No description available.

No description available.

A bridge approach is usually built to provide a smooth and safe transition for vehicles from the roadway pavement to the bridge structure. However, differential settlement between the roadway pavement resting on embankment fill and the bridge abutment built on more rigid foundation often creates a bump in the roadway. Previous work examined this issue at a microscopic level and presented new methods for eliminating or minimizing the effects at specific locations. This research studies the problem at a macroscopic level by determining methods to predict settlement severity to assist designers in developing remediation plans during project development to minimize the lifecycle costs of bridge bump repairs. The study is based on historic data from a wide range of Kentucky roads and bridges relating to bridge approach inspection and maintenance history. A macro method considering a combination of maintenance times, maintenance measures, and observed settlement was used to classify the differential settlement scale as minimal, moderate, and severe, corresponding to the approach performance status good, fair, and poor. A series of project characteristics influencing differential settlement were identified and used as parameters to develop a model to accurately predict settlement severity during preliminary design. Eighty-seven bridges with different settlement severities were collected as the first sample by conducting a survey of local bridge engineers in 12 transportation districts. Sample two was created by randomly selecting 600 bridges in the inspection history of bridges in Kentucky. Ordinal and/or multinomial logistic regression analyses were implemented to identify the relationships between the levels of differential settlement and the input variables. Two predictive models were developed. Prediction of bridge approach settlement can play an important role in selecting proper design, construction, and maintenance techniques and measures. The users can select one or two models to predict the approach settlement level for a new bridge or an existing bridge with different purposes. The significance of this study lies in its identification of parameters that had the most influence on the settlement severity at bridge ends, and how those parameters interacted in developing of a prediction model. The important parameters include geographic regions, approach age, average daily traffic (ADT), the use of approach slabs, and the foundation soil depth. The regression results indicate that the use of approach slabs can improve the performance of approaches on mitigating the problem caused by differential settlement. In addition, current practices regarding differential settlement prediction and mitigation were summarized by surveying the bridge engineers in 5 transportation districts.

This thesis presents an investigation of arterial travel time and reliability. Specifically an examination of the proposed arterial travel time reliability performance measures detailed in Federal Highway Administration’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on national performance management measures are performed. These measures, including level of travel time reliability and peak hour travel time ratio, are computed and compared to those currently used to quantify congestion and travel time reliability. Within this process several commonly used data sources are evaluated to determine the effects of data quality and data source on performance measure evaluation. The newly created Urban Streets Reliability tool is also evaluated for its ability to estimate the effect of several proposed projects on the travel time reliability of a transportation network. In conclusion, this thesis found that the proposed travel time reliability performance measures show definite differences in estimates of facility reliability as compared with currently used performance measures such as travel time index and planning time index. A variation in the magnitude of this difference was also observed based on a rural vs. urban roadway setting. Finally, further areas of research involving the use of the Urban Streets Reliability tool to estimate the impact of reliability improvements on side streets and the transportation network as a whole are discussed.

O ensino de graduação em engenharia deveria estar amparado nos seguintes aspectos: i) especificação de objetivos educacionais alinhados com os conteúdos das principais áreas de conhecimento e com as competências e habilidades pretendidas; ii) delimitação das estratégias de ensino-aprendizagem; e iii) os mecanismos de avaliação da aprendizagem. Este trabalho teve como objetivo introduzir, monitorar e avaliar alterações em uma abordagem pedagógica que mesclou aulas expositivas e aprendizagem ativa, concebida com o propósito de ampliar competências e habilidades de alunos de graduação para a área de Engenharia de Transportes. Esta abordagem envolveu processo de ensino-aprendizagem e avaliação da aprendizagem por meio das análises da aquisição de competências e habilidades dos alunos. Foram desenvolvidos estudos em uma disciplina que tratou de Planejamento e Análise de Sistemas de Transportes. Estes estudos envolveram o planejamento, o desenvolvimento e a avaliação do processo de ensino-aprendizagem. As atividades foram desenvolvidas em dois períodos letivos e em turmas diferentes. No primeiro período letivo apenas uma turma da referida disciplina participou dos experimentos. Já no segundo período letivo houve a participação de duas turmas da disciplina de Planejamento e Análise de Sistemas de Transportes. Os resultados indicam que o uso das estratégias de ensino-aprendizagem adotadas e de avaliação que combinou provas e mapas conceituais parece promissor e pode garantir um processo mais fidedigno. Além disso, o formato diferenciado da disciplina, que mesclou aulas expositivas, e-learning e aprendizagem ativa, possibilitou a aquisição de competências e habilidades de domínio conceitual. Com base nestes resultados foi também possível apresentar uma proposta de ensino integrado em graduação de Engenharia de Transportes baseada na abordagem testada neste trabalho e que poderá compor um Regime de Estudos Especiais em Engenharia de Transportes. / In general terms, engineering education at the undergraduate level should be based on the definition of at least three essential elements: i) learning outcomes aligned not only with theoretical contents but also with competencies and skills, ii) effective teaching-learning strategies; and iii) appropriate methods for the evaluation of the learning outcomes. Based on this assumption, the objective of this study was to introduce, monitor and evaluate changes in a pedagogical approach that combines traditional lectures and active learning into one strategy to help in the development of competencies and skills demanded by the transportation engineering profession. An experiment was conducted for the specific case of the course Planning and Analysis of Transport Systems, in three phases: i) planning the teaching-learning process; ii) evaluation of the teaching-learning process; and iii) evaluation of the teaching-learning product. The activities were conducted in two academic semesters and with different classes. In the first semester, only one class took part of the experiment, whereas in the second semester two classes were considered. The results suggest that the teaching-learning and evaluation strategies tested, which combine exams and conceptual maps, are valuable alternatives for education and training of transportation engineers. In addition, the course format, which combined conventional classes, e-learning and active learning, led to the acquisition of competencies and abilities that are part of the conceptual domain. The outcomes of the experiment were then used in the development of a proposal for a Special Studies Program in Transportation Engineering. Although the case considered here was meant as part of a Civil Engineering degree, this integrated education program could be applied in combination with different undergraduate degrees.

