PURPOSES : This study focuses on the evaluation of interface performance with varying surface texture and tack coat application in an asphalt overlay.
METHODS : The evaluation is carried out in two phases: tracking test and interface bond strength test. Using an image processing tool, tracking test is conducted to evaluate the susceptibility of the tack coat material to produce excessive tracking during application. Using the pull-off test method, the bond strength test is performed to determine the ability of the interface layer to resist failure.
RESULTS: Results show that the underseal application yields less tracking compared to other applications. However, the bond strength is barely within the minimum acceptable value. On the other hand, RSC-4 produces higher bond strength for all surface types, but the drying time is long, which produces excessive tracking.
CONCLUSIONS: While underseal application may be suitable for a trackless condition, the bond strength is less appealing compared to the rest of the tack applications available. RSC-4 demonstrated a high and consistent bond strength performance, but more time is required for drying to avoid excessive tracking. Tack coat application and surface type combination produce varying results. Therefore, these should be considered when selecting suitable future tack coat application options.
PURPOSES: This study identifies the causes and the mechanism of the occurrence of underground cavities. METHODS: A case study on cave-in and a series of model tests with a small soil chamber were conducted. RESULTS: A hypothesis about the mechanism of the cave-in in road was established, and the basic influencing factors on underground cavity expansion were identified. CONCLUSIONS: It was found that the characteristics of shear strength of soil and direction of water flow had a larger influence on cavity formation and expansion than the characteristics of internal erosion. In addition, large cavities suddenly expanded when cavities were caused owing to breakage of buried sewer pipe.
PURPOSES: The purpose of this study is to suggest a specific investigation guideline to decide priority of repairing old concrete pavements that pile up substantially.
METHODS : In this study, a principle of division of homogeneous sections was proposed to reflect the characteristics of the pavement reasonably in the specific investigation results. In addition, a checklist and guideline of field investigation were suggested for the old concrete pavement sections, which require inspection toward their durability and structural performance. Furthermore, the items of laboratory test necessary to the old concrete pavement were suggested based on the existing laboratory test considering characteristics of the old concrete pavement. The present condition of the old concrete pavement could be analyzed by the test results.
RESULTS: A method of division of homogeneous sections suitable for the specific investigation of the old concrete pavement was suggested. The proportions of distress severity of pavement sections were compared by distress type to figure out the present state of the old concrete pavement. Scaling, durability cracking (or alkali-silica reaction), and longitudinal spalling were selected as the most severe distress types. The detailed positions of the sections were also suggested. The checklist of the specific investigation was categorized by field survey and laboratory test, and its evaluation criteria were proposed. The three types of the sections of durability cracking (or alkali-silica reaction), bridge connection, and asphalt overlay were selected as the sections of the field survey. The compressive strength, void structure, and chloride penetration depth were suggested as the items of the laboratory test.
CONCLUSIONS : A fundamental level of the guideline was suggested in this study to resolve the problem of old concrete pavement. Appropriate guidelines related to the repair of the old concrete pavement should be provided by performing additional research efforts.
PURPOSES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of the quiet pavement on reducing a barrier height by using a prediction tool called SoundPLAN.
METHODS: Firstly, the prediction was carried out to evaluate the difference in the maximum noise level at a building facade between the normal and the quiet pavements without a barrier. After calculating the noise reduction effect by the quiet pavement, a comparable barrier height to obtain the same noise reduction effect with it was predicted according to designable factors including road-building distance(10 m, 20 m, 40 m) and road-barrier distance(5 m, 10 m, 20 m, 30 m).
RESULTS: The result showed that within the considered designable factors, the maximum barrier height was 37 m, 52 m, and 55 m to have the same noise reduction effect by the quiet pavement reducing 1 dBA, 3 dBA , and 5 dBA, respectively. It was evaluated that the barrier height increased with the increase of the road-building and road-barrier distances. To simulate the real situation in urban areas and to evaluate the combined effect of the normal/quiet pavement and barrier, the barrier height was fixed as 6 m. It was predicted that the noise level would reduce to as low as 0.2 dBA by the combination of normal pavement and barrier. On the other hand, the combination of the quiet pavement and barrier reduced 1.2 dBA, 3.2 dBA, and 5.2 dBA, respectively, for quiet pavement reducing 1 dBA, 3 dBA, and 5 dBA.
CONCLUSIONS: A guideline needs to be suggested to select appropriate noise abatement schemes by considering factors such as the roadbuilding and road-barrier distances.
