashes as reduced speed provides drivers with more time to react effectively and avoid collisions. However, this perspective overlooks the interplay among traffic speed, average spacing between consecutive vehicles, and the distance available for stopping a vehicle. Hence, we propose a safety parameter termed ‘Safety Correlate' (SCORE), which is defined as the proportion of average spacing relative to the stopping distance. To determine the …

Modeling Individual Activity And Mobility Behavior And Assessing Ridesharing Impacts Using Emerging Data Sources, Jiechao Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Predicting individual mobility behavior is one of the major steps of transportation planning models. Accurate prediction of individual mobility behavior will be beneficial for transportation planning. Although previous studies have used different data sources to model individual mobility behaviors, they have several limitations such as the lack of complete mobility sequences and travel mode information, limiting our ability to accurately predict individual movements. In recent years, the emergence of GPS-based floating car data (FCD) and on-demand ride-hailing service platforms can provide innovative data sources to understand and model individual mobility behavior. Compared to the previously used data sources such as …

Stochastic Optimization To Reduce Aircraft Taxi-In Time At Igia, New Delhi, Rajib Das, Saileswar Ghosh, Rajendra Desai, Pijus Kanti Bhuin, Stuti Agarwal

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Since there is an uncertainty in the arrival times of flights, pre-scheduled allocation of runways and stands and the subsequent first-come-first-served treatment results in a sub-optimal allocation of runways and stands, this is the prime reason for the unusual delays in taxi-in times at IGIA, New Delhi.

We simulated the arrival pattern of aircraft and utilized stochastic optimization to arrive at the best runway-stands allocation for a day. Optimization is done using a GRG Non-Linear algorithm in the Frontline Systems Analytic Solver platform. We applied this model to eight representative scenarios of two different days. Our results show that without …

Clustering States To Improve The Strategic Highway Safety Plan, Victoria Cambron

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Each update to a Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) can require a large amount of time, resources, and funding. From the requirements in U.S.C.148(a)(13)(E-F), in the SHSP update process states must consider the results of other transportation planning processes and develop a list of strategies to reduce or eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes (United States, 2023). To fulfill these requirements more efficiently and to gain the largest amount of benefit from said research, this thesis asks the question: how do we select other state transportation plans to study for ideas on improving our own SHSP? In this thesis, a …

Nondestructive Evaluation Of Structural Defects In Concrete Slabs, Ehsanul Kabir

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Nondestructive testing (NDT) is a reliable method for determining the structural integrity of new and old construction and understanding the condition of structural defects. It is widely acknowledged that the interpretation of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) has a significant impact on the reliability and consistency of this technology. However, NDT data acquisition remains subjective and heavily dependent on the operator’s knowledge and expertise. As a result, there are still issues to be resolved regarding the imaging and diagnostic procedures for NDT-based concrete inspection. NDT methods such as ground penetrating radar (GPR), and impact-echo (IE), have been extensively used to inspect concrete …

Smart Mobility Sensing Of Origin-Destination Pairs Using Computer Vision, Seyed Sina Shid Moosavi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The measurement of the origin-destination (OD) flow of individual passengers within the public transportation system plays a vital role in understanding resident mobility and facilitating route planning. Particularly in resource-limited communities, where access to advanced technologies like smart card systems may not be available, bus transportation systems play a crucial role in daily life. Traditional methods, such as driver logs, are not only time-consuming but also difficult to provide precise measurements of individualized OD pairs. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to propose an automatic passenger sensing system (software) capable of accurately measuring OD pairs for individual passengers …

Development,Validation, And Integration Of Ai-Driven Computer Vision System And Digital-Twin System For Traffic Safety Dignostics, Ou Zheng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The use of data and deep learning algorithms in transportation research have become increasingly popular in recent years. Many studies rely on real-world data. Collecting accurate traffic data is crucial for analyzing traffic safety. Still, traditional traffic data collection methods that rely on loop detectors and radar sensors are limited to collect macro-level data, and it may fail to monitor complex driver behaviors like lane changing and interactions between road users. With the development of new technologies like in-vehicle cameras, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and surveillance cameras, vehicle trajectory data can be collected from the recorded videos for more comprehensive …

