The second year of the Center's operation started with a significant enhancement in the level of activity in the three areas of research, education, and technology transfer. The Center has built on the successes of the first year to consolidate its role as a regional resource in transportation infrastructure management. The Rutgers Asphalt Pavement Laboratory, which operates under the Center, has become a regional laboratory for the implementation of “Superpave” in the NY/NJ metropolitan area. The recent award of a million-plus dollar project by the NJDOT for the study of Seasonal Variation of Pavement Material Properties, for example, was possible through effective leveraging of Center resources. The anticipated outcome of this project is a verification system for the new AASHTO pavement design guidelines, which will be of critical importance for our transportation infrastructure. Of the many other projects that will be handled in the second year, is the implementation of the Monitoring of Construction Doremus Avenue Bridge Structure project in New Jersey. This project is a good example of how the theme of the Center represents the need for research and development in a heavy volume corridor environment. In this CAIT researchers have leveraged Center resources to receive funds from NJDOT to model, instrument, and monitor a new bridge on Doremus Avenue in Elizabeth, NJ. For verification of the new bridge design code “LRFD” in the heavy vehicle overweight and oversized Portway corridor environment. These and many other second-year theme-based projects form the basis of a focused and growing program as envisioned in the Center’s mission in year one.

The education program in the second year has seen an expansion in the number of research assistants, fellowships, and undergraduate internships. We are especially excited with our involvement in the Garret Morgan Academy of Transportation and Technology in Paterson, NJ. We are providing instructional assistant, program guidance to this program, and contribute to their operation in our various capacities. The goal here is to encourage the graduates of this program to enter university programs and pursue higher education in transportation. The program also provides a community service platform for CAIT graduate and undergraduate students.

In the area of technology transfer, we continue to provided various types of outreach through our website, LTAP’s activities, conferences, workshops, and have focused on dissemination of web-based distant-learning technologies for technology transfer programs. The first web-based training package is a web-based traffic safety operation packet for the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in New Jersey. This program will be on-line in a few months and will help the agency in training of its personnel in an efficient manner. Other outreach and training activities are handled through the LTAP program under CAIT where the level of activities continue to grow into year two of Center operation.

In summary, the Center has consolidated itself as an important resource in transportation infrastructure management in the NY/NJ metropolitan area. The level of year two activities are higher than expected and the UTC designation has been effectively leveraged for significant expansion of the program in all the three areas of operation. We are fast approaching our goal of becoming a national Center of excellence in transportation infrastructure management in the very near future!

Dr. Ali Maher

Director

Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT)

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Success Stories

Material Characterization and Seasonal Variation in Material Properties

New project awarded to center that will have a significant impact on roadway design and maintenance

PRINCIPAL CONTACT:

Nenad Gucunski

Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT)

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

623 Bowser Road

Piscataway, NJ 08854

732-445-4413

gucunski@rci.rutgers.edu

On January 1^st 2001 one of our most interesting research projects is scheduled to begin which is being funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) through the efforts of the Center. The main objective of this project is to calibrate the AASHTO temperature and seasonal adjustment models, or to develop new models. The models will be developed based on the data obtained from instrumented pavement sections and continuous periodical condition monitoring using nondestructive pavement evaluation methods. Calibrated American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) temperature and seasonal adjustment models, or developed new models will enable DOT engineers and industry consultants to design new pavements, or to conduct pavement evaluation analysis on the network and project levels, like e.g. for Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) and Seismic Pavement Analyzer (SPA), that will reflect specific New Jersey seasonal and temperature conditions.

Currently, NJDOT uses the AASHTO pavement design guide to account for the seasonal and temperature variations. The AASHTO models are based on the data collected from the AASHTO Road Test conducted in Illinois. However, soil types and climatic patterns significantly vary from one state to another and even within the same state. In the 1993 AASHTO Design Guide it is mentioned regarding the seasonal adjustment factors used in the guide that “These data were obtained at the AASHTO Road Test and indicate that the thaw-weakening period can range from a few weeks to few months, with varying degrees of reduction in structural capacity. Further guidelines relative to thaw-weakening periods are given in Part II of this Guide; however, user agencies are encouraged to develop these relationships based on site specific measurements within their areas and to compare such experience with other agencies nationally.”

IMPACT

· The Material Characterization and Seasonal Variation in Material Properties Project is a large, multi-disciplinary group effort that is going to have a significant impact on the roadway design and maintenance procedures in New Jersey.