"The objectives of this research were (1) to develop experimental active-based-learning curricula for undergraduate courses in transportation engineering and (2) to assess the effectiveness of an active-learning-based traffic engineering curriculum through an educational experiment. The researcher developed a new highway design course as a pilot study to test selected active-learning techniques before employing them in the traffic engineering curriculum. Active-learning techniques, including multiple-choice questions, short problems completed by individual students or small groups, and group discussions, were used as active interludes within lectures. The researcher also collected and analyzed student performance and attitude data from control and experimental classes to evaluate the relative effectiveness of the traditional lecture (control) approach and the active-learning (experimental) approach. The results indicate that the active-learning approach adopted for the experimental class did have a positive impact on student performance as measured by exam scores. The students in the experimental class also indicated slightly more positive attitudes at the end of the course than the control class, although the difference was not significant. The author recommends that active interludes similar to those in the experimental curricula be used in other courses in civil engineering."

"Over the years, risk analysis methodologies have been developed and implemented by many industries. NASA has implemented a cost efficient Continuous Risk Analysis methodology with good results. The U. S. Department of Transportation also states that a continuous risk analysis is the key in identifying, addressing, and handling risks before they become threats to success. However, current practices seldom incorporate this concept into real transportation projects. In general, risk is simply disregarded in feasibility studies. One of primary reasons is the lack of a feasible and effective risk analysis approach to guide efficient implementation in real projects. This thesis reviews current risk analysis practices used in public transportation projects. Using a case study, it also explores potential obstacles encountered in the implementation of systematic risk analysis. Finally, this thesis presents a preliminary risk analysis framework developed through the case study and enriched subsequently by incorporating material documented in the literature. The proposed risk analysis approach is to help achieve continuous risk analysis in transportation projects by enabling early start, frequent implementation, extensive application and flexible adoption."

O ensino de graduação em engenharia deveria estar amparado nos seguintes aspectos: i) especificação de objetivos educacionais alinhados com os conteúdos das principais áreas de conhecimento e com as competências e habilidades pretendidas; ii) delimitação das estratégias de ensino-aprendizagem; e iii) os mecanismos de avaliação da aprendizagem. Este trabalho teve como objetivo introduzir, monitorar e avaliar alterações em uma abordagem pedagógica que mesclou aulas expositivas e aprendizagem ativa, concebida com o propósito de ampliar competências e habilidades de alunos de graduação para a área de Engenharia de Transportes. Esta abordagem envolveu processo de ensino-aprendizagem e avaliação da aprendizagem por meio das análises da aquisição de competências e habilidades dos alunos. Foram desenvolvidos estudos em uma disciplina que tratou de Planejamento e Análise de Sistemas de Transportes. Estes estudos envolveram o planejamento, o desenvolvimento e a avaliação do processo de ensino-aprendizagem. As atividades foram desenvolvidas em dois períodos letivos e em turmas diferentes. No primeiro período letivo apenas uma turma da referida disciplina participou dos experimentos. Já no segundo período letivo houve a participação de duas turmas da disciplina de Planejamento e Análise de Sistemas de Transportes. Os resultados indicam que o uso das estratégias de ensino-aprendizagem adotadas e de avaliação que combinou provas e mapas conceituais parece promissor e pode garantir um processo mais fidedigno. Além disso, o formato diferenciado da disciplina, que mesclou aulas expositivas, e-learning e aprendizagem ativa, possibilitou a aquisição de competências e habilidades de domínio conceitual. Com base nestes resultados foi também possível apresentar uma proposta de ensino integrado em graduação de Engenharia de Transportes baseada na abordagem testada neste trabalho e que poderá compor um Regime de Estudos Especiais em Engenharia de Transportes. / In general terms, engineering education at the undergraduate level should be based on the definition of at least three essential elements: i) learning outcomes aligned not only with theoretical contents but also with competencies and skills, ii) effective teaching-learning strategies; and iii) appropriate methods for the evaluation of the learning outcomes. Based on this assumption, the objective of this study was to introduce, monitor and evaluate changes in a pedagogical approach that combines traditional lectures and active learning into one strategy to help in the development of competencies and skills demanded by the transportation engineering profession. An experiment was conducted for the specific case of the course Planning and Analysis of Transport Systems, in three phases: i) planning the teaching-learning process; ii) evaluation of the teaching-learning process; and iii) evaluation of the teaching-learning product. The activities were conducted in two academic semesters and with different classes. In the first semester, only one class took part of the experiment, whereas in the second semester two classes were considered. The results suggest that the teaching-learning and evaluation strategies tested, which combine exams and conceptual maps, are valuable alternatives for education and training of transportation engineers. In addition, the course format, which combined conventional classes, e-learning and active learning, led to the acquisition of competencies and abilities that are part of the conceptual domain. The outcomes of the experiment were then used in the development of a proposal for a Special Studies Program in Transportation Engineering. Although the case considered here was meant as part of a Civil Engineering degree, this integrated education program could be applied in combination with different undergraduate degrees.

