Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Research And Education For Optimizing The Development And Implementation Of An Unmanned Aircraft Program At The Nebraska Department Of Transportation, Wayne Woldt, Jon Starr, Christopher M. U. Neale

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This report describes the development and implementation of an Unmanned Aircraft System Program at the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT). The project involved the selection and purchase of appropriate UAS and imaging systems for NDOT, education and training for NDOT personnel with classroom and hands-on operation of UAS with the goal of obtaining proficiency and pilot licenses. In addition, the development of policy for the use of UAS within NDOT was accomplished as well as standard operating procedures (SOP) documentation and the development of example case studies of interest to NDOT using the purchased systems and technology.

Risk And Safety Associated With Hazardous Materials Transport In Rural And Native American Communities: A Case Study Of Thurston County, Nebraska, Sydney James

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rural counties and Native American Reservations often lack the resources and planning to respond to a hazardous material release which can cause catastrophic results. Many rural counties and Native American Reservations do not have close access to a fire department or medical facility, which would increase response times during a time of crisis. Jurisdiction issues further complicate the matter since Native American Reservations are sovereign nations,.

Thurston County, home to two Native American Reservations, served as a case study to perform a safety analysis for vehicles transporting hazardous material. Stakeholders within the county from tribal, county, and state levels were …

Feasibility Study: Alternatives To Prevent Settlements And Bumps At Bridge Approach, Seunghee Kim, Jongwan Eun, Yusuf Alhowaidi, Daniel Robertson

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This project aims to examine the feasibility of improving the current design practice of the approach slab foundation in Nebraska and the alternative of using geosynthetic reinforcement of soils to prevent the bump issues near the end of bridge approaches via an in-depth numerical simulation study. A large-scale pullout test is also conducted as complementary to provide input parameters for the interaction between the regional soil and selected geosynthetics. Based on the results, it is recommended that the number of grade beam piles could be reduced to 40-50 % of the total number of abutment piles while maintaining the same …

Evaluating Asct Operations For Dodge Street Corridor, Anuj Sharma, Subhadipto Poddar, Atousa Zarindast, Christopher Day

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

As Adaptive Traffic Control (ATC) is increasingly being implemented by various traffic agencies, careful evaluation is needed of the degree to which a given ATC implementation improves traffic signal performance. The present study details the evaluation of ATC for two arterial corridors in the City of Omaha, Nebraska. Several performance measures were used across two stages of ATC implementation as well as during the unanticipated COVID-19 lockdown stage.

The average travel time and variability in travel time showed that Stage 1 of ATC implementation in Omaha did not improve traffic signal performance for the study’s main corridor, Dodge Street. This …

Impact Of Covid-19 On City Streets, Mihir Sharma

Honors Scholar Theses

Covid-19 has had a severe impact on the urban fabric of many cities and caused disruption to the current way of living. This paper attempts to shed light on the impact that Covid-19 has had on the city streets and how city streets have adapted to the disruptions brought on by the virus. Furthermore the paper lays down recommendations that cities can use to make their streets healthier and safer

Going Green: A Comparative Analysis Of Green Urbanism In Paris And Shanghai, Jeanne Torp

Honors Theses

As climate change becomes more pressing with each day and as we scramble to slow down the challenges it poses, adapting the means of operation within our cities will become an invaluable tool for reducing humanity’s carbon footprint. This paper seeks to study the ways in which green infrastructure in global cities can be used to do just that—adapting to and mitigating the effects of challenges resulting from climate change. In order to provide a broad overview of the effectiveness of such green infrastructure systems across the globe, this research will focus on two cities that vary greatly in their …

Low-Cost Modal Identification Sensors For Bridge Field Testing, Daniel Linzell, Saaed Eftekhar Azam, Samira Ardani, Ahmed E Rageh

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This report provides a framework for experimental load rating of bridges via inclusion of low-cost dynamic sensors and dynamic tests. Currently 25% of the bridges in Nebraska are posted for live load. According to the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) in 2012, 93% of all postings in the US were based analytical load ratings, 7% were posted using field evaluation and engineering judgement, and 1% were posted using experimental load rating methods.

