Superstorm Sandy LiDAR Damage Assessment to Change Disaster Recovery

During the course of the study, the team scanned roughly 80 miles of storm-ravaged neighborhoods\u2014including Seaside Heights and Mantoloking, New Jersey; selected areas of Staten Island, New York; and Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York. The high-resolution 3-D output will help officials in these municipalities and others develop better response strategies and prepare critical infrastructure to withstand the effects of disaster events. Data collected from CAIT\u2019s Sandy evaluation will help researchers like Gong analyze how different types of infrastructure react to heavy winds or floods. This analysis will prove especially beneficial to USDOT, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and city and state government agencies for post-storm damage evaluation and reconstruction

Recommended Changes to FAA P-401/P-403 and P-404 Asphalt Mixture Design for Aircraft Loading Conditions

692M15-21-T-00024Rutting in asphalt airfield pavements can be a significant problem due to the increasing gross aircraft weight (GAW) and extremely high tire pressures associated with these aircraft. The generated high stresses and strains can reach significant distances below the pavement surface, impacting deeper asphalt layers previously not affected by earlier aircraft of lower weight and tire pressures. To mitigate the potential for rutting of asphalt mixtures, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted a research study to evaluate and recommend potential changes to the current FAA P-401/P-403 and P-404 asphalt specifications to help improve the rutting resistance of the asphalt mixtures for different GAW groupings. An extensive literature review and a parametric study were used to determine critical parameters that influence the rutting potential of airfield asphalt mixtures. Proposed changes were selected to minimize detrimentally impacting the long-term cracking performance of the asphalt airfield mixes. As a result, recommendations were provided to change the following asphalt mixture characteristics for different GAW groupings: aggregate angularity criteria for fine and coarse aggregates, asphalt binder grade selection, and inclusion of and modification to asphalt mixture performance testing. Further validation testing using a controlled heavy-vehicle simulator and field test sections are recommended to validate the proposed recommendations

One-Stop Bridge Data New Online Tool Combines Multiple Datasets for Bridge Performance Analysis

The LTBP Bridge Portal was developed at CAIT in partnership with FHWA\u2019s Long-Term Bridge Performance Program. In 2008 the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) launched its largest and most robust bridge research endeavor, the Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program, a 20-year study of U.S. bridges\u2014our transportation network\u2019s most critical links. The Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, was competitively selected as the primary university partner on LTBP and, for the last 8 years, has been working with FHWA to provide a detailed and timely picture of bridge performance. Through this UTC-FHWA collaboration, CAIT created the LTBP Bridge Portal, a new web-based product that comprises bridge information mined from a wide range of datasets. Combined, these data encompass nearly every characteristic and biographic fact that can influence bridge performance: construction, design, age, dimensions, elevation, weather data, traffic data, weigh-in-motion data, maintenance/repair records, and more

Remote Sensing System Enhancement for Digital Twinning of the Built Infrastructure to Support Critical Infrastructure Protection Research

69A3551847102The purpose of this project is to acquire a laser scanner and explore its utilities for creating digital twins of infrastructure systems to support infrastructure management. In joint with an ongoing project with NJ Transit OEM on developing an early flood warning system, the project focused on applying the laser scanning and building modeling technologies to support digital twinning of infrastructure systems. We conducted 3D mapping activities throughout the Hoboken Terminal to create a rich semantic building model for the station. Based on the building model, we have already created a preliminary digital twin which consists of digital models of the station itself, a hazard system simulating the compounding of storm surge and rainfall events, and a decision simulator to allow for the investigation of what-if scenarios under various storm events. Infrastructure stakeholders have experimented with the Hoboken digital twin for various flood mitigation analysis. The project ended with delivering a critical digital twin based early flood warning system for infrastructure stakeholders

Energy Harvesting on New Jersey Roadways

NJDOT TO 361The project is to identify energy harvesting applications on roadways and bridges and conduct feasibility analysis and performance evaluation for large-scale and micro-scale energy generation. Solar energy harvesting can be achieved using different assets of roadway. The technical and economic feasibility of solar array in the right-of-way (ROW) was presented. Photovoltaic Noise Barriers (PVNBs) integrate solar panels with noise barriers to harvest solar energy while abating noise from the highway. The energy estimation models were first developed at project level and then used for state-level analysis, respectively, for top-mounted tilted, top-mounted bifacial, and shingles built-on designs of PVNB. On the other hand, piezoelectric energy harvesting can be achieved by compression or vibration modes. The new designs of vibration-based energy harvesters are proposed under multi-frequency bridge vibrations. A multiple degree-of-freedom (DOF) cantilever design concept was developed and tested in the laboratory. The optimized design was demonstrated and validated in full-scale tests for vibration-based energy harvesting. The research outcome provides recommendations for future implementation of energy harvesting in the roadway and bridge network of New Jersey for development of sustainable and smart transportation infrastructure

Application of Advanced Analytic and Risk Techniques to Railroad Operations Safety and Management

