PURPOSES: This study aims to show the difference of the binder aging level in the hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixture after short-term aging (SA) under different aging conditions, such as mixture temperature and duration in hour. METHODS: Three SA times (i.e., 1 h, 2 h, and 4 h) at two temperatures (i.e., 160℃ and 180℃) were used for the normal mixtures prepared using a PG64-22 asphalt. The field long-term aging (LA) was simulated by applying the same LA procedure (65 h at 110℃) to all compacted specimens, prepared at the air void of 7% using each SA-treated mixture, in a convection oven. The binder aging level was measured in terms of large molecular size by gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) from the mixture and the absolute viscosity (AV) from the recovered binder. The aging levels were evaluated using those two properties after SA and LA, and then compared based on the normal SA (NSA) mixture (1 h at 160℃). The service life reduction caused by SA in various conditions was estimated based on the aging level of the field cores from different locations in various service lives. RESULTS: The results of the laboratory evaluation indicated that the binder of the mixture, which was treated at longer SA time and higher temperature, showed a significantly higher aging level than the NSA mixture. The binder aging level from a longer time, such as 2 h and 4 h SA, or at a higher temperature (180℃), were estimated to be similar to that of the mixtures, which had already been in field service for several years. CONCLUSIONS : The HMA mixture should be produced at a moderate temperature, such as 160℃, and placed within a limited hauling and queuing time to avoid a significant short-term aging of the binder before placement in the field pavement. The SA for a longer time at a higher temperature than the NSA condition was found to be detrimental to the service life of the asphalt pavement.
PURPOSES: This study supports the evidence that it is possible to rehabilitate a damaged pavement with a lane closure specifically based on the Gimcheon~Sunsan project. METHODS : The prediction results from the simulation programs were compared with field monitoring, which focused on traffic management planning, congestion (length, time, and passing speed), bypass, and user cost, among others. RESULTS : The research results showed that lane closure application and pavement repair of the aged pavement in Korea were possible, even though the prediction results were minimally different from the field monitoring. The road agency contributes to service life extension of the rehabilitated pavement using this method. CONCLUSIONS: A marginal effect caused by the lane closure was observed on travelling users or vehicles, and the user cost of pavement repair decreased. Therefore, introducing the repair method or rehabilitation in Korea is possible. Information dissemination through various media was properly done to execute the project well. Moreover, the construction area traffic utilized nearby alternative roads. Therefore, improving the repaired pavemen’s service life while ensuring that the pavement management agency can provide a road with comfortable user riding quality was possible.
PURPOSES : In this paper, the analytical solutions suggested to simulate the behavior of rheological fluids were rigorously re-derived and investigated for fixed conditions to evaluate the applicability for the solutions on a mini-cone slump test of cement paste. The selected solutions with proper boundary conditions can be used as reference solutions to evaluate the performance of numerical simulation approaches, such as the discrete element method. METHODS: The slump, height, and spread radius for the given boundary and yield stress conditions that are determined by five different analytical solutions are compared. RESULTS: The analytical solution based on fluid mechanics for pure shear flow shows similar results to that for intermediate flow at low yield stresses. The fluid mechanics-based analytical solution resulted in a very similar trend to the geometry-based analytical solution. However, it showed a higher slump at high yield stress and lower slump at low yield stress ranges than the geometry-based analytical model. The analytical solution based on the mini-cone geometry was not significantly affected by the yield criteria, such as von Mises and Tresca. CONCLUSIONS: Even though differences among the analytical solutions in terms of slump and spread radius existed, the difference can be considered insignificant when the solutions were used as reference to evaluate the appropriateness of numerical approaches, such as the discrete element method.