Instrumentation costs and traffic interruptions can be problematic when load testing is necessary to accurately assess in-situ bridge live load capacity. Recent advances in (i) sensing technology and (ii) …

The Legacy Of Car-Share And Light-Rail Transit For Mobility And Accessibility Improvements In Economically Marginalized Neighborhoods In The New York Metro Area, Kyeongsu Kim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the value of the car-share program and a new light rail system with respect to their impact on mobility and accessibility improvements in economically and transportation access-wise marginalized neighborhoods in NYC and its adjacent communities. It consists of three main essays that took deep dives into how each new service or system altered mobility or accessibility for those in need. The first essay (Chapter 2) investigates car-share vehicle utilization rates of the Zipcar across NYC. It assesses the utilization rates by vehicle type, service location, time period, and weekday usage compared to weekend activity. With a multivariate …

The Life Of A Roundabout In Colorado Springs, Alexis M. Yoder

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Colorado Springs is an up-and-coming area where many people have decided to move to for multiple opportunities. With more people, comes more traffic flow and unfortunately, more accidents. Throughout the state, there is a large attempt to lower accidents, especially at intersections. One type of intersection that can be of great benefit is the roundabout. In fact, Colorado was an early adapter of the roundabout in order to improve traffic flow and decrease fatal accident statistics. When designing a roundabout, although good intentions are planned, complications can still arise. In most scenarios, roundabouts are able to reduce the number of …

The Effects Of The Coronavirus On Transportation, Brittney Crandall

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This year the world has been challenged with the Coronavirus pandemic. This has led to national shutdowns which have negatively affected many aspects of everyday life. One of the industries that has seen adverse effects from the global pandemic is the transportation industry. This raises the question of exactly how the transportation industry has been affected by the pandemic, what the long-term effects will be, and what the future of the transportation industry will look like. Using existing data and research, predictions will be made to solve these questions.

Infrastructure Systems Modeling Using Data Visualization And Trend Extraction, Jacob Marshal Hale

Doctoral Dissertations

“Current infrastructure systems modeling literature lacks frameworks that integrate data visualization and trend extraction needed for complex systems decision making and planning. Critical infrastructures such as transportation and energy systems contain interdependencies that cannot be properly characterized without considering data visualization and trend extraction.

This dissertation presents two case analyses to showcase the effectiveness and improvements that can be made using these techniques. Case one examines flood management and mitigation of disruption impacts using geospatial characteristics as part of data visualization. Case two incorporates trend analysis and sustainability assessment into energy portfolio transitions.

Four distinct contributions are made in this …

Cement Stabilized Crushed Stone Base Course Strength And Stiffness Analysis, Andrew Deschenes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 70 – 80% of state departments of transportations (DOTs) utilize the 1993 AASTHO Guide for Design of Pavement Structures (1993 AASHTO) [1] for structural design of pavements. A growing portion of DOT’s are beginning to implement the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), referred to as AASHTOWare Pavement ME [2]. The 1993 AASHTO flexible guide applies empirically derived unitless strength values referred to as structural layer coefficients and structural numbers (SN) to pavement thickness and pavement types. The 1993 AASHTO rigid flexible guide utilizes the depth and strength of the concrete pavement, with the composite spring constant (kc), which is …

Utilizing Kryton Kim Technology In Bridge Deck And Rail Construction To Protect Against Chloride Ion Penetration, Mick Syslo, Wally Heyen, Lieska Halsey, David Hansen, Tim Kranson

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Use Of Geospatial Technique To Estimate Traffic Volume On South Carolina Roads, Ryan Andrew Devine

Theses and Dissertations

Data from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) indicates that there is an increase in the number of vehicles on already congested roadways. For a department of transportation (DOT) to keep up with this increased demand, it is necessary for them to continuously collect and monitor traffic volume on the roads they maintain. One of the most important parameters that DOTs collect and use for traffic engineering and transportation planning studies is annual average daily traffic (AADT). The DOTs are also required to collect and report AADTs to the Federal Highway Administration annually as part of the Highway Performance Monitoring System …

Feasibility And Implementation Of Balanced Mix Design In Nebraska, Gabriel Nsengiyumva, Yong-Rak Kim, Jiong Hu

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Balanced mixture design is an alternative asphalt concrete design method that incorporates the performance of mixtures during the design. Balanced mixture design consists of performance test methods and performance criteria. Compared to the existing Superpave design method which mostly relies on volumetrics to design mixtures, balanced mixture design is more suited to account for performance improvements originating from reclaimed asphalt pavement and other foreign additives such as rejuvenators, warm- mix asphalt additives, polymers, and anti-stripping agents. This study investigated the feasibility of the implementation of balanced mixture design in Nebraska mixtures by exploring appropriate test methods (i.e., for fracture and …

Crash Data Analysis Tool: Research Report + User Guide, Eric R. Green, Paul Ross

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This manual describes the Crash Data Analysis Tool (CDAT), which can be used by KYTC staff and the agency’s work partners to securely access crash datasets. CDAT users can query and download data using flags stored during post-processing. Unlike KyOPS, however, CDAT’s location data are validated using geographic coordinates and several of county, route, and milepoint fields to ensure crashes are properly geocoded. CDAT grants access to data and information that can be used in conjunction with KYTC’s Data Driven Safety Analysis (DDSA) Implementation Guide to conduct highway safety analysis numerous KYTC processes. Historically, the Cabinet’s Division of Traffic Operations …

Colloidal Silica: Cement Enhancing Admixture Product Evaluation, Lieska Halsey, David Hansen

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

As Class F- fly ash (F-ash) becomes scarce, PCC engineers will look to other supplemental cementitious materials (SCM) to replace F-ash and its ASR mitigating properties. Colloidal silica (CS), or nano-silica, has been shown to mitigate ASR at certain replacement levels; however, CS cannot be a full replacement of F-ash. Engineers at the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) learned of CS from a presentation given by Intelligent Concrete, Inc. at the 2019 Nebraska Concrete Professionals Association Conference and decided to investigate the potential use of CS in NDOT concrete mix designs.