· Pavement performance is highly influenced by environmental factors. Temperature and precipitation are the major environmental factors that affect pavement design and performance. High pavement temperature reduces the stiffness of asphalt layers and increases the potential for rutting; this study will help to prevent this from occurring.

· Low pavement temperature combined with high water table or precipitation cause freezing and thawing of roadbed soils. Freezing and thawing of roadbed soils causes a substantial reduction in the subgrade modulus and should be considered in the design and evaluation of pavements. The data from this study will provide the necessary models to take this into account when performing an analysis or evaluation.

First High Performace Concrete Conference

Structural engineers gain knowledge of new practices and technologies

PRINCIPAL CONTACT:

Hani Nassif

Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT)

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

623 Bowser Road

Piscataway, NJ 08854

732-445-4414

nassif@rci.rutgers.edu

The High Performance Concrete (HPC) Conference was hosted at Rutgers University September 13-14, 2000. The goal of this conference was to gather structural engineers from the surrounding area into numerous educational sessions on the benefits of HPC use. The attendees included professionals from the government, public, and private companies as well as CAIT faculty and students. Participants who attended the conference represented: USDOT, FHWA, numerous NJDOT divisions, NYDOT, VDOT, several universities, and others from public and private firms. The two-day event consisted of formal presentations as well as a panel discussion with presentations given by federal, state, and local experts involved with the research and design of HPC. The technology transfer involved new practices and technologies associated with high performance concrete. Roughly 100 people attended this conference to share both ideas and information about HPC.

An FHWA owned high performance concrete mobile laboratory was on-site at the conference to provide demos of various testing equipment. The demonstrations educated both the participants of the conference as well as other civil engineering students at Rutgers University who were encouraged to visit and learn. Small-scale material properties testing was performed inside along with cookbooks for the design of the high performance concrete.

The inclusion of students in the conference provided a forum for technology transfer between the students and the professionals. Many of the students have been conducting research studies on high performance concrete, therefore their inclusion in the conference was a way for them to disseminate their results and findings. They were made aware of the different applications that their research represented for the various agencies and companies that attended the conference. This also stimulated new growth within their research through new applications of the research that was provided by this conference.

The formal presentations prepared the professionals for changes and new techniques being explored in research while the panel discussion at the end of the conference focused on the specifications, quality control, and construction/fabrication of HPC. The panel discussion allowed the professionals to gather the information that would be useful in transferring the technology back to their workplace. The large participation showed that CAIT is continuing to expand our research to include current and future applications as well as involving others in the educational opportunities that the Center provides.

IMPACT

· Technology transfer of research findings through an informational forum setting.

· Student involvement with professionals, and encouraging sharing of research results both with other universities as well as other organizations involved in the use of HPC.

Analytical Modeling and Instrumentation Planning of the Doremus Avenue Bridge

CAIT tests a standard that could potentially affect future bridge design

PRINCIPAL CONTACT:

Hani Nassif

Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT)

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

623 Bowser Road

Piscataway, NJ 08854

732-445-4414

nassif@rci.rutgers.edu

The Doremus Avenue Bridge Project is a significant research study for CAIT because of the importance of the work to the State of New Jersey. The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) are in the process of adopting the Load and Resistance Factored Design (LRFD) Bridge Design specifications as the standard by which all future bridge structures will be designed. The state is ready to comply with those changes, but has undergone only limited experimental validation. The state selected the Center to coordinate the work, instrument the bridge, and to gather the results. The monitoring of the results is vital to the state’s bridge design community because these results are going to serve as the basis and template for all other evaluations and measurements according to the LRFD design. The results will be disseminated to AASHTO because it is envisioned that the bridge will act as a “test bed” for verifying some of the parameters set about in the LRFD specifications. This research is of great importance because it will provide an example and precedence for the further practical implementation in New Jersey as well as other states.

The Center will be actively involved in the research through collaborating field efforts with the NJDOT, USDOT, and industry in implementing, conducting, and gathering the research information from the bridge. This multi-year research project has a total price tag of $1.7 million dollars, demonstrating the significance of the analysis. The Center was selected based on its outstanding record in the conduct of transportation infrastructure research.

IMPACT

· Student involvement throughout the design and implementation of a bridge deck as they work closely with industry professionals.

· State and nationwide technology transfer of the results of the implementation and measurements of the bridge.

· The involvement of five undergraduate as well as five graduate students in the research.

new research projects at cait promote innovative technology

The number of new projects CAIT has acquired will help to build on our achievements as an expanding transportation center

PRINCIPAL CONTACT:

Ali Maher

Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT)