Roundabout installations are becoming common practice among DOTs and other local governments due to their superior safety attributes compared to other conventional at-grade intersections, especially stop-control and uncontrolled intersections. Current U.S. national guidelines for roundabout illumination recommend systematic illumination for all roundabouts. This recommendation might become a potential hindrance to desired widespread installations due to implied financial costs, especially in rural areas because the competing stop-control and uncontrolled intersections can be kept unlit. Interestingly rural roundabouts in most countries around the world are not illuminated as indicated by a recent survey of international roundabout illumination policies and standards from 45 countries. Also, review of intersection safety literature does not identify any publication that supports a systematic illumination policy of U.S. roundabouts. In fact, despite this recommendation there is no quantitative research on influence of illumination levels on nighttime safety at roundabouts and little on conventional intersections. Conversely, the literature shows a significant number of published studies which have indicated that currently recommended illumination levels on roadways can be reduced without compromising nighttime safety. This dissertation evaluates the link between roundabout crashes and different illumination levels. At the beginning of this dissertation research, there was no available repository of quantitative intersection illumination levels which could be used in highway safety research. Also, existing protocols for measurement require expensive light meters and are extremely time consuming to follow, making them impractical to use to study a large number of intersections. Consequently, this dissertation first evaluates the relationship with the best available data. The best available intersection illumination data was obtained from the Minnesota data contained in the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS). Minnesota crash and illumination data from 2003 to 2010 were analyzed. This illumination data was a qualitative description of intersection illuminating schemes and/or luminaire arrangement. Therefore, this dissertation also developed a cost-effective, accurate, and rapid method for measurement of quantitative intersection illumination data, and applied the developed protocol to a case study in Georgia. The measured intersection illumination was analyzed together with crash data obtained from GDOT for 2009 to 2014. The results of a naive analysis on the best available data indicated among other findings that the presence of lighting can provide approximately 61 percent lower total nighttime crash rate compared to the unlit condition. Also, providing illumination to the roundabout circle alone can yield about 80 percent of the benefits (55 percent reduction from unlit condition) of illuminating both the roundabout circle and approaches (66 percent reduction from unlit condition). Field test results for the camera calibration indicate that the average intersection illuminance derived from the protocol is within 4 percent difference of the actual average intersection illumination estimated from following the existing protocols. Next, despite limited roundabout data and potential issues of selection bias which could not be addressed in this dissertation, a cautious roundabout illumination specific crash modification factor was estimated with a negative binomial regression model. The model results showed that an increase of 1 lux in average roundabout illuminance will result in a 4.72 percent reduction in expected number nighttime crashes. The results of this work are useful in creating a sound framework for DOTs and other transportation agencies to determine the most appropriate level of illumination for roundabouts. This study also makes a number of significant contributions to highway safety research. First, this work is the first quantitative study on the impact of illumination on safety at roundabouts. The status-quo for highway safety research regarding the impacts of illumination had been to treat road lighting as a binary (Lit/Unlit) variable. However, even in most places without purposely-built road lighting there is usually ambient lighting from abutting facilities such as a gas stations or a store. Second, this dissertation is the first documented application of the photographic method to roundabouts. It is also the first documented application of the photographic method’s camera specific constant calibration approach to transportation field measurements. Previous documented application of the photographic method to transportation field measurements used an exposure specific calibration approach. Unlike the camera specific constant calibration approach, the exposure specific approach is rigid and field measurements must always be done at the exposure settings used in calibrating the camera. Thirdly, this work demonstrates the first developed procedure to developing uniformity (contour) plots from the photographic method. Next, this work can serve as the basis for initial efforts to create an illumination specific quantitative crash modification factor. Currently, the Highway Safety Manual is lacking in this important safety parameter. Last, but not the least this work offers procedures for collecting luminance data from the field and also documents a database of intersection illumination levels and intersection characteristics which can be used by future research.

The use of light-weight building materials in modern construction has resulted in efficient designs and considerable cost savings by reducing structural weight and supporting sections. This has only been possible because of many years of research to better understand the properties of the light-weight material, and its structural behaviors. However, light-weight grout is a relatively new building material in reinforced masonry construction and little is known about its structural properties. The main objective of this study was to determine if the use of light-weight grout would impact the performance of reinforcing steel, specifically development length, in masonry construction.The research included testing masonry wallettes made with normal and light-weight grout containing No. 4 (12 mm) bars with splice lengths as prescribed by the current design equation as well as splices with a modification factor. The modification factor was based on preliminary grout testing, using the procedure given in the concrete building code. The wallettes were tested in a tension test to determine if the splices were of sufficient length to fully develop the yield stress of the reinforcement.For small bar sizes, No. 4 or smaller, it is not necessary to include a modification factor when calculating development length. The minimum length of lap of 12 in. governs when No. 4 or smaller bars are used, and provides sufficient length to fully develop the yield stress of the reinforcement both for normal and light-weight grout types.