Evaluation Of Mixtures And Pavement Performance For Rehabilitation Methods, Mohammad Rahmani, Gabriel Nsengiyumva, Yong-Rak Kim, Jiong Hu

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Pavement rehabilitation practice involves milling an asphalt surface and placing a new layer. The incorporation of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) mixtures brings cost savings and preserves the environment and natural resources. However, the use of recycled materials can compromise pavement performance, in particular, RAP can contribute to cracking because the mixtures with recycled materials become more brittle. In Nebraska, pavement rehabilitation has mostly been conducted by milling old 4-in. asphalt surface and placing a new 4-in. layer. Due to the potentially increased use of RAP mixtures for pavement rehabilitation, it is necessary to look into potential applications of RAP-induced overlay …

Supporting Bridge Management With Advanced Analysis And Machine Learning, Joshua Steelman, Francisco Garcia

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

A supplemental Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-based tool was developed to support the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) in optimizing bridge management investments when choosing between refined modeling, field testing, retrofitting, or bridge replacement. Load ratings typically increase by approximately 15% to 20% when using detailed finite element analysis (FEA) instead of AASHTO approximate analysis methods. The ANN tool is implemented in an Excel spreadsheet to accept ten input parameters readily available to NDOT engineers performing typical load ratings, and predicts FEA- equivalent critical girder distribution factors (GDFs), removing unnecessary conservativism from approximate AASHTO GDFs, potentially justifying load posting removal for …

Prototype System For Implementing The Ultrasonic Guided Wave Method On The Field, Ece Erdogmus, Eric Garcia, Michael Schuller, Ahmad Shoaib Amiri

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This report presents the latest improvements in a recently developed nondestructive testing (NDT) technique for early detection of various flaws such as corrosion, delamination, and concrete cracking in reinforced concrete (RC) bridge decks. The method, named Ultrasonic Guided Wave Leakage (UGWL) method by the developing authors, involves use of internal steel reinforcement (rebar) as a wave guide for transmitting ultrasonic waves through the system and the measurement of leaked energy at the surface of the concrete. This report builds upon the progress made in the previously published phases of the project (M029 and M066), and aims to further explore the …

Research On School Zone Safety, Aemal Khattak, Yashu Kang

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This research investigated different aspects of school zone safety including the effects of speed differentials on drivers’ speeds in active school zones, the effects of school and surrounding characteristics on drivers’ speeds in active school zones, and the safety benefits and costs associated with active school zones. The research team identified 18 schools in Nebraska for data collection that consisted of drivers’ speed data, school and surrounding characteristics, and 2014-2018 reported crash data. The 18 schools were categorized by the school zone speed limit differentials: 35 to 25 mph, 40 to 25 mph, 30 to 25 mph, and 35 to …

Log Truck Value Analysis From Increased Rail Usage, Sangpil Ko, Pasi Lautala, Kuilin Zhang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Over the past several decades, the transportation of raw materials (logs) has increasingly shifted from the railway to trucks. However, the long-term sustainability of this shift is being questioned due to the shortage of truck drivers, fluctuation of fuel prices, and changes in hours of service laws. The industry is interested in the possibility to shift more logs back to the railway but the impact of such a shift on truckers has not been investigated. This study attempted to quantify the impact of such a change on the operations of log truckers by calculating time efficiency (percentage of daily hours …

Social Justice Mitigation In Transportation Projects: Why And How Lexington Fayette Urban County Government Can Support The Lexington Community Land Trust’S Path To Self-Sustainability, Pamela Clay-Young, Steven Douglas Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The city of Lexington has reached a critical shortage of affordable housing available to families earning 80% - 50% of area median income (AMI). This study focuses on how to grow the Lexington CLT into self-sustainability while also narrowing the affordable housing gaps in Fayette County. Current research offers support for the city’s affordable housing program to adopt the community land trust model (CLT). The research recommends using tools such as the Lexington CLT, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Landbank Authority (LFUCLA), and Lexington’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, along with new development incentives, to develop a housing strategy that is cost …

Application Of Internal Curing To Improve Concrete Bridge Deck Performance, Arman Abdigaliyev, Yong-Rak Kim, Jiong Hu