Electrospun Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Microfibers As An Asphalt Mix Additive, Debbrata Datta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent decades, the use of different types of fibers in asphalt has become increasingly popular. Fibers are used in an asphalt mix to improve its durability and resistance against distresses such as rutting and cracking due to repetitive vehicle loading at high temperatures, and low-temperature contraction. Consequently, accurate rheological and performance characterization of asphalt binders and mixes containing fibers is of vital importance. With increased concerns over the environmental disruptions as a result of disposing end-of-life plastics in landfills and the need for improving sustainability of the construction materials, incorporating plastic in construction materials has always been an important …

Graduated Driver Licensing Program, Jeeyen Koo, Andrew Martin, Jennifer Walton

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

To address challenges related to teen driver safety, Kentucky adopted a simple graduated driver licensing (GDL) program in 1996 and further expanded it in 2006 by adding an intermediate licensing phase, requirements for supervised practice driving, and instituting restrictions on passenger age. Despite GDL programs having been adopted throughout the US, young drivers (ages 16 – 20) continue to be overrepresented in fatal crashes. In 2019, despite this segment making up roughly 5.3 percent of licensed drivers it accounted for 11.5 percent of fatal vehicle crashes (Kentucky recorded 732 crash fatalities, of which 73 involved young drivers). Although teen driver …

2+1 Roadway Design Guidance Update, Jeff Jasper, Jeff Wolfe, Robin Baskette, Paul Ross, Chris Van Dyke

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The frequency and severity of crashes on rural two-lane roadways have increased in the US relative to other road types. This trend can be explained by the growing number of vehicles, higher speeds, narrow shoulders, and vehicle mixes. One solution for improving traffic flow and safety outcomes on rural two-lane roadways is to adopt a 2+1 design, which confers the benefits of four-lane highways but at a lower cost. Transportation agencies throughout Europe — and increasingly the US — have seen good results from 2+1 layouts. Crash data from Sweden, Germany, Finland, and Denmark reveal better safety outcomes following the …

Pedestrian And Bicycle Improvement Scoring Method For Shift–2024, Nikiforos Stamatiadis, Daria Korostina, Teng Wang, Reginald Souleyrette

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

State transportation agencies have limited funding to deliver multimodal transportation programs that address the needs of all users. To allocate project funding in an impartial and objective manner, many agencies have adopted data-driven scoring systems that are used to evaluate the merits of proposed capital improvement projects. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet introduced the Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT) for this purpose. Until now SHIFT, has evaluated projects based five core variables — congestion, safety, benefit-cost ratio, asset management, economic growth. To address local needs, SHIFT has also allocated points that Area Development Districts, metropolitan planning organizations, and Cabinet …

Predictions Of The Dynamic Complex Modulus Of Non-Conventional Asphalt Concrete Using Machine Learning Techniques, Annie Benson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The complex dynamic modulus (|E*|) is a characterization property that defines the stiffness of an asphalt mixture. The dynamic modulus can be found through lab testing or predictions. Since lab testing can be time-consuming and expensive, the prediction method can be used as an alternative method. While a statistical method has been traditionally used for the |E*| prediction such as the Witczak’s predictive equations, machine learning (ML) is recently emerging as an alternative way that |E*| predictions can be made. This research attempted to predict the |E*| using several ML techniques including linear regression, support vector machines (SVM), decision trees, …

Evaluations Of Frp Composite Coupons Under Impact And Puncture, Lekhnath Bhandari

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Evaluations of FRP Composite Coupons Under Impact and Puncture

Lekhnath Bhandari

Railroad tank cars are the main mode of transportation for carrying flammable liquids and other hazardous materials, in any mode of ground transportation system. These tank cars, if punctured during derailments may explode releasing large amounts of hazardous materials and posing serious threats to human life and leading to economic losses. To minimize such catastrophes, in 2015, United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) proposed to improve the thermal and puncture performances of these tank cars and introduced two new design specifications: DOT-117 and DOT-117R. Tank cars with 9/16 inches …