PURPOSES: Concrete pavement has been used in the construction of the Jungbu expressway in 1987. More than 60% of the pavement on the expressway is currently made of concrete, but most has been used far beyond their design life. Pavement life has been extended through routine maintenance or overlay. However, the structural capacity of the pavement has reached its limit, and extensive rehabilitation/reconstruction with long time traffic blocking should be considered. The three following issues on concrete rehabilitation/reconstruction will be discussed: (1) economic comparison of asphalt inlay and asphalt overlay, (2) economic comparison preventive overlay on a section which is currently good and routine overlay on the section which will be poor, and (3) economic analysis of early-strength concrete when it is used in concrete reconstruction. METHODS: First, various life cycle cost analysis tools were compared, and the proper tool for the extensive rehabilitation/reconstruction was selected. Second, a sensitivity analysis of the selected tool was performed to find the influential input variables, which should be carefully selected in the analysis. Third, three case studies, which can be issues in the rehabilitation/reconstruction of the expressway concrete pavement in Korea, were performed. RESULTS: Asphalt overlay without milling the deteriorated concrete showed 18~25% lower life cycle cost than the current asphalt inlay with milling. The good current preventive overlay on the section was economically justified within the scope of this study. The construction cost limit of the early strength concrete was suggested to be economical for 1, 3, and 7 days of construction alternative opening. CONCLUSIONS: CA4PRS was a viable tool for comparing various rehabilitation/reconstruction issue alternatives. Several concrete issues associated with the rehabilitation/reconstruction of the deteriorated concrete pavement were discussed as mentioned above.
PURPOSES : This study aims to examine the differences between the existing traffic demand forecasting method and the traffic demand forecasting method considering future regional development plans and new road construction and expansion plans using a four-step traffic demand forecast for a more objective and sophisticated national highway maintenance. This study ultimately aims to present future pavement deterioration and budget forecasting planning based on the examination. METHODS: This study used the latest data offered by the Korea Transport Data Base (KTDB) as the basic data for demand forecast. The analysis scope was set using the Daejeon Metropolitan City’s O/D and network data. This study used a traffic demand program called TransCad, and performed a traffic assignment by vehicle type through the application of a user equilibrium-based multi-class assignment technique. This study forecasted future traffic demand by verifying whether or not a realistic traffic pattern was expressed similarly by undertaking a calibration process. This study performed a life cycle cost analysis based on traffic using the forecasted future demand or existing past pattern, or by assuming the constant traffic demand. The maintenance criteria were decided according to equivalent single axle loads (ESAL). The maintenance period in the concerned section was calculated in this study. This study also computed the maintenance costs using a construction method by applying the maintenance criteria considering the ESAL. The road user costs were calculated by using the user cost calculation logic applied to the Korean Pavement Management System, which is the existing study outcome. RESULTS : This study ascertained that the increase and decrease of traffic occurred in the concerned section according to the future development plans. Furthermore, there were differences from demand forecasting that did not consider the development plans. Realistic and accurate demand forecasting supported an optimized decision making that efficiently assigns maintenance costs, and can be used as very important basic information for maintenance decision making. CONCLUSIONS : Therefore, decision making for a more efficient and sophisticated road management than the method assuming future traffic can be expected to be the same as the existing pattern or steady traffic demand. The reflection of a reliable forecasting of the future traffic demand to life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) can be a very vital factor because many studies are generally performed without considering the future traffic demand or with an analysis through setting a scenario upon LCCA within a pavement management system.
PURPOSES : This paper aims to develop a road pavement de-icing system using carbon sheet to replace the older snow de-icing method. Carbon sheet is a light and high-strength metal. Hence, various bodies of research for its applications in many industries have progressed. METHODS : The experiment was conducted in a laboratory. The carbon sheet supplied voltage through a power supply system, and produced heat transfers to the concrete surface. Various factors, such as pavement material, carbon sheet width, penetration depth, and freezingthawing resistance, were considered in the conducted experiments to confirm the heating transfer efficiency of the carbon sheet. RESULTS : The carbon sheet used was a conductor. Therefore, it produced heat if voltage was supplied. The exposed carbon sheet on the atmosphere did not affect the carbon sheet width when it provided constant voltage. However, the sheet showed different heating behaviors by width change when the carbon sheet penetrated into the concrete. Moreover, the freezing-thawing resistance was decreased by the carbon sheet with increasing width. CONCLUSIONS : The experiments confirmed the possibility of developing a road snow melting system using a carbon sheet. The antiicing system using the carbon sheet to replace the traditional anti-icing system has disadvantages of environmental pollution risk and electric leakage. The pavement also improved its toughness resistance. The utilization value will be very high in the future if carbon sheet heat loss can be minimized and durability is improved.
