Video from my YouTube channel

Subscribe to My You tube channel

Road servicibility level

By -

Road servicibility level is considered as an Engineering standard used to evaluate road ability to service the traffic safely, comfortably and efficiently. The government will use the road serviceability level records and available data to determine the priorities in maintenance to reduce vehicles wear and prevent traffic jam. 

The evaluation of a road will be based mainly on the physical condition of the road pavement and the flow of traffic:

1.Pavement Condition: The Present Serviceability Index (PSI) 

The PSI isolate the physical condition of road pavement. This index was developed based on a wide and extensive transport road. It has a numerical scale to evaluate the pavement physical condition and it ranges from 0 to 5.

1-Excellent (5):

Excellent pavement surface, smooth and free from defects. This level is ideal therotical because new road rarely get the score of 5 due to construction tolerances. 

2-very good (4.0-4.9):

New road or newly reinstated roads that provide a comfortable, smooth driving and almost free from vibrations. 

3- Good (3:0-3.90)

Typical first-rate for highways condition with minor weathering in the road but without any damage to pavement structure. 

4-Terminal Level for Highways (2.5)

This number represents the threshold in this scale and when a highwat score goes below 2.5 it is classified as road that requires real surfacing. 

5-Terminal Level for local roads (2.0)

This number represents a threshold for local roads or roads with low traffic volume. At this level the driving become noticeably uncomfortable. 

6- very poor (0.0-1.9): 

Indicates a deep structural failure, potholes, wide crack that can damage vehicles and the roads falling within this range requires full reconstruction. 

How PSI is Measured? 

Engineers doesn't determine these number by guessing. These numbers is determined by the use of special vehicles that collect the necessary data for the evaluation of Pavement physical conditions. These vehicles will be equipped with speical devices, lasers, sensors, cameras to observe three main distress factors:

1-roughness: it is measured by the international roughness index (IRI) which mointor the vertical bouncing of the testing vehicle as it travel for a specific distance. 

2-Rutting: it is the depression or permanent grooves that form in the wheel paths due to heavy loads of vehicles. 

3-cracks and patches: it is the percentage of Pavement that shows signs of structural deterioration or previous emergency repair. 

-Traffic Flow: The Level of Service (LOS)

Some road have a good pavement structure but it fails in it main function when the traffic flow becomes slow and not smooth. LOS measure the road operational quality based on traffic density, speed, delay times. And it use a scale from A to F to determine a road LOS. 

Each scale and the corresponding traffic movement type:

A: free traffic flow & low traffic volume and driver can choose their vehicles speed freely-there is no delays. 

B: reasonably free traffic flow & noticable presence of other vehicles - slight speed restrictions 

C: steady traffic flow & continous interaction between vehicles, lane changes required drivers attention 

D: Approaching unstable flow, hesvy traffic flow, small accident cause immediate local congestion 

E: unstable traffic flow: road is on maximum capacity, interrupted traffic flow and constant stop and go condition 

F: forced flow, traffic flow breakdown, traffic volume significantly exceeds the road capacity which result in long delays

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Videos from My Youtube channel

Popular posts from this blog

Binding wire for steel reinforcement

By -
Image
  Binding wires are used to tie steel bars together. These wires are playing a significant role in maintaining the reinforcement stability and rigidity. Wires are used to tie the steel bars at intersections points. By tying the steel bars together, we ensure that the steel bars will not move from their locations during construction or during the time of concreting. In slabs, binding wires are used to tie longitudinal and transverse bars together. In columns, it is used to tie vertical bars with stirrups.   Figure 1 There are various types of binding wires such as  Black annealed baling wire, Stainless Steel Binding Wire, and PVC coated binding wires.  Black annealed baling wire used to tie black steel. The popular size for black wire ranges from 16 to 22 gauges. Stainless steel binding wires are used to bind stainless steel reinforcement. Stainless steel reinforcement is used in a harsh environment where the black steel gets rusted quickly. Therefore, stainless ...
Read more

stress-strain diagram for aluminium alloy and rubber

By -
Image
figure no:1 showing the stress-strain diagram for aluminum alloy. we can notice from the stress-stress diagram that aluminum has a considerable ductility. despite the absence of explicit yield point as in structural steel . the initial portion of the stress-strain curve is linear with a recognizable proportional limit. the proportional limit for aluminum alloy ranges from 70 to 410 Mpa (10 to 60 Ksi). aluminum alloy undergoes large strain before failure. ultimate stress ranges from 140 to 550 Mpa (20 to 80 Ksi). construction management: concrete construction bridge construction:How to become a bridge engineer Figure-1 Yield stress for aluminum alloy can be determined by drawing offset line parrel to the linear portion of the stress-strain curve. the straight line offset by a standard strain such as 0.002. the intersection point with the stress-strain curve is the point of yield stress. figure no:2 illustrates the concept of offset method. yield stress acquire...
Read more

Rebar Splicing and Overlapping — ACI 318-19 Requirements Explained

By -
Image
Reinforcement splicing or overlapping is a fundamental requirement in reinforced concrete structures. Because reinforcement bars (rebars) are manufactured in limited standard lengths—typically 12 m —it becomes necessary to splice or overlap them to achieve the required continuity in structural members. The main purpose of a splice is to ensure smooth stress transfer between adjacent bars through the surrounding concrete. The overlap length, commonly known as the splice length , must be long enough to safely transfer the tensile stresses from steel to concrete without causing bond failure. It is recommended to avoid splicing in high-stress zones such as areas of maximum moment, and to stagger the splices to prevent congestion and reduce stress concentration. The ACI 318-19 providing the following recommendatin and requirement for the lap splicing: 1. Splice Limitation by Bar Size Lap splicing is not permitted for reinforcement bars larger than 36 mm in diameter. 2. Non-Contact L...
Read more