Single Field Of View Calibration Through Estimating Three Mutually Orthogonal Vanishing Points For Spatial Data Collection In Traffic Scenes, Sourav Dutta

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Accurately extracting the three mutually orthogonal vanishing points plays a vital role in the field of view calibration for many surveillance-based traffic applications. However, the paucity of parallel lines along the dominant directions in many traffic scenes engenders the inapplicability of the current methods for a successful calibration. This research proposed a novel vanishing point estimating method for traffic scenes. This method capitalizes on both the road scene and moving vehicles for the determination of the dominant directions of the real-world coordinate frame. It also exploits distinctive edgelets for the direct identification of vanishing point candidates. Both lab and field …

Automating Intersection Marking Data Collection And Condition Assessment At Scale With An Artificial Intelligence-Powered System, Kun Xie, Huiming Sun, Xiaomeng Dong, Hong Yang, Hongkai Yu

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Intersection markings play a vital role in providing road users with guidance and information. The conditions of intersection markings will be gradually degrading due to vehicular traffic, rain, and/or snowplowing. Degraded markings can confuse drivers, leading to increased risk of traffic crashes. Timely obtaining high-quality information of intersection markings lays a foundation for making informed decisions in safety management and maintenance prioritization. However, current labor-intensive and high-cost data collection practices make it very challenging to gather intersection data on a large scale. This paper develops an automated system to intelligently detect intersection markings and to assess their degradation conditions with …

Do Transportation Network Companies Affect Road Safety Outcomes: A Spatially Detailed Analysis In San Francisco, Vedant Shriniwas Goyal

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

US traffic fatal deaths have steadily risen since 2010, with the past few years witnessing an unusual trend increase. To reverse such a dangerous trend, one must understand how and why road crashes occur and which factors are causing them. Emerging transportation technologies have shown the potential to improve mobility and safety. However, such technologies are not inherently beneficial and could worsen road safety if not effectively implemented. One such transportation technology that warrants investigation is the rise of ridesharing services, also called Transportation Network Companies (TNCs). The primary goal of the dissertation is to explore the statistical relationship between …

Estimating The Effectiveness Of Incentives On The Adoption Of Electric Vehicles, Michelle O. Imarah

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

This study aims to estimate the effectiveness of incentives in increasing the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) among households in the near future. Five scenarios were tested using a vehicle type choice model estimated from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data: (1) increasing the number of EV chargers, (2) reducing the purchase price of EVs based on household income, (3) increasing the number of EV models and makes, (4) increasing the EV range, and (5) all scenarios at once. Results showed that all the scenarios were effective in increasing EV adoption amongst households. Some scenarios were more effective …

Digital Twins For Ancillary Transportation Asset Data Management, Ashtarout Ammar

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Transportation Asset Management (TAM) is a data-driven decision-making process to maintain and extend the serviceability of transportation assets throughout their lifecycle. TAM is an extensive data process requiring accurate, high-quality information for better decision-making. A significant challenge that state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) face is allocating limited funds to optimize their assets’ performance. The criticality of this challenge increases when state DOTs need to manage a wide variety of assets distributed along with a vast network; thus, they prioritize the management of high-value assets and visible ones such as bridges, and they pay less attention to ancillary assets even though …

Rollout Of A Digital Comprehensive Safety Management System In A Large Public Agency: A Case Study With Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Salena Pham

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

It’s understood that construction is extremely dangerous and highway construction has an added risk that comes from the presence of traffic. Many steps and prevention measures can be taken to reduce the risks to workers’ safety in highway work zones. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) realized they had room for improvement and wanted to have a database that would allow for analysis of the common causes of incidents. The new software KYTC wanted to implement is called Origami Risk. Origami Risk is a cloud-based safety management system (SMS) software that offers a huge range of customizable risk management, RMIS, environmental health …