PURPOSES: This study evaluated the field applicability and laboratory performance of glass fiber-reinforced asphalt (GFRA) mixtures. METHODS : The general hot-mix asphalt (HMA) and GFRA mixtures were paved in five sites, including three national highways, one express highway, and an arterial road, to evaluate field applicability and durability. The plant mixing and construction method for the GFRA were similar to those for the general HMA. The lab performances of the field samples were relatively compared through the mechanical measures from the Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength, and dynamic stability. The field performance was surveyed after a year. RESULTS : The lab tests verified the superior lab performances of the GFRA compared to the general HMA. The Marshall stability of the GFRA increased for about 128% of the general HMA. The indirect tensile strength of the GFRA was 115% greater than that of the general HMA. The dynamic stability of the GFRA resulted in 16,180 reps/mm, which indicated that high rut resistance may be expected. No noticeable defects, such as cracks or deformation, were observed for the GFRA sections after a year. CONCLUSIONS: The lab tests and field survey for the five GFRA sites resulted in superior performances compared to the general HMA. The relatively low-cost GFRA, which required no pre-processing procedures, such as polymer modification, may be a promising alternative to the polymer-modified asphalt mixtures. The long-term performance will be verified by the superior field durability of the GFRA in the near future.
PURPOSES : The purpose of this study is to investigate characteristics of crack spacing and crack width and their relationship in continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) based on the data obtained from long-term field observations. METHODS: The crack spacings and crack widths are measured periodically over 10 years at two different CRCP sections: one with asphalt bond breaker beneath concrete slab, and the other with bonded lean concrete base beneath concrete slab. The effects of steel ratio, type of underlying layer, terminal treatment method, and seasonal temperature change on the crack characteristics are evaluated by analyzing the measured data. RESULTS: The CRCP with lean concrete base shows smaller crack spacings than those of the CRCP with asphalt bond breaker. As the steel ratio increases, both the crack spacing and crack width tend to decrease. The crack width becomes larger as the crack age increases, but once the crack age is over a certain value the crack width tends to converge. When the terminal anchor lug system is not used and the expansion joints are employed at the terminals, the crack spacings and crack widths increase near the terminal sections. The crack spacing and crack width seem to be proportional each other, but not necessarily linearly, and their relationship is more distinguished in the summer when the crack widths become smaller. CONCLUSIONS : The steel ratio, underlying layer type, terminal treatment method, and seasonal temperature change affect the characteristics of cracks and the crack spacing and crack width are related to each other.
PURPOSES: This study analyzed the lane-by-lane traffic flow characteristics in Korea by using real-world data, including congestion levels, for 2-, 3-, and 4-lane freeways. METHODS : On the basis of a literature review, lane flow and speed characteristics were analyzed using flow measurements and speed ratios. In addition, the effect of congestion levels on traffic flow were visualized using rescaled cumulative plots. RESULTS: Driver behavior varied depending on the congestion level. During free-flow conditions, the lane-use ratio of individual lanes varied largely, whereas during congestion, the ratio was nearly the same for all lanes (i.e., equilibrium). During maximum-flow and congestion conditions, the median lane was used more than the shoulder lane, whereas during all other conditions, the shoulder lane had a higher lane-use ratio. In 3- or 4-lane freeways, the lane-use ratio of the median lane always exceeded 1 and was the highest during free-flow conditions. CONCLUSIONS : The results of the present analysis can be used as an index to predict congestion before a lane is overcapacitated. Moreover, the results can be applied in variable lane guidance systems, such as car navigation systems and variable message displays, to control traffic flow.