PURPOSES : Road subsidence occurs owing to road cavities, which cause many social and environmental problems, especially in cities. Recently, road cavities were detected by various ground radars and repair works were carried out against the detected cavities. The condition assessments related to the road cavities are necessary to understand the potential risk of the cavities. Therefore, in this study, a numerical study was performed to assess the various conditions of road cavities. METHODS : The numerical method adopted in this study is the discrete element approach, and it is suitable for analyzing the condition because it can consider the movement of the soil particles in the surrounded cavity areas. In addition, the triaxial test was modeled and performed under various cavity conditions inside the specimens. RESULTS: The conditions of different cavity locations and shapes were analyzed to identify the effect of cavity state. Three general cases of particle size distributions were formulated to identify the effect of surrounding ground conditions. As a result, the degree of decrement and volumetric strain were varied depending on the locations and shapes of the cavity. Only minor changes were observed when the particle size distributions were altered. CONCLUSIONS: The strength reduction was higher when the cavity formed was larger and located in the upper zone. Similar to the cavity shape, strength reduction and volume deformation are more influenced by the width than the length of the cavities. There is an influence from ground conditions such as the particle size distribution, especially on the wide cavity.
PURPOSES : In this study, noise reduction effect of a two-layer porous asphalt pavement was investigated through site measurement and computer simulation.
METHODS: To examine noise reduction effect, a 3 km long quiet pavement was installed by removing previous normal pavement, which had a rather low porosity. The studied site was a high-rise apartment building surrounded by the quiet pavement and Seoul ring road with heavy traffic volume, indicating relatively high background noise.
RESULTS: The measurement result before and after installing the quiet pavement showed a noise reduction effect of 4.3 dB(A) at a distance of 7.5 m from the road. After validating the accuracy of simulation using SoundPLAN, the reduction in SPL(sound pressure level) at the facades by the quiet pavement was predicted by considering five different road conditions generating traffic noise from each road or in the combination of the quiet pavement and Seoul ring road. In the case of no noise from Seoul ring road, noise reduction at the facades was 4.2 dB(A) on average for 702 housing units. With background noise from Seoul ring road, however, the average SPL decreased to 2.0 dB(A). Regarding subjective response of noise, the number of housing units with a noise reduction of over 3 dB(A) was 229 out of 706 units (approximately 32%). For 77 housing units, the noise reduction was between 1~3 dB(A), while it was less than 1 dB(A) for 400 housing units.
CONCLUSIONS: The overall result indicates that the quiet pavement is useful to reduce noise evenly at low and high floors compared to noise barriers, especially in the urban situation where background noise is low.
PURPOSES : The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of size and depth of cavities on the pavement failure using the full-scale accelerated pavement testing.
METHODS: A full-scale testbed was constructed by installing the artificial cavities at a depth of 0.3 m and 0.7 m from the pavement surface for accelerated pavement testing. The cavities were made of ice with a dimension of 0.5 m*0.5 m*0.3 m, and the thickness of asphalt and base layer were 0.2 m and 0.3 m, respectively. The ground penetrating radar and endoscope testing were conducted to determine the shape and location of cavities. The falling weight deflectometer testing was also performed on the cavity and intact sections to estimate the difference of structural capacity between the two sections. A wheel loading of 80 kN was applied on the pavement section with a speed of 10 km/h in accelerated pavement testing. The permanent deformation was measured periodically at a given number of repetitions. The correlation between the depth and size of cavities and pavement failure was investigated using the accelerated pavement testing results.
RESULTS : It is found from FWD testing that the center deflection of cavity section is 10% greater than that of the intact section, indicating the 25% reduction of modulus in subbase layer due to the occurrence of the cavity. The measured permanent deformation of the intact section is approximately 10 mm at 90,000 load repetitions. However, for a cavity section of 0.7 m depth, a permanent deformation of 30 mm was measured at 90,000 load repetitions, which is three times greater than that of the intact section. At cavity section of 0.3 m, the permanent deformation reached up to approximately 90 mm and an elliptical hole occurred at pavement surface after testing.
CONCLUSIONS : This study is aimed at determining the pavement failure mechanism due to the occurrence of cavities under the pavement using accelerated pavement testing. In the future, the accelerated pavement testing will be conducted at a pavement section with different depths and sizes of cavities. Test results will be utilized to establish the criteria of risk in road collapse based on the various conditions.
PURPOSES: The objective of this study was to analyze variations in the vehicle driving behavior characteristics on signalized intersections according to the use of traffic enforcement camera (red light camera).
METHODS: In order to analyze the driving behavior characteristics on signalized intersections when red light camera are installed, the target sites for investigation were selected depending on whether the red light camera is installed and accident rates increased after the installation. In particular, to analyze the characteristics of dilemma zones in signalized intersections, approach speed and deceleration speed of 3 type vehicles (passing vehicles during a yellow light, stopping at a yellow light, passing vehicles during a green light) were examined. Based on these data, the starting point, ending point, and distance of the dilemma zones were calculated. Also, the locations of increased traffic accidents and decreased accidents after the installation of the equipment were distinguished when analyzing the traffic accident characteristics.
RESULTS : Analysis results revealed that there was a tendency for the dilemma zone distance to decrease after the installation of equipment(red light camera) in most sites. This tendency was found to be due to the decrease in the approaching speed of vehicles at intersections after the installation of equipment, resulting in the starting and ending points of dilemma zone to become closer to the stop line. Moreover, analysis showed that the number of traffic accidents decreased for most intersections after the installation of equipment and safety of the intersections increased somewhat.
CONCLUSIONS : In general, installation of equipment(red light camera) caused the intersections approaching speed and dilemma zone distance to decrease. Decision-making is difficult for drivers in the dilemma zone, so the decrease in the dilemma zone distance implies an improvement in traffic safety. Furthermore, the number of accidents within intersections significantly decreased after the equipment was installed, leading to the conclusion that installation of the equipment affected the decrease in traffic accidents.
PURPOSES: This study was initiated to estimate the benefits from the campaign to prevent drowsy driving crashes on expressways. The study was conducted by the Korea Expressway Corporation using a contingent valuation method.
METHODS : First, a questionnaire was designed for a preliminary survey. From the survey’s results, the initial willingness to pay for the campaign was determined by averaging different amounts of payments chosen under virtual scenarios in the survey. The willingness to pay data was used to find a first bid price for the open-ended method used for the second survey. After that, a primary questionnaire was designed and conducted using a single dichotomous choice question (SDBCQ). Drivers at expressway resting areas were asked their willingness to pay for the campaign. Based on statistical analysis using data collected from the second survey, the mean willingness to pay was estimated using a probability utility function. Finally, the benefit from the campaign was calculated using the estimated willingness to pay and accident data on expressways.
CONCLUSIONS : Based on the result from the contingent valuation method, the benefit from the campaign to prevent drowsy driving crashes was estimated to be 170.6 won per expressway trip. The benefit is to be paid as an additional toll. In addition, the traffic crash cost estimate is about 2,209,680,000 won less than the cost during the same period in 2014.
PURPOSES : The aim of this article is to compare and identify eco-friendly competitiveness between (regional) motorway and high-speed rail(HSR) from the perspective of CO2 emission in the Republic of Korea.
METHODS : In order for an analysis of low-carbon competitiveness between the two modes, CO2e emission, CO2eppk (equivalent CO2 gram per passenger kilometer), is employed as a comparison index. As for HSR, the index is calculated based on the passenger transport data and the gross of CO2e produced by Kyungbu high-speed line in 2013. Additionally, the gross of CO2e is computed by the greenhouse gas emission factors of domestic electricity generation mix. Regarding the index of motorway, it is directly calculated using both the official CO2e emission factor and the passenger-car occupancy of motorway.
RESULTS: The results revealed, in the case of inter-regional transport, that the CO2e emission of displacement-based cars is 54.9% less than that of HSR, as the domestic electric power systems heavily relies on the thermal power plants over 66%. Note that internal combustion engines commonly used for vehicles are more energy-efficient than steam-driven turbines usually utilized for thermal power generation.
CONCLUSIONS: It can be seen, at the very least in our study, that HSR has no superiority over motorway in the case of CO2e emission under the situations of domestic electricity generation mix. In addition, advanced eco-friendly vehicles have strong advantages over HSR. Therefore, all-out efforts should be made to develop and harvest renewable energy sources in order to achieve low-carbon HSR, sparing fossil fuels.
PURPOSES : Permitted left turn is a turning maneuver in which a vehicle turns left using a gap between oncoming vehicles, called gap acceptance, and it enables for more efficient traffic operation at intersections. In Korea, the permitted left turn has not been a common maneuver at signalized or un-signalized intersections. However, many experts and the Police Agency tried to apply this effective turning maneuver at intersections in Korea since 2010. Though the investigation of gap acceptance is significantly important in understanding a driver’s behavior at intersections, there have not been many studies about this topic, specifically a study to develop probability models of gap acceptance behavior. METHODS: In this study, the probability model of gap acceptance behavior for a permitted left turn was developed based on observational field studies. To develop the model, seven variables were analyzed including gap, waiting time, traffic volume, conflict-flow vehicle type, leftturning vehicle type, the number of lane, and time.