Understanding Changes In Land Use Patterns At A Parcel Level In Central Florida Counties (Orange, Seminole, Osceola), Youssef Mohamed Abdelaziz Elsebaie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In Florida, a state with significant population growth, it is essential to understand how land use change and transportation interact. Understanding these interactions between land use and transport is useful for transportation planners and land use modelers. Hence, in this research, we attempt to quantify the impact of the transportation system on land use and vice-versa. The research, using high-resolution land use data from 2011 to 2019, builds a binary logistic regression model of land use change. The model accounts for various independent variables, including socio-demographic attributes, built environment characteristics, and transportation network variables. The data set covers GIS data …

Enabling Large-Scale Transportation Electrification For Shared And Connected Mobility Systems, Md Rakibul Alam

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Owing to advancements in technology, substantial investments within the automotive industry, and the formulation of supportive state policies, the future landscape of the transportation sector is poised to witness a shift from traditional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) to electric vehicles (EVs). While EVs have made inroads in the market, they still face significant hurdles in the form of range anxiety and prolonged charging durations, inhibiting their widespread adoption. To tackle these challenges, a comprehensive approach to smart transportation electrification is proposed, emphasizing the pivotal roles of infrastructure development, particularly in the allocation of charging stations, and strategic operational decisions, …

Assessment Of Midblock Pedestrian Crossing Facilities Using Surrogate Safety Measures And Vehicle Delay, Nafis Anwari

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This dissertation has contributed to the pedestrian safety literature by assessing and comparing safety benefits and traffic efficiency among midblock Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) and Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) sites. Video trajectory data were used to calculate pedestrian Surrogate Safety Measures (SSMs) and vehicles' delay. Regression models of SSMs and vehicles' delay revealed that PHB sites offer more safety benefits, at the expense of increased vehicles' delay, compared to RRFB sites. The presence of the PHB, weekday, signal activation, lane count, pedestrian speed, vehicle speed, land use mix, traffic flow, time of day, and pedestrian starting position from the …

Quantifying The Impact Of Wide Base Tires On Pavement Performance In Michigan, Lei Yin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This study aimed to investigate the use of wide base tires (WBT) in Michigan to quantify the effect of different percentages of WBT loads on flexible and rigid pavements. Surveys and field investigations were conducted to quantify the WBT usage in Michigan. The JULEA (for flexible pavements) and Illislab (for JPCP) software programs were used to calculate the mechanical response between dual tire (DT) and WBT loads, while the Mechanical-Empirical (ME) pavement design process was utilized for damage accumulation and pavement distress analysis. Investigation results rationalized the assumption of WBT proportion for design purposes as 10% currently and up to …

The Rhetorical Art Of Risk Assessment: Lessons From Risk Management In Rural And Tribal Communities, John L. Velat

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Risk assessment, mitigation, and communication rely on data from multiple sources to form a complete understanding of hazards and how to manage them. Experts can use these data to make informed decisions about the nature and extent of risks and inform the public to protect health, the environment, and economic welfare. However, in an effort to objectively make decisions, technical experts and policymakers increasingly rely on quantitative data as the most important determiner of risk, which can alienate the public, limit risk understanding, and delay or miss obvious signals of impending catastrophe. I examine several cases based on my experiences …

Efficient Maritime Object Detection And Validation For Enhancing Safety Of Uncrewed Marine Systems, Ahmed Saglam, Yiannis Papelis

VMASC Publications

Safe operation of uncrewed maritime systems is a major concern in the presence of other vehicles or obstacles. Typically, perception algorithms utilize sensor data to identify obstacles that must be avoided, and AI algorithms are used to interpret raw sensor data for use in navigation and object avoidance algorithms. However, perception algorithms are typically computationally expensive. In this paper, we present an efficient method for detecting obstacles using raw lidar data in the form of range or Point Cloud, employing computationally efficient techniques that do not depend on trained models or AI matching. The approach
converts the sensor readings into …