All posts by trac

Development of Surface-Mounted Smart Piezoelectric Modules for Bridge Damage Identification and Safety Monitoring

The goal of this study was to develop viable tools that utilize ultrasonic smart piezoelectric material (lead zirconate titanate, PZT) to assess the condition of concrete bridges. Existing non-destructive testing methods for inspecting concrete structures all suffer from limitations in accuracy, cost, maneuverability, in situ capability, and implementation. The researchers determined that the surface-mounted PZT system tested was effective in determining the wave modulus of elasticity of concrete structures and is a promising alternative nondestructive technique for assessing concrete properties.

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Confounding Factors of Commercial Motor Vehicles in Safety Critical Events

When determining the causes of freight-related accidents, researchers need to disentangle the complex interactions among a range of causal and confounding factors, such as hours of service, time of day, traffic density, roadway type, environmental conditions, and driver behavior and characteristics. This study sought to uncover relationships between driver hours of service and a set of potential confounding factors related to time of day.

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Safety Data Management and Analysis: Addressing the Continuing Education Needs for the Pacific Northwest (Phase 2)

Road safety is an evolving field, and preparing both students and practitioners with expertise in road safety is important. This project sought to respond to gaps in delivering transportation safety education and to develop introductory curriculum materials for both academicians and practitioners.

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Evaluation of Motorcyclists’ and Bikers’ Safety on Wet Pavement Markings

Pavement markings such as single and double divider lines, edge lines, crosswalks, and bike lane markings are critical in guiding roadway users. However, pavement markings can also lead to catastrophic crashes for motorcyclists and bikers when they are wet or icy. This study evaluated three different pavement marking materials in dry, wet, and icy conditions, in the laboratory and in the field, to help improve rider safety.

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Coordinated Incident and Congestion Management: Mitigating Impacts of Major Traffic Incidents in the Seattle I-5 Corridor

Within the Seattle major metropolitan area, multi-jurisdictional and coordinated traffic incident management (TIM) operations detect, respond to, and clear traffic incidents to restore traffic flow quickly and safely. However, there is a need to extend TIM operations to include congestion management (CM), which involves managing incident-generated congestion and mitigating regional impacts after an incident has been cleared. This project identified challenges and opportunities for enhancing regional TIM by including the management of major incidents along the Seattle I-5 corridor, supported by innovative technologies.

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Ferry Vessel Propeller Wash Effects on Scour at Terminal Structures

This project is looking to improve the state\’s understanding of the hydrodynamic processes that produce ferry-induced scour at Washington State Ferry (WSF) terminals. The researchers are measuring ferry propeller wash and turbulence at WSF terminals to determine the potential for erosion of the nearby seabed. They are looking at two ferry terminals, Edmonds and Kingston, where erosion is a particular issue, but will use existing soil data, bathymetric data, and vessel power characteristics, together with information from new prop-wash measurements, to develop ways to predict scour potential for a range of tidal and wind conditions, soil types, terminal configurations, and, potentially, vessel types.

Principal Investigators:
Alexander Horner-Devine, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Peter Mackenzie-Helnwein, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW

Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Chris Stearns
WSDOT Project Manager: Jon Peterson
Scheduled completion: June 2019

Update to WSliq Software for Soil Liquefaction Hazard Evaluation

This project is updating and extending the capabilities of a computer program, WSliq, for evaluating soil liquefaction hazards.  Probabilistic liquefaction hazard analysis (PLHA), developed previously for WSDOT and implemented in WSliq, has been recognized as an improved procedure for evaluating potential hazards from liquefaction.  PLHA considers all peak ground surface acceleration and magnitude levels based on site-specific ground motion hazard data and weights the contributions of all according to their joint probability of occurrence.  In doing so, it considers all possible earthquake scenarios and allows designs based on consistent likelihoods of triggering at all locations within the state. Because a number of changes have occurred in the geotechnical profession’s understanding and treatment of liquefaction since the development of WSliq, this project is developing, implementing, and testing new PLHA procedures and updating the WSliq program to incorporate the resulting improvements.

Principal Investigator: Steven Kramer, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Andrew Fiske
WSDOT Project Manager: Jon Peterson
Scheduled completion: September 2024

Mechanisms Involved in the Removal of Heavy Metals from Stormwater via Lignocellulosic Filtration Media

In the Pacific Northwest, elevated soluble zinc and copper concentrations originating from urban stormwater runoff pose a significant threat to native salmon and steelhead populations. In response to urbanization, existing stormwater infrastructure needs to be upgraded to treat non-point source pollution, including soluble metals, before they enter receiving waters. This project aimed to provide sustainable design suggestions for urban stormwater remediation at Washington State Ferry terminals. Researchers conducted laboratory and field-scale column tests to recommend specific types of plant filtration media for copper and zinc adsorption.

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Promises of Data from Emerging Technologies for Transportation Applications

Emerging technologies such as automated vehicles, advanced data analytics and machine learning, and on-demand ride services will not only fundamentally alter the transportation landscape but provide new data that can be used for the purposes of transportation planning and analysis. This project is examining the properties of these new data and identifying potential applications. The goals of Phase I are to develop a preliminary framework of methods for integrating emerging and conventional data from diverse sources and to identify planning applications that closely align with state and federal DOTs’ missions related to connected and autonomous vehicles, performance monitoring, and safety. Advance data analytics and machine learning methods will be investigated for use in development of the framework. Phase I will also include two technical focus group discussions involving participants from academia, government, the data science community, commercial data providers, and private on-demand rider service operators and automobile manufacturers.

Principal Investigators:
Jeff Ban, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Cynthia Chen, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW

Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Natarajan Janarthanan
WSDOT Project Manager: Doug Brodin
Scheduled completion: January 2019

Recycled Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites Incorporated in Mortar for Improved Mechanical Performance

In this study, recycled glass fiber reinforced polymer composites from end-of-life wind turbine blades were evaluated as a replacement for sand in cement mortar. In the last two decades, glass-based materials in the form of powder or fibers from recycled bottles and other products, and more recently recycled glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites from end-of-life products or industrial waste, have been incorporated into cement-based mixtures in various proof-of-concept designs. To understand better how GFRP would affect the properties of mortar, researchers conducted a feasibility study to compare different GFRP sizes and percentages.

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