PURPOSES: Case studies of an asphalt-overlay project with a performance-based contract method were conducted on a national highway in Korea to evaluate the effect of the method on asphalt pavement maintenance. This study evaluated the procedure of the performance-based contract method.
METHODS: In this study, an asphalt-pavement maintenance project for a national highway was assessed with a performance-based contract to investigate the advantage of the new contract procedures. This is the first trial applying the performance-based contract to a pavementrehabilitation project in Korea. In the four case studies, the warranty period of the performance-based contract was designed for seven years. The research team monitored the construction site to compare the normal contract method with the performance-based contract method. The case studies’project sites were investigated after the end of the construction.
RESULTS : Based on the limited case studies, the performance-based contract method could extend the service life of the asphalt pavement and reduce the pavement-maintenance budget because the quality control was well managed by the contractors. However, a few construction laws would be necessary to apply the performance-based contract method in the future.
CONCLUSIONS : Using the performance-based contract, the construction company made great efforts to guarantee the warranty period and to apply the optimal maintenance method, based on the pavement distress condition. The contractor and the agency would need to understand the new performance-based contract system for it to be activated. Therefore, a proper education program for the performancebased contract system would be needed to educate the stakeholders regarding the procedures and their effects on the pavement management and maintenance.
PURPOSES : In this research, the initiation and development of corrugation on a gravel road with certain wheel and boundary conditions were evaluated using a coupled discrete-element method (DEM) with multibody dynamics (MBD).
METHODS: In this study, 665,534 particles with a 4-mm diameter were generated and compacted to build a circular roadbed track, with a depth and width of 42 mm and 50 mm, respectively. A single wheel with a 100-mm diameter, 40-mm width, and 0.157-kg mass was considered for the track. The single wheel was set to run slowly on the track with a speed of 2.5 rad/s so that the corrugation was gradually initiated and developed without losing contact between the wheel and the roadbed. Then, the shape of the track surface was monitored, and the movement of the particles in the roadbed was tracked at certain wheel-pass numbers to evaluate the overall corrugation initiation and development mechanism.
RESULTS : Two types of corrugation, long wave-length and short wave-length, were observed in the circular track. It seems that the long wave-length corrugation was developed by the longitudinal movement of surface particles in the entire track, while the short wave-length corrugation was developed by shear deformation in a local section. Properties such as particle coefficients, track bulk density, and wheel mass, have significant effects on the initiation and development of long-wave corrugation.
CONCLUSIONS : It was concluded that the coupled numerical method applied in this research could be effectively used to simulate the corrugation of a gravel road and to understand the mechanism that initiates and develops corrugation. To derive a comprehensive conclusion for the corrugation development under various conditions, the driver’s acceleration and deceleration with various particle gradations and wheelconfiguration models should be considered in the simulation.
PURPOSES: The purpose of this study is to identify the road-subsidence mechanism in unsaturated sandy soils.
METHODS: A series of soil chamber tests were conducted under various conditions.
RESULTS: The cavity-expansion characteristics in unsaturated sandy soils due to seepage were affected by the outlet size, seepage intensity, relative density, and fine content.
CONCLUSIONS: In unsaturated sandy soils, the cavity-expansion speed was affected by the outlet size, relative density, seepage intensity, and clay content; however, the cavity-expansion shape was very similar. As the outlet size and seepage intensity increased, the cavityexpansion speed increased. As the relative density increased, the cavity-expansion speed increased because of a sudden decrease in shear strength, resulting from the increased saturation (reduction of matric suction). The cavity expanded faster with the increasing clay content, up to a certain threshold. It expanded at a slower rate once it passed the threshold. Finally, it reached a stable state where the cavity did not expand due to seepage.
PURPOSES : The purpose of this study is to estimate the optimum content of an inorganic additive for cold-recycled asphalt mixtures and evaluate its performance.
METHODS: An indirect tensile test, a tensile-strength ratio test, and an indirect tensile-fatigue test were conducted on cold-recycling asphalt mixtures with various additives.
RESULTS: The laboratory performance tests indicated that granulated blast-furnace slag mixed with inorganic and cement activators provided optimum performance. The performance results of the cold-recycled asphalt pavement were similar to the inorganic and cement activators’ performance in terms of the indirect tensile strength, tensile strength ratio, and indirect tensile-fatigue test.
CONCLUSIONS : Overall, the performance of a cold-recycled asphalt mixture using inorganic additives and emulsion asphalt was comparable to a warm-recycled asphalt mixture. However, more experiments aimed at improving its performance and studying the effect of the inorganic additives must be conducted.