69A3551847102Railroads generate large amounts of data. The data collected by railroads are in several different forms including both numeric and textual data. Further, there are numerous external databases that contain information and data relevant to railroad maintenance, operations, and capital investments. The fundamental problem with the amounts of data and varied data sources is that railroads have generally lacked tools and the capability to analyze these data to develop predictive models to improve decisions regarding maintenance, operations, and capital investments that improve safety, service and, ultimately, overall profitability. This is particularly a problem for Class II and III short line railroads that lack significant staff and resources to undertake these analyses. This project specifically addresses these problems with two Class II railroads in terms of grade crossing and trespassing incidents and identifying potential transload customers for specific commodities. For one railroad partner, high-risk grade crossing and trespassing situations are identified, and potential risk reduction measures are recommended. For the other railroad partner, potential customers for two possible transload commodities are identified and data sources provided for further analyses. A prototype decision support system (DSS) is proposed, and advanced data visualization tools are demonstrated and applied for both railroads. Recommendations for further research and development are made specifically for grade crossing and trespassing risk metrics and profiles

Local Access Management Regulations

The primary objective of this research is to identify and recommend strategies, tools, and guidelines to facilitate access management on local (i.e., county and municipal) roads intersecting and/or impacting state highways in New Jersey. State of New Jersey has an access management code that applies to state highways, but it does not apply to local roads. Local authorities in New Jersey do not have uniform access management codes, regulations, standards for local roads, as a result of which issues arise when developments take place on local roads near intersections with state routes. This research evaluated if/when similar issues are encountered in other states, how other state departments of transportation (DOTs) address access management on local roads, and how New Jersey local government and officials perceive access management on local roads near state highways. The study included a review of the literature and best practices, several stakeholder meetings, structured interviews with officials from other states DOTs, a survey of in-state officials, case studies involving intersections between local roads and state highways, and synthesis of results

Efficacy of Filter Improvements for Transit Vehicles to Combat the Spread of COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Infections

69A3551847102The COVID-19 pandemic has been a worldwide issue that transit agencies are still struggling to find cost-efficient solutions to. Upgrading the filters used on trains and buses to reduce the airborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as other infectious viruses, such as influenza, may be an effective, cost-efficient way of containing the very small, hard-to-filter droplet and aerosol particles that these viruses may travel within. One way to improve transit vehicle air quality and safety is to upgrade the current MERV-rated filters to higher-rated ones such as a MERV 13 filter. This study will look at quantifying the upgraded filters\u2019 performance, focusing on their efficacy over time and comparing them to a MERV 8 filter. Filter performance was investigated using sodium chloride (NaCl) particles and Arizona Road Dust (ARD) particles to determine the filter collection efficiency. A Grimm MiniWras and Aerodynamic Particle Sizer was used to compare the number concentrations (#/L) of particles upstream and downstream of the filter. The filter testing data confirm that MERV-13 filters have better filtration efficiency compared to MERV-8 filters but the filter performance varies depending on the age of the filter (i.e., its loading), particle type, and particle properties (charged vs. neutralized)

Evaluation of Coefficient Related to Runoff from Roadway Projects

20-60161New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is required to quantify and mitigate the stormwater impacts of certain roadway projects. Acceptable runoff calculation methods include the Natural Resources Conservation Service Method and the Rational Method. Existing coefficients are often insufficient for representing land treatments utilized in roadway design but have never been investigated before. The objective of this project was to develop new curve numbers (CNs) for four land treatments, which included: (1) bare soil, (2) gravel, (3) vegetation, and (4) porous hot mix asphalt (HMA). To achieve this objective, laboratory studies were conducted to measure rainfall, runoff, and infiltration for these four land treatments. Each land treatment was tested as a composite column, where the treatment was installed on top of subsoil. The subsoils utilized in this project had ten different hydraulic conductivities, covering all four Hydrologic Soil Groups, A, B, C and D, that may be encountered at NJDOT roadway projects. The rainfall and runoff data were collected and analyzed to quantify CNs for the four land treatments under laboratory conditions. Laboratory derived CNs were then applied to the field conditions and compared with the established CNs of corresponding land treatments. CNs for bare soil and vegetation agreed well with the existing values, CNs of gravel were significantly smaller than the existing values, and CNs of porous HMA were not established prior to this project and were not available for comparison. The CNs developed from this project can be used to quantify runoff from these four land treatments for any rainfall events

Assessing and Mitigating Transportation Infrastructure Vulnerability to Coastal Storm Events With the Convergence of Advanced Spatial Analysis, Infrastructure Modeling, and Storm Surge Simulations

69A3551847102In this project, the research team studied the convergence of remote sensing, digital twin, web technologies, and flood simulation for creating an advanced flood preparedness system. The project used Manville, a frequently flooded township in New Jersey, as an exemplar case. The team created a calibrated hydrodynamic model for the entire township and beyond. The team also mapped out the entire township with a high-resolution 3D mapping system, and created a digital twin for the entire township. We extracted key elevation information for buildings and critical infrastructure systems, and used them in joint with the hydrodynamic models to assess flood impacts. The flood impacts focused on buildings and accessibility to emergency services. We created two modules of assessment tools for these purpose so that they are generalizable to other places. At the end, we created a flood information dashboard which serves a center place to visualize hydrodynamic model results and flood impacts to communities and to support decision making in flood mitigation choices. The project is the first application of integrating mobile lidar derived city level data with hydrodynamic models for flood impact visualization and analysis