No description available.

Attributional style is hypothesised to causally contribute to depression vulnerability through influencing both emotional response and rumination following life events. Consistent with this hypothesis, Peters et al. (2011) found that training individuals towards a pessimistic attributional style, characterised by internal-stable attributions for negative events and external-unstable attributions for positive events, resulted in greater negative mood and emotional reactivity to perceived failure, relative to training a resilient attributional style characterized by the reverse pattern of attributions. To date, however, the relative contribution of the internal-external and stable-unstable dimensions, their interaction, and their application to positive or negative events upon influencing emotional response and, by theoretical extension, risk for depression, remains unresolved. To resolve this question, 80 participants received training manipulating attributional style along four dimensions (i.e., internal versus external attributions for negative events; internal versus external attributions for positive events; stable versus unstable attributions for negative events; stable versus unstable attributions for positive events) in a 24 orthogonal factorial design. Participants then completed a perceived failure induction task. Measures of emotion and state rumination were completed pre-manipulation, post- manipulation, and post-induction. The internality dimension for positive and, separately, negative events influenced both immediate emotional response and emotional reactivity. Stable attributions for negative events increased negative emotional response and moderated the effect of internal attributions for negative events: internal attributions to negative resulted in greater emotional reactivity relative to external attributions, but only in the context of stable attributions for negative events. Both internal and stable dimensions also had independent effects. These findings identifying the active components driving the effect of attributional style upon emotional reactivity suggest slight revisions and refinements to attribution models of depression vulnerability. Furthermore, it provides further evidence that attributional style can be modified and furthers understanding of how CBM-attribution training could be developed as a potential intervention for the treatment of depression.

Title: Study of jet fragmentation and inclusive jet production in heavy-ion colli- sions with the ATLAS experiment Author: Mgr. Radim Slovák Institute: Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics Supervisor: Mgr. Martin Spousta, Ph.D., Institute of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Charles University Abstract: This thesis presents two measurements - measurement of the jet frag- mentation functions and inclusive jet production in heavy-ion collisions. The frag- mentation functions are measured in Pb+Pb and pp collisions with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The distributions are measured as a function of jet trans- verse momentum and rapidity. The analysis utilises an integrated luminosity of 0.14 nb−1 of Pb+Pb data and 4.0 pb−1 of pp data collected in 2011 and 2013, respectively, at the same centre-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV. Modest but signif- icant centrality-dependent modifications of fragmentation functions in Pb+Pb collisions with respect to those in pp collisions are seen. Measurements of the yield and nuclear modification factor, RAA, for inclusive jets are performed us- ing 25 pb−1 of pp data at √ s = 5.02 TeV and 0.49 nb−1 of Pb+Pb data at √ sNN = 5.02 TeV. The jets are measured over the transverse momentum range of 100-1000 GeV in six rapidity intervals covering |y| < 2.8. The magnitude of the RAA...

The objective of this research project involves determining a seismic response modification factor for three-hinge glulam Tudor arches. In an attempt to meet this objective, the methods and procedures outlined in FEMA technical document P-695 were implemented on the provided arch designs. Computational models were created using finite elements within OpenSees to accurately depict the behavior of the arch. Incremental dynamic analyses were conducted on each of the provided designs and collapse margin ratios were determined allowing performance groups to be evaluated for each of seven design R-values within two gravity load cases. With the performance groups evaluated, it was determined that only groups within the low gravity load level designs were successfully able to pass, none of the groups designed for high gravity loads passed the evaluations. Within P-695, all performance groups associated with a given design R-value must pass the evaluations for that R-value to be deemed acceptable for use in designs. Because of the implications of this requirement, a seismic response modification factor could not be determined for this type of structural system within the scope of this project. / Master of Science

yes / The validity of the modification factor specified in the ACI 318-11 shear provision for concrete members to account for the reduced frictional properties along crack interfaces is examined using a comprehensive database comprised of 1716 normalweight concrete (NWC) beam specimens, 73 all-lightweight concrete (ALWC) beam specimens, and 54 sand-lightweight concrete (SLWC) beam specimens without shear reinforcement. Comparisons of measured and predicted shear capacities of concrete beams in the database show that ACI 318-11 provisions for shear-transfer capacity of concrete are less conservative for lightweight concrete (LWC) beams than NWC beams. A rational approach based on the upper-bound theorem of concrete plasticity has been developed to assess the reduced aggregate interlock along the crack interfaces and predict the shear-transfer capacity of concrete. A simplified model for the modification factor is then proposed as a function of the compressive strength and dry density of concrete and maximum aggregate size on the basis of analytical parametric studies on the ratios of shear-transfer capacity of LWC to that of the companion NWC. The proposed modification factor decreases with the decrease in the dry density of concrete, gives closer predictions to experimental results than does the ACI 318-11 shear provision and, overall, improves the safety of shear capacity of LWC beams.