PURPOSES: This study examines the performance changes of road networks according to the strength of a disaster, and proposes a method for estimating the quantitative resilience according to the road-network performance changes and damage scale. This study also selected highinfluence road sections, according to disasters targeting the road network, and aimed to analyze their hazard resilience from the network aspect through a scenario analysis of the damage recovery after a disaster occurred.
METHODS: The analysis was conducted targeting Sejong City in South Korea. The disaster situation was set up using the TransCAD and VISSIM traffic-simulation software. First, the study analyzed how road-network damage changed the user’s travel pattern and travel time, and how it affected the complete network. Secondly, the functional aspects of the road networks were analyzed using quantitative resilience. Finally, based on the road-network performance change and resilience, priority-management road sections were selected.
RESULTS: According to the analysis results, when a road section has relatively low connectivity and low traffic, its effect on the complete network is insignificant. Moreover, certain road sections with relatively high importance can suffer a performance loss from major damage, for e.g., sections where bridges, tunnels, or underground roads are located, roads where no bypasses exist or they exist far from the concerned road, including entrances and exits to suburban areas. Relatively important roads have the potential to significantly degrade the network performance when a disaster occurs. Because of the high risk of delays or isolation, they may lead to secondary damage. Thus, it is necessary to manage the roads to maintain their performance.
CONCLUSIONS : As a baseline study to establish measures for traffic prevention, this study considered the performance of a road network, selected high-influence road sections within the road network, and analyzed the quantitative resilience of the road network according to scenarios. The road users’passage-pattern changes were analyzed through simulation analysis using the User Equilibrium model. Based on the analysis results, the resilience in each scenario was examined and compared. Sections where a road’s performance loss had a significant influence on the network were targeted. The study results were judged to become basic research data for establishing response plans to restore the original functions and performance of the destroyed and damage road networks, and for selecting maintenance priorities.
PURPOSES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the mechanical properties of a cold-recycling asphalt mixture used as a base layer and to determine the optimum emulsified-asphalt content for ensuring the mixture’s performance.
METHODS: The physical properties (storage stability, mixability, and workability) of three types of asphalt emulsion (CMS-1h, CSS-1h, and CSS-1hp) were evaluated using the rotational viscosity test. Asphalt emulsion residues, prepared according to the ASTM D 7497-09 standard, were evaluated for their rheological properties, including the G*/sinδand the dynamic shear modulus (|G*|). In addition, the Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength, and tensile-strength ratio (TSR) were evaluated for the cold-recycling asphalt mixtures fabricated according to the type and contents of the emulsified asphalt.
RESULTS: The CSS-1hp was found to be superior to the other two types in terms of storage stability, mixability, and workability, and its G*/sinδ value at high temperatures was higher than that of the other two types. From the dynamic shear modulus test, the CSS-1hp was also found to be superior to the other two types, with respect to low-temperature cracking and rutting resistance. The mixture test indicated that the indirect tensile strength and TSR increased with the increasing emulsified-asphalt content. However, the mixtures with one-percent emulsified-asphalt content did not meet the national specification in terms of the aggregate coverage (over 50%) and the indirect tensile strength (more than 0.4 MPa).
CONCLUSIONS : The emulsified-asphalt performance varied greatly, depending on the type of base material and modifying additives; therefore, it is considered that this will have a great effect on the performance of the cold-recycling asphalt pavement. As the emulsified-asphalt content increased, the strength change was significant. Therefore, it is desirable to apply the strength properties as a factor for determining the optimum emulsified-asphalt content in the mix design. The 1% emulsified-asphalt content did not satisfy the strength and aggregate coverage criteria suggested by national standards. Therefore, the minimum emulsified-asphalt content should be specified to secure the performance.
PURPOSES: This paper presents a mix design method for using steel slag as an aggregate for asphalt mixtures.
METHODS: Steel slag has a different density and absorption rate than natural aggregates. The asphalt content was calculated according to the steel slag characteristics, and the formula for aggregate-gradation correction was presented.
RESULTS: The asphalt mix was designed using the proposed equations. Using the proposed mix design method, it was possible to design the asphalt mixture according to the target-usage amount of the recycled aggregate.
CONCLUSIONS: The suggested method can be used for asphalt mix design using aggregates with different densities and absorption rates. It is expected to contribute to quality improvement by ensuring accurate calculation of mixing ratios for steel slag asphalt mixtures.
PURPOSES: This study determined the optimal usage rate of RAP (reclaimed asphalt pavement) using cold central-plant recycling (CCPR) on a road-surface layer. In addition, a mixture-aggregate gradation design and a curing method based on the proposed rate for the surface-layer mix design were proposed.
METHODS: First, current research trends were investigated by analyzing the optimum moisture content, mix design, and quality standards for surface layers in Korea and abroad. To analyze the aggregate characteristics of the RAP, its aggregate-size characteristics were analyzed through the combustion asphalt content test and the aggregate sieve analysis test. Moreover, aggregate-segregation experiments were performed to examine the possibility of RAP aggregate segregation from field compaction and vehicle traffic. After confirming the RAP quality standards, coarse aggregate and fine aggregate, aggregate-gradation design and quality tests were conducted for mixtures with 40% and 50% RAP usage. The optimum moisture content of the surface-layer mixture containing RAP was tested, as was the evapotranspiration effect on the surface-layer mixture of the optimum moisture content.
RESULTS: After analyzing the RAP recycled aggregate size and extraction aggregate size, 13-8mm aggregate was found to be mostly 8mm aggregate after combustion. After using surface-chipping and mixing methods to examine the possibility of RAP aggregate segregation, it was found that the mixing method contributed very little for 3.32%, and because the surface-chipping method applied compaction energy directly as the maximum assumption the separation ratio was 15.46%. However, the composite aggregate gradation did not change. Using a 40% RAP aggregate rate on the surface-layer mixture for cold central-plant recycling satisfied the Abroad quality standard. The optimum moisture content of the surface-layer mixture was found to be 7.9% using the modified Marshall compaction test. It was found that the mixture was over 90% cured after curing at 60℃ for two days.
CONCLUSIONS : To use the cold central-plant recycling mixture on a road-surface layer, a mixture-aggregate gradation design was proposed as the RAP recycled aggregate size without considering aggregate segregation, and the RAP optimal usage rate was 40%. In addition, the modified Marshall compaction test was used to determine the optimum moisture content as a mix-design parameter, and the curing method was adapted using the method recommended by Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA).
PURPOSES: The purpose of this study was to develop an urgent road-repair system and perform a field applicability test, as well as discover the optimum mix design for machine applications compared to the optimum mix design for lab applications.
METHODS: According to reviews of the patent and developed equipment, self-propelled and mix-in-place equipment types are suitable for urgent pavement repair, e.g., potholes and cracks. The machine-application mix design was revised based on the optimum lab-test mix design, and the field application of a spray-injection system was performed on the job site. The mixture from the machine application and lab application was subjected to a wet-track abrasion test and a wheel-tracking test to calibrate the machine application.
RESULTS and CONCLUSIONS : This study showed that the binder content could differ for the lab application and the machine application in the same setting. Based on the wet-track abrasion test result, the binder contents of the machine application exceeded the binder contents of the lab application by 1-1.5% on the same setting value. Moreover, the maximum dynamic stability value for the machine application showed 1% lower binder contents than the maximum lab-application value. Collectively, the results of the two different tests showed that the different sizes and operating methods of the machine and lab applications could affect the mix designs. Further studies will be performed to verify the bonding strength and monitor the field application.
PURPOSES : A geo-grid pavement, e.g., a stress-absorbing membrane interlayer (SAMI), can be applied to an asphalt-overlay method on the existing surface-pavement layer for pavement maintenance related to reflection cracking. Reflection cracking can occur when a crack in the existing surface layer influences the overlay pavement. It can reduce the pavement life cycle and adversely affect traffic safety. Moreover, a failed overlay can reduce the economic value. In this regard, the objective of this study is to evaluate the bonding properties between the rigid pavement and a SAMI by using the direct shear test and the pull-off test. The predicted fractural energy functions with the shear stress were determined from a numerical analysis of the moving average method and the polynomial regression method.
METHODS : In this research, the shear and pull-off tests were performed to evaluate the properties of mixtures constructed using no interlayer, a tack-coat, and SAMI with fabric and without fabric. The lower mixture parts (describing the existing pavement) were mixed using the 25-40-8 joint cement-concrete standard. The overlay layer was constructed especially using polymer-modified stone mastic asphalt (SMA) pavement. It was composed of an SMA aggregate gradation and applied as the modified agent. The sixth polynomial regression equation and the general moving average method were utilized to estimate the interlayer shear strength. These numerical analysis methods were also used to determine the predictive models for estimating the fracture energy.
RESULTS: From the direct shear test and the pull-off test results, the mixture bonded using the tack-coat (applied as the interlayer between the overlay layer and the jointed cement concrete) had the strongest shear resistance and bonding strength. In contrast, the SAMI pavement without fiber has a strong need for fractural energy at failure.
CONCLUSIONS : The effects of site-reflection cracking can be determined using the same tests on cored specimens. Further, an empiricalmechanical pavement-design analysis using the finite-element method (FEM) must be done to understand the appropriate SAMI application. In this regard, the FEM application analysis and bonding property tests using cored specimens from public roads will be conducted in further research.
PURPOSES : Asphalt concrete pavement is damaged by various causes such as traffic and environmental loads. The distressed pavement should be maintained by various methods to provide a comfortable and safe pavement for the driver. This study evaluates the effect of adding a mixing procedure to enhance the mixture quality in the hot in-placement recycled asphalt pavement method, which is an asphalt-pavement maintenance method.
METHODS: Various test methods such as Marshall stability and dynamic stability, were employed to estimate the recycled asphalt mixture with and without an additional mixing, using the hot in-placement recycled asphalt pavement method.
RESULTS : The mixture samples used in this study were taken before and after the addition of the mixer in the hot in-placement recycled asphalt pavement method (HIR) at field construction sites in GongJu and JinJu in South Korea. The test results of both mixtures satisfied the asphalt-mixture standard specifications.
CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed that adding a mixer in the HIR method results in a well-mixed new asphalt mixture, rejuvenator, and reclaimed asphalt mixture.
PURPOSES: As the population of the mobility handicapped, who are classified as the disabled, the elderly, pregnant women, children, etc., has increased, the voices for guaranteeing their rights have been increasing as well. Thus, the design manuals for roads and sidewalks for the mobility handicapped were developed by the local government, such as the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Tourism, in Seoul City. However, according to the 2013 survey results of the Seoul Metropolitan City, the mobility handicapped still feel uncomfortable with the sidewalks, and particularly request for the improvement of the step and slope of the sidewalk curb. Therefore, in this study, we conducted an empirical experimental study to determine the slope of the sidewalk curb and height of the steps considering the mobility handicapped and analyzed whether there is a statistically significant difference.
METHODS: The methodology of this study is an empirical experimental one. In the study, five non-disabled people, 10 wheelchair users, and 10 eye patch and stick users walked about 2-3 min on the sidewalk plates of the sloped type (0%, 5%, 6.3%, 8.3%) and stepped type (0 cm, 1 cm, 3 cm, 6 cm), and their human physiological responses, such as the skin temperature, volume of perspiration on forehead and chest, and heart rate, were measured and recorded. After combining the data, we conducted a nonparametric test, ANOVA, or t-test to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference according to each slope and step type.
RESULTS: It was found that for the non-disabled, there was no significant difference in human physiological responses according to the slope and steps of the sidewalk. It can be said that the non-disabled do not feel much physiological discomfort while walking. In the case of the sloped sidewalk plate, the heart rate of the wheel chair users increased when the slope was 6.3%. In the case of the eye patch and stick users, the volume of perspiration on the chest increased at a slope of 5.0%. In general, it is judged that a sidewalk with a slope that is less than 5% does not cause a change in the physiological response. In the case of a stepped sidewalk plate, when 0 cm, 1 cm, and 3 cm were compared for wheelchair users, the amount of forehead perspiration increased from 1 cm. Meanwhile, in the case of the eye patch and stick users, when 0 cm and 6 cm were compared, the amount of perspiration on the forehead and chest as well as the heart rate all increased at 6 cm. Taken together, in the case of wheelchair users, a difference was shown when the height of the step of the sidewalk plate was 1 cm, suggesting that installing it at 0 cm does not cause any physiological discomfort. Moreover, in the case of the eye patch and stick users, when comparing only 0 cm and 6 cm, 0 cm was considered to be suitable, as there was a difference in physiological response at 6 cm.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we set the human physiological responses such as chest skin temperature, amount of perspiration, and heart rate as evaluation items, and our study was considered to be a meaningful experiment that targeted wheelchair users as well as eye patch and stick users. The validity of the evaluation items was confirmed, as the results of human physiological responses were significant. As for the sidewalk design, according to the experiment result, it is considered that differential application should be implemented according to the type of mobility handicap, rather than uniformly applying a sidewalk step of 2 cm and sidewalk slope of 1/25, which are the current legal standards.
PURPOSES : The purpose of this paper is to analyze the change in lane reflection performance through lane washing and sweeping on highway lanes.
METHODS: This paper compared and analyzed the changes in lane reflection performance before and after lane washing and sweeping. The research method was as follows. First, we selected four research sites on the Gyeong-bu Highway. Second, the parameters affecting lane reflection performance are classified into luminance, brightness, and number of glass beads. Third, the change in reflection performance was measured after washing /sweeping at the same place after studying 60m of the unwashed/unswept area. Fourth, the measurement results were compared and analyzed before and after lane washing/sweeping.