Pile cap

By -
Image
Pile cap used to transfer the loads from superstructure to the piling. The pile cap is thick concrete mat rests on piles. It is part of the foundation and used to distribute the loads over the piles. Piles used when the soil bearing is not enough to carry loads of the structure. Figure 1  construction management: concrete construction bridge construction:How to become a bridge engineer Pile cap construction procedure Excavation around piles: After 7 days of the casting of the pile the concrete will gain approximately, 70% of it is compressive strength. The soil around piles will be removed to the required levels and dimension that allows construction of the pile cap. A step shall be made if the excavation is more than 1.5 m to prevent soil collapse. Figure 2 Pile head cutting: Concrete will be removed up to cut off level. If concrete under the cut off level is unsound. It shall be removed, and the pile will be repaired...
Read more

Non-Working Pile Testing and Static Compression Load Test

By -
Image
Purpose of Non-Working Piles Non-working piles are constructed at the beginning of the project to evaluate soil bearing capacity and determine the maximum settlement. These piles are loaded up to twice the working load. Based on the test results, the pile length may be adjusted. If the measured settlement exceeds the allowable limit, the pile length will be increased accordingly. construction management: concrete construction bridge construction:How to become a bridge engineer Static Compression Load Test The static compression load test provides insight into how the pile responds to loading. Settlement is measured at different load increments to determine the appropriate pile design length. The maximum applied load is typically twice the working load (2 × working load) or as specified by local standards. The following steps outline the testing procedure: A. Steel Cage Preparation The steel reinforcement cage is prepared in accordance with the approved shop drawings. ...
Read more

Concrete repair-selecting the repair method

By -
Image
Repairing concrete structure passes through various stages. Selecting the correct repair method will depend on completing the previous steps, such as determining the cause of concrete damage, evaluate the extent of the damage, and assess the need for repair. The completion of these steps will define the type of conditions the repair must resist, the available repair construction time period, and when repairs must be accomplished. The data collected from performing these steps will help in selecting which of the 15 standard methods is suitable and durable for repairing the damaged concrete structure. Figure 1 In general, the old concrete surface should be prepared before beginning with the repairing process. It is essential to remove all unsound concrete before applying the repairing. Improper preparing of damaged concrete structure will result in unsatisfactory repair with low durability. The first step in preparing the old concrete surface is the saw cutting of repairin...
Read more

Fiber Reinforced polymer for strengthening of reinforced concrete

By -
Image
 Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) is a new technique to strengthen structures. Fiber-reinforced plastic has various types, such as a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP), and aramid fiber-reinforced polymer (AFRP).  The below table shows the mechanical properties of different fiber types.     Table 1 we can notice that carbon fiber reinforced polymer possesses better properties compared to other types. For example, the tensile strength of CFRP extra-high strength can reach 6200 MPA compared to a maximum tensile strength of 4135 MPA of other fiber types.   The FRP has various uses such as: Improved seismic performance of masonry walls Replacing missing steel reinforcement Increasing the strength and ductility of columns Increasing the loading capacity of structural elements Correcting structural design and/or construction defects Increasing resistance to seismic movement Improving service life and durability ...
Read more

Prestressing stands debonding

By -
Image
  Prestressing bridge concrete beams contributes to resisting the tensile stresses caused by the traffic loads and the beam's weight. Stressing concrete has various benefits, such as increasing concrete members' capacity, reducing the concrete member section, and increasing the span lengths for structures such as bridges and buildings. However,  The stressing of bridge beam ends can result in unwanted cracks. Therefore AASHTO calling for debonding a specific portion of strands at the beam end to minimize the stresses and reduce cracks. Figure 1 Debonding is achieved by wrapping the strands at the end of the beam with plastic. Wrapping the strand with plastic wrapping will prevent the strands from bonding with concrete, thus avoid transferring unwanted stress to the beam end. As a result, the unwanted cracks will be prevented by reducing the stress levels at the end of the beam.  
Read more

Repairing of concrete bulging

By -
Image
Improper designing and installation of formwork for a concrete member can result in concrete Bulging. During the placing and compacting of concrete, forms may deflect largely in the weak areas. The deflection of forms will cause concrete to expand at this location, and this known as concrete Bulging. Concrete Bulging will spoil the appearance of a concrete member. Therefore we should always ensure that the forms are appropriately installed, and it is sufficiently supported to resist the concrete during placing and compacting. Bulging should be repaired in case we couldn't avoid it. The solution of concrete Bulging, offset, or surface irregularities are surface grinding. However, excessive surface grinding can weaken the concrete.  Figure 1 If the bulging or surface irregularities are small, grinding of concrete surface will be sufficient to remove surface irregularities. If the Bulging of concrete is significant, then the concrete should be chipped, and the surface...
Read more

Bridge Diaphragm

By -
Image
The main function of diaphragms is to provide a stiffening effect to deck slab in case bridge webs are not situated directly on top of bearings. Therefore, diaphragms may not be necessary in case bridge bearings are placed directly under the webs because loads in bridge decks can be directly transferred to the bearings.On the other hand, diaphragms also help to improve the load-sharing characteristics of bridges. Diaphragms also contribute to the provision of torsional restraint to the bridge deck. Diaphragm will be used also to resist stresses that occurs during the post-tensioning process. Post-tensioning hardware are casted inside the diaphragm. Figure 1 construction management: concrete construction bridge construction:How to become a bridge engineer Types of diaphragm: Diaphragm at the span end: this type of diaphragms will be located between two bridge spans or at the bridge abutments. Expansion joints will be used to connect bridge spans. This ...
Read more