yes / There are very few, if any, available experimental investigations on aggregate interlock capacity along diagonal cracks in lightweight concrete deep beams. As a result, the shear design provisions including the modification factor of ACI 318-08 and EC 2 for lightweight concrete continuous deep beams are generally developed and validated using normal weight simple deep beam specimens. This paper presents the testing of 12 continuous beams made of all-lightweight, sand-lightweight and normal weight concrete having maximum aggregate sizes of 4, 8, 13 and 19 mm. The load capacities of beams tested are compared with the predictions of strut-and-tie models recommended in ACI 318-08 and EC 2 provisions including the modification factor for lightweight concrete. The beam load capacity increased with the increase of maximum aggregate size, though the aggregate interlock contribution to the load capacity of lightweight concrete deep beams was less than that of normal weight concrete deep beams. It was also shown that the lightweight concrete modification factor in EC 2 is generally unconservative, while that in ACI 318-08 is conservative for all-lightweight concrete but turns to be unconservative for sand-lightweight concrete with a maximum aggregate size above 13 mm. The conservatism of the strut-and-tie models specified in ACI 318-08 and EC 2 decreased with the decrease of maximum aggregate size, and was less in lightweight concrete deep beams than in normal weight concrete deep beams.

Master of Science / Department of Civil Engineering / Sunanda Dissanayake / Construction of by-pass lanes at rural intersections typically has been considered a low-cost safety improvement. Safety analysis utilizes two common approaches to evaluate treatment effectiveness: before-and-after study and cross-sectional study. This research performed paired sample t-test statistical analysis to estimate changes in total of crash frequency, crash rates, EPDO crash frequency, and EPDO crash rates at intersections, three to five years after adding a by-pass lane compared to identical time period before the by-pass lane was added. Crash data between 1990 and 2011 were obtained from Kansas Crash and Analysis Record System (KCARS) maintained by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). In order to perform a cross-sectional study, intersections with by-pass lanes were compared to intersections with no countermeasures; crash data were obtained for more than 1,100 intersections in the state of Kansas. According to before-and-after study, addition of by-pass lanes improves safety at unsignalized rural intersections; crashes and their severities are reduced after adding by-pass lanes. But, these reductions are not statistically significant under 95% confidence level. However, when considering intersection related crashes, a statistically significant reduction in crash rates is happened after adding by-pass lanes at 3-legged intersections. In cross-sectional study, crashes and their severities are lower at 3-legged intersections with the by-pass lanes versus 3-legged intersections without the by-pass lanes. However, these reductions are not statistically significant under 95% confidence level. When considering 300 feet intersection crash box, statistically significant reductions are happened at 4-legged intersection. In contrast, crashes and their severities increased at 4-legged intersections with the by-pass lanes, but these changes are not statistically significant under 95% confidence level. The Crash Modification Factors were calculated to evaluate safety effectiveness of adding by-pass lanes at unsignalized rural intersections. The calculated CMFs less than 1.0, indicate a reduction in crashes after implementation of by-pass lanes. Finally, this study concluded that expected crashes at intersections with by-pass lanes are lower than intersections without by-pass lanes.

Current seismic design approach of bridge structures can be categorized into two distinctive methods: (i) force based and (ii) performance based. AASHTO LRFD seismic design specification is a typical example of force based design approach especially used in Turkey. Three different importance categories are presented as &ldquo / Critical Bridges&rdquo / , &ldquo / Essential Bridges&rdquo / and &ldquo / Other Bridges&rdquo / in AASHTO LRFD. These classifications are mainly based on the serviceability requirement of bridges after a design earthquake. The bridge&rsquo / s overall performance during a given seismic event cannot be clearly described. Serviceability requirements specified for a given importance category are assumed to be assured by using different response modification factors. Although response modification factor is directly related with strength provided to resisting column, it might be correlated with selected performance levels including different engineering response measures. Within the scope of this study, 27216 single circular bridge column bent models designed according to AASHTO LRFD and having varying column aspect ratio, column diameter, axial load ratio, response modification factor and elastic design spectrum data are investigated through a series of analyses such as response spectrum analysis and push-over analysis. Three performance levels such as &ldquo / Fully Functional&rdquo / , &ldquo / Operational&rdquo / and &ldquo / Delayed Operational&rdquo / are defined in which their criteria are selected in terms of column drift measure corresponding to several damage states obtained from column tests. Using the results of analyses, performance categorization of single bridge column bents is conducted. Seismic responses of investigated cases are identified with several measures such as capacity over inelastic demand displacement and response modification factor.