RESULTS: The results of this study are as follows. First, lane washing improved the luminance and brightness by 4.2~21.4% and 1.4~5.1%, respectively, and reduced the number of glass beads per wash by 0.2~1.2%. Second, lane sweeping improved the luminance and brightness by 2.3~8.5% and 0.8~2.3%, respectively, and reduced the number of glass beads per sweep by 0.8~4.9%.
CONCLUSIONS : By comparing the results of lane washing and sweeping, it was found that compared to lane sweeping, lane washing improved the luminance and fewer glass beads were dropped.
PURPOSES: Traffic cameras have been installed to reduce traffic accidents. The effectiveness of traffic cameras has been proved by dozens of studies, but recently questions over its effectiveness have been raised by a series of studies. In this study, the effectiveness of traffic cameras was analyzed with a focus on different road environments.
METHODS : The effectiveness of the traffic cameras was analyzed by extracting the occurence frequency before and after camera installation. The effect of reduction was analyzed comprehensively considering the installation position, monitoring direction, and surrounding environment of traffic cameras.
RESULTS : The result of this study is as follows. First, the installation of cameras in an area with relatively low accidental traffic was more effective. Secondly, the effect of camera installation on car-to-pedestrian collisions was better than that of car-to-car collisions. Thirdly, accidents tended to occur more frequently when cameras were installed in front of the accident-prone owing to the negative spill-over effect.
CONCLUSIONS: The result can be used to guide placement of traffic cameras. Moreover, the installation of cameras with consideration of the road environment is expected to contribute to a reduction in traffic fatalities.
PURPOSES: This study aims to analyze how the installation of advanced warning devices affects individual drivers’driving behaviors with operating record data collected from 100 vehicles.
METHODS: With collected data, the changes in individual drivers’driving behaviors, such as Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW), were investigated with respect to the cumulative distance traveled and driving time. For the analysis, operating record data collected from 100 vehicles for seven months were used.
RESULTS: The results showed that individual drivers’driving behaviors could be categorized into six different types. In addition, most of the drivers showed unstable warning patterns in the initial stage after installation of an advanced warning device. Approximately 40% of vehicles equipped with advanced warning systems were found to have positive effects, indicating that the frequencies of both FCW and LDW had been continuously decreasing after installation of the system.
CONCLUSIONS : The warning device might be helpful for making drivers’driving behaviors safer. Driving behaviors during the initial stage of the system installation, which might be regarded as an adaptation phase, were found to be very unstable compared with normal situations, indicating that adequate education and training should be provided to all the drivers to prevent operator disruption at the initial installation of the system.
PURPOSES: The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of the weight values of evaluation items by traffic safety project type.
METHODS: In general, a large-scale investment in projects such as the traffic safety project requires economic analyses to be performed in advance. However, there is an argument for considering special characteristics of the traffic safety project. Therefore, this study conducted characteristic analysis of the weight values of evaluation items. The analysis consisted of two steps. The first step was hypothesis verification using analysis of variance (ANOVA). In this process, the authors examined whether the weight of evaluation items is the same regardless of the traffic safety project type. Based on the first step's results, the authors proceeded to the second step. The objective of this step was to analyze how different the weight values are by traffic safety project type using an analytic hierarchy process.
RESULTS: According to the ANOVA test results, the benefit to cost ratios have different weight values based on traffic safety project type at the 0.01 significance level. The policy evaluation items, such as the plans connection, resident opinion, and regional equity, also showed the same results except that the result for the related plans connection was statistically significant at the 0.05 level. Based on the first step's result, the AHP analysis in the second step showed that the traffic safety projects for vulnerable users and pedestrians have very low weight values in economic evaluation factors compared with other safety project types. The weight values for vulnerable users and pedestrians were 0.29 and 0.26, respectively, in economic evaluation items. On the other hand, the weight values for other safety project types were around 0.6. Among the policy evaluation items, resident opinion showed a higher weight value than other factors, such as connection and regional equity items.
CONCLUSIONS: The social and economic impact of a traffic safety project varies by project type and project characteristics. Although the economic approach is overarching and a reasonable methodology is applied for large-scale projects, it should be noted that the safety issue, especially for transportation of vulnerable uses, requires a non-economical approach. Based on the analysis results, this study suggests that the priority of the projects should be determined by separating them into independent assessment groups depending on their characteristics.