RESULTS: In the final model, gap and left-turning vehicle type were found to be significant influencing factors.
CONCLUSIONS: Through this model development, it was concluded that as the gap size increased, the probability of gap acceptance was higher. Moreover, when a left-turning vehicle was a passenger car, the probability of gap acceptance was higher than compared to large size buses or freight cars.
PURPOSES: This study was initiated to analyze the characteristics of bus traffic accidents, by bus types, using the decision tree in order to establish customized safety alternatives by bus types, including the intra-city bus, rural area bus, and inter-city bus.
METHODS: In this study, the major elements involved in bus traffic accidents were identified using decision trees and CHAID algorithm. The decision tree was used to identify the characteristics of major elements influencing bus traffic accidents. In addition, the CHAID algorithm was applied to branch the decision trees.
RESULTS : The number of casualties and severe injuries are high in bus accidents involving pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, etc. In the case of light injury caused by bus accidents, different results are found. In the case of intra-city bus accidents, the probability of light injury is of 77.2% when boarding a non-owned car and breaching of duty to drive safely are involved. In the case of rural area bus accidents, the elements showing the highest probability of light injury are boarding an owned car, vehicle-to-vehicle accidents, and breaching of duty to drive safely. In the case of intra-city bus accidents, boarding owned car, streets, and vehicle-to-vehicle accidents work as the critical elements.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the bus accident data were categorized by bus types, and then the influential elements were identified using decision trees. As a result, the characteristics of bus accidents were found to be different depending on bus types. The findings in this study are expected to be utilized in establishing effective alternatives to reduce bus accidents.
PURPOSES: The density in uninterrupted traffic flow facilities plays an important role in representing the current status of traffic flow. For example, the density is used for the primary measures of effectiveness in the capacity analysis for freeway facilities. Therefore, the estimation of density has been a long and tough task for traffic engineers for a long time. This study was initiated to evaluate the performance of density values that were estimated using VDS data and two traditional methods, including a method using traffic flow theory and another method using occupancy by comparing the density values estimated using vehicular trajectory data generated from a radar detector.
METHODS: In this study, a radar detector which can generate very accurate vehicular trajectory within the range of 250 m on the Joongbu expressway near to Dongseoul tollgate, where two VDS were already installed. The first task was to estimate densities using different data and methods. Thus, the density values were estimated using two traditional methods and the VDS data on the Joongbu expressway. The density values were compared with those estimated using the vehicular trajectory data in order to evaluate the quality of density estimation. Then, the relationship between the space mean speed and density were drawn using two sets of densities and speeds based on the VDS data and one set of those using the radar detector data.
CONCLUSIONS: As a result, the three sets of density showed minor differences when the density values were under 20 vehicles per km per lane. However, as the density values become greater than 20 vehicles per km per lane, the three methods showed a significant difference among on another. The density using the vehicular trajectory data showed the lowest values in general. Based on the in-depth study, it was found out that the space mean speed plays a critical role in the calculation of density. The speed estimated from the VDS data was higher than that from the radar detector. In order to validate the difference in the speed data, the traffic flow models using the relationships between the space mean speed and the density were carefully examined in this study. Conclusively, the traffic flow models generated using the radar data seems to be more realistic.
PURPOSES : Visibility of lanes on the road improves as retro-reflectivity rises. This helps reduce traffic accidents at nighttime or in bad weather. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of improved visibility on reduction of traffic accidents when the color of the lane in the median of the highway was changed from yellow to white.
METHODS: In order to evaluate the accident reduction effect of the white left shoulder line, Hauer (1997)'s Comparison-Group method was chosen as an analysis methodology. The JungBu-2 highway, which is equipped with the white left shoulder line and is in trial operation, was chosen as a target for analysis. Data of accidents for 10 months before and after installation was collected and analyzed. In addition to the number of accidents, the types of accidents were classified into nighttime accidents, accidents in bad weather, and median collisions. The accident reduction effect of improved visibility of lanes was analyzed.
RESULTS : The analysis’finding showed that installation of the white left shoulder line decreased the number of accidents by 28%. Moreover, improvement in visibility was effective in reducing nighttime accidents by 67.63%, accidents in bad weather by 55.19%, and median collisions by 48.55%.
CONCLUSIONS: Based on the analysis’results in this study, it was concluded that white left shoulder line on the freeway contributed to reduce traffic accidents, especially nighttime accidents, accidents in bad weather, and median collisions.