In recent years, there has been an exponential increase in container volume shipment within intermodal transportation systems. Container terminals as part of the global port system represent important hubs within this intermodal transportation system. Thus, the need to improve the operational efficiency is the most important issue for container terminals from an economic standpoint. Moreover, intermodal transportation systems, ports and inland transport facilities should all be integrated into one coordinated plan. More specifically, a method to schedule different types of handling equipment in an integrated way within a container terminal is a popular topic for researchers. However, not many researchers have addresses this topic in relationship to the simulation aspect which will test feasible solutions under real container terminal environment parameters. In order to increase the efficiency of operations, the development of mathematical models and algorithms is critical in finding the best feasible solution. The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasible solution to find the proper number of Yard Trailers (YTs) with the minimal cost for the container terminals. This study uses the Dynamic YTs operation's method as a background for modeling. A mathematical model with various constraints related to the integrated operations among the different types of handling equipment is formulated. This model takes into consideration both serving time of quay cranes and yard cranes, and cost reduction strategies by decreasing use of YTs with the specific objective of minimum total cost including utilization of YTs and vessel berthing. In addition, a heuristic algorithm combined with Monte Carlo Method and Brute-Force Search are employed. The early Stage Technique of Monte Carlo method is proposed to generate vast random numbers to replicate simulation for real cases. / The Brute-Force Search is used for identifying all potential cases specific to the conditions of this study. Some preliminary numerical test results suggest that this method is good for use in conjunction with simulation of container terminal operation. The expected outcome of this research is a solution to obtain the proper number of YTs for transporting containers with a minimum cost; thus, improving the operational efficiency in a container terminal. / by Yueqiong Zhao. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Utility coordination is an exceedingly complex effort of managing, communicating, and facilitating the avoidance and relocation of utility facilities as needed for highway projects. Utility coordination occurs throughout the design and delivery of a project and best practices are used to make sure this occurs efficiently and in the best interest of the public, who are not only the taxpayers but also the ratepayers. Recent research has attempted to enhance utility location technology and procedures, instill frameworks and tools for utility coordination, and proceduralize risk management relative to utility coordination. However, research attempting to improve various aspects of utility coordination simultaneously has led to a lack of consensus on how to integrate these research efforts into an effective standard of practice. These is also not a standard of practice for quantifying utility related risks for transportation projects. This research will attempt to build consensus and contribute to the body of knowledge in this area of utility coordination by presenting an approach to assess the relative utility risks of a project and align current and new practices to minimize those risks. Through statistical analysis of historical project data regarding utility coordination schedules and costs for transportation projects in Kentucky, this study was able to produce a model that estimates utility related risk early in transportation project development. With input and evaluation by subject matter experts, utility coordination best practices were collected and aligned to utility risks on transportation projects. A decision support tool was developed to assist in the use of the mathematical utility risk model and the best practices associated with the varying risk levels. This research also finds that there are disparities among utility stakeholders on transportation projects in regard to the effectiveness or satisfaction with particular best practices. This finding presents the need for early involvement and collaborative utility coordination to select practices that ensure utility related issues on transportation projects are minimized. The research also presents that increased use of alternative contracting methods can pose significant challenges to utility coordination on transportation projects. This stems from the finding that utility coordination practices were not uniformly effective across these varying procurement methods. Furthermore, as Departments of Transportation continue to deal with resource issues, one of which being manpower within utility coordination, the use of consultants for utility coordination presents its own set of complexities. The research finds the best application of consult-led utility coordination is through third-part consultants specializing in utility coordination, those who have been state-specifically trained for utility coordination, and prequalified for utility coordination work.