PURPOSES : This study compared two measures of traffic flow effectiveness on roads with roundabouts and signalized intersections and determined the more appropriate measure. METHODS: In addition to average delay time, the conventionally used measure, average travel time was introduced to measure traffic flow effectiveness because it is able to be obtained through field survey and reflect different travel distances and speed limits of roundabouts and signalized intersections. Using the two measures, roundabouts and signalized intersections were compared through simulations in terms of traffic flow effectiveness. RESULTS : For one-way single-lane roads, the two measures indicated consistent results that roundabouts were more effective than were signalized intersections when the traffic volume was less than 300 vphpl but vice versa when it exceeded 450 vphpl; however, the measures yielded inconsistent results when the volume was 350~400 vphpl. For one-way double-lane roads, the two measures indicated consistent results that roundabouts were more effective than were signalized intersections when the volume was less than 200 vphpl but vice versa when it exceeded 400 vphpl; however, the measures yielded inconsistent results when the volume was 250~350 vphpl. The results obtained using the two measures differed substantially for double-lane roads because behaviors such as weaving and lane changing at roundabouts are more common in double-lane roads than in single-lane roads. CONCLUSIONS : The average delay time would be lower on roads with roundabouts, but average travel time would be lower on roads with signalized intersections. Thus, evaluating the relative effectiveness of roads with roundabouts and signalized intersections by using average delay time alone would be inappropriate, whereas using average travel time as the evaluation index would yield fairer results.
PURPOSES: The demand for extending national highways is increasing, but traffic monitoring is hindered because of resource limitations. Hence, this study classified highway segments into 5 types to improve the efficiency of short-term traffic count planning. METHODS : The traffic volume trends of 880 highway segments were classified through R-squared and linear regression analyses; the steadiness of traffic volume trends was evaluated through coefficient of variance (COV), and the normality of the data were determined through the Shapiro-Wilk W-test. RESULTS : Of the 880 segments, 574 segments had relatively low COV and were classified as type 1 segments, and 123 and 64 segments with increasing and decreasing traffic volume trends were classified as type 2 and type 3 segments, respectively; 80 segments that failed the normality test were classified as type 4, and the remaining 39 were classified as type 5 segments. CONCLUSIONS : A theoretical basis for biennial count planning was established. Biennial count is recommended for types 1~4 because their mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs) are approximately 10%. For type 5 (MAPE =19.26%), the conventional annual count can be continued. The results of this analysis can reduce the traffic monitoring budget.
PURPOSES : This study proposes a methodology to collect data necessary for microlevel emission estimation, such as second-by-second speeds and road grades, and to accordingly estimate emissions. METHODS: To ease data collection for microlevel emission estimation, a vehicle equipped with speed- and location-recording instruments as well as equipment for measuring road geometry was used. As a case study, this vehicle and the proposed methodology were used on a 10- km-long highway in Yongin City, Korea. Emissions from the vehicle during driving were estimated in various microscale driving conditions. RESULTS : Differences in the estimated emission under different microscale driving conditions cannot be ignored. Compared with the estimations obtained when second-by-second data were not considered, CO and NOx emissions were more than threefold higher when considering second-by-second speed; similarly, CO and NOx emission estimations were higher by approximately 10% and 3%, respectively, when considering second-by-second road grade. CONCLUSIONS : The proposed method can estimate vehicle emissions under real-world driving conditions in such applications as road design and traffic policy assessments.
PURPOSES : Low visibility caused by dark surroundings at nighttime affects the likelihood of accidents, and various efforts, such as installing road safety facilities, have been made to reduce accidents at night. Despite these efforts, the nighttime severity index (SI) in Korea was higher than the daytime SI during 2011-2014. This study determined the factors affecting daytime and nighttime accident severity through a discriminant analysis. METHODS: Discriminant analysis. RESULTS: First, drowsiness, lack of attention, and lighting facilities affected both daytime and nighttime accident severity. Accidents were found to be caused by a low ability to recognize the driving conditions and a low obstacle avoidance capability. Second, road conditions and speeding affected only the daytime accident severity. Third, failure to maintain a safe distance significantly affected daytime accident severity and nonsignificantly affected nighttime accident severity. The majority of such accidents were caused by rear-end collisions of vehicles driving in the same direction; given the low relative speed difference in such cases, the shock imparted by the accidents was minimal. CONCLUSIONS: Accidents caused by a failure to maintain a safe distance has lower severity than do accidents caused by other factors.