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Due to the relatively high cement content and low water-to-cement ratio (w/c) used, bridge deck concrete is prone to premature cracking. Internal curing has been found to greatly reduce the chance of premature cracking as well as concrete deterioration. This research project was intended to develop internally cured bridge deck concrete based on a local mix design in Nebraska. Four different lightweight fine aggregate (LWFA) as internal curing agents were evaluated, and their effects on fresh, mechanical, durability, and shrinkage properties of concrete were studied. To identify the most effective LWFA dosage for shrinkage reduction, different replacement rates of sand …

Improvement Of Low Traffic Volume Gravel Roads In Nebraska, Richard L. Wood, Yong-Rak Kim, Yijun Liao, Mohammad E. Mohammadi

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

In the state of Nebraska, over one-third of roadways are unpaved, and consequently require a significant amount of financial and operational resources to maintain their operation. Undesired behavior of surface gravel aggregates and the road surfaces can include rutting, corrugation, and ponding that may lead to reduced driving safety, speed or network efficiency, and fuel economy. This study evaluates the parameters that characterize the performance and condition of gravel roads overtime period related to various aggregate mix designs. The parameters, including width, slope, and crown profiles, are examples of performance criteria. As remote sensing technologies have advanced in the recent …

Synthesis Of Repair Practices Of Damaged Precast/Prestressed Concrete Girders, George Morcous, Richard L. Wood, Antony Mohsen Kamal Masoud Kodsy

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Bridge girders are constantly subjected to various types of damage during their service life. There is currently limited knowledge or guidelines provided by the NDOT Bridge Office Policies and Procedures (BOPP) regarding the assessment and repair procedures of damaged precast/prestressed concrete girders. This report aims to develop a comprehensive repair manual for precast/prestressed concrete girders subjected to damage caused by over-height vehicular collision and damage located at the girder ends. Over-height vehicular collision damage typically occurs at the middle portion of the exterior girders and the primary concerns are focused on flexural deficiencies. Girder end damage can occur due to …

Improving Construction Work Zone Safety Using Technology: A Systematic Review Of Applicable Technologies, Chukwuma Nnaji, John Gambatese, Hyun Woo Lee, Fan Zhang

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Authors Once considered conventional, the construction industry is gradually increasing its reliance on innovations such as the application of technologies in safety management. Given the growing literature on technology applications in safety management and the varying opinions on the utility of applied technologies, a systematic review that streamlines findings from past studies is indispensable to construction stakeholders. Although a number of review studies are available in the building construction sector, the level of fragmentation and uniqueness within the construction industry necessitates a review study specifically targeting the heavy civil sector. In response, the present study applies a …

A Smart Growth & Equity Framework And Tool For Measuring, Understanding, And Realizing Transportation Land Use Coordination For Sustainability, Livability, And Equity, Bruce Appleyard, Chris Allen, Jonathan Stanton

Mineta Transportation Institute

The coordination and integration of transportation and land use (also known as “smart growth”) has been a long-standing goal for planning and engineering professionals, but to this day remains an elusive concept to realize. As this approach is a widely recognized as key to achieving sustainable, livable, and equitable (SLE) outcomes for individuals and society, a key aim of this report is to instill the coordination of transportation and land use into practice by the collection of key actors and agents (MPOs, DOTs, and local land use authorities, etc.) through new measurement and policy guidance frameworks and tools. A fundamental …

Early Detection Of Near-Surface Void Defects In Concrete Pavement Using Drone Based Thermography And Gpr Methods, Zhigang Shen, Ece Erdogmus, George Morcous, Chngsheng Cheng, Zhexiong Shang, Theresa Mccabe, Antony Mohsen Kamal Masoud Kodsy

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The goal of this research is to evaluate the feasibility and the performance of using UAV-mounted infrared thermography (IRT) and ground penetration radar (GPR) to detect sub-surface voids caused by consolidation issues in concrete pavement. The motivation of the study is to identify the consolidation defects as early as the initial set of concrete to avoid having this problem in large pavement sections, which is costly and time consuming to repair. Using the two technologies in combination to detect subsurface voids in the concrete initial set stage is new and aims to take advantage of the strengths and minimize the …

Development Of An Ndt Tool For In-Situ Assessment Of Prestress Loss, Bibo Zhong, Jinying Zhu, George Morcous

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The research objective is to develop a non-destructive testing (NDT) method to evaluate the prestress loss in prestressed concrete bridge girders using ultrasonic waves. The work principle is based on acoustoelastic effect - ultrasonic wave velocity varies with stress level in prestressed concrete. A self-reference test setup was proposed to measure wave velocity in two orthogonal directions (prestress and unstressed directions) in the girder. This setup will be able to reduce effects of material variation and temperature change.

The concept was first validated on small concrete specimens (cylinders and beams) in laboratory. A signal analysis algorithm was developed to reliably …