Indian Roads Research Articles

Field study to evaluate Built-in temperature differential (BITD) at interior load position through concrete blocks

Warping behavior of the rigid pavement is a well-known phenomenon and its root cause is daily variation in temperature at different regions of the concrete slab. Indian Road Congress (IRC) has recommended temperature differentials state wise, but due to variation in air temperature in different regions within the state the temperature differentials are likely to vary in different locations within the regions. This may have a major impact on the design thickness of pavements. In a bid to study Built-In Temperature Differential (BITD) a pavement quality concrete block of 20 cm, 25 cm and 30 cm thickness is constructed in the Udaipur region and compared with the IRC:58-2015 specifications. Block experienced a wide variation in the temperature distribution across the depth as rainfall water falling on the top surface is controlling the surface temperature. Temperature differential reported in the area under the study is substantially lesser than the value recommended in the IRC-58:2015 irrespective of block thickness hence, temperature differential needs to be given due consideration in the local region.

A critical review of the PCA and IRC methods of thin white topping pavement design

The concept of Thin White Toppings (TWT) is gaining momentum across the nations as an economical and durable rehabilitation technique for the bituminous roads in distress compared to repairs or rehabilitations done with bituminous mixes. On the other hand, constructing a completely new cement concrete (CC) pavement in these stretches by removing the existing pavement structure is a very costly alternative. So, Portland Cement Association (PCA) constructed some test sections of TWT and developed the performance equations based on the performance of the test sections. Indian Roads Congress (IRC) adopted these equations and simplified them with minor changes for calculating the stresses. These changes lead to overestimation of stresses and subsequent reduction in cost saving for TWT compared to constructing a new concrete pavement. The present study examines the differences between IRC and PCA design methods for TWT by considering various parameters. Both methods consider 8 T single axle load and 16 T tandem axle load for estimating the stresses in CC layer. The stresses estimated with IRC equations are higher compared to the stresses estimated with PCA equations of the order of 40 to 50 percent for 8 T single axle load and of the order of 0 to 22 percent for 16 T tandem axle load.

Improvised E-Rickshaws for Indian Roads by Effective Battery-Ultracapacitor Hybridization

Improvised E-Rickshaws for Indian Roads by Effective Battery-Ultracapacitor Hybridization

Road Parameter-Based Driver Assistance System for Safe Driving

One of the key aspects of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) is ensuring the safety of the driver by maintaining a safe drivable speed. Overspeeding is one of the critical factors for accidents and vehicle rollovers, especially at road turns. This article aims to propose a driver assistance system for safe driving on Indian roads. In this regard, a camera-based classification of the road type combined with the road curvature estimation helps the driver to maintain a safe drivable speed primarily at road curves. Three Deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models viz. Inception-v3, ResNet-50, and VGG-16 are being used for the task of road type classification. In this regard, the models are validated using a self-created dataset of Indian roads and an optimal performance of 83.2% correct classification is observed. For the calculation of road curvature, a lane tracking algorithm is used to estimate the curve radius of a structured road. The road type classification and the estimated road curvature values are given as inputs to a simulation-based model, CARSIM (vehicle road simulator to estimate the drivable speed). The recommended speed is then compared and analyzed with the actual speeds obtained from subjective tests.

Enhancement of geotechnical properties of municipal sewage sludge for sustainable utilization as engineering construction material

Abstract The present study demonstrates potential utilization of lime-stabilized sewage sludge (SS) for construction purposes. SS samples were constituted using 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8% of lime by weight of the SS and cured for 7, 14 and 28 d. Stability of the lime-modified SS was evaluated through determination of geotechnical, microstructural and mineralogical properties. A large improvement in unconfined compressive strength (UCS) from 207 kPa to 1102 kPa was achieved after 28 d of curing SS with 6% lime. The improvement in UCS is attributed to formation of cementing compounds as a result of pozzolanic reactions. Marked reductions in swell pressure of 47, 51, 54 and 58% were obtained with the 2, 4, 6 and 8% lime treatments. Also, the plasticity index decreased with increasing lime content for different curing periods, indicating the SS becomes much more workable and less expansive. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) after lime treatment confirmed formation of the new compounds responsible for the improved engineering properties of SS. The study concludes that lime treatment can be an alternative to stabilize SS for potential use as a construction material for subbase of flexible pavement as per IRC (Indian Road Congress) 37–2012 guidelines.

Analyzing driver's response to yellow indication subjected to dilemma incursion under mixed traffic condition

Under mixed traffic conditions prevailing on Indian roads, drivers show complex response when faced with yellow signal because lane assignment gets dynamic in nature. The present study analyzes the effect of surrounding vehicles on response of the drivers while facing dilemma at intersections. Although dilemma zone definitions hold true in case of homogeneous traffic mix, a statistical analysis is performed to check the consistency across the definitions under mixed traffic condition. Present study shows a significant difference in percentage of red light running in comparison to homogeneous traffic as reported by various studies. For carrying out the research, study locations are chosen in such a way to reflect diversity in road geometry, traffic composition and signal characteristics. The results deduced in this study indicate a strong correlation between the driver's decision making choice and the effect of presence of surrounding vehicle at the onset of yellow signal. The effect of critical time analysis has been found out to be one of the parameters other than critical distance in categorizing driver's aggressiveness while facing the yellow signal. In the process of identifying the statistical significance of dilemma zone definitions, it has been found that under heterogeneous traffic condition, drivers behave differently as compared to homogenous traffic when it comes to dilemma zone. It is observed that the percentage of vehicles crossing the intersection when faced with dilemma by violating the red light is 11.6% according to dilemma zone definition I whereas the definition II has yielded about 10.8% violation covering different vehicle types. The above violation figures derived based on the above definition is somewhat higher as compared to homogeneous traffic condition which is observed to be of the order of 5%–6%.

Alternative approach to traffic state analysis on Indian roads using image processing

In India, video monitoring of urban roads in order to estimate traffic condition parameters (volume, speed and density) is difficult due to the heterogeneous nature of the traffic and poor lane discipline. As an alternative, a methodology to estimate levels of traffic congestion on urban roads using image processing of monitored video recordings was developed. Four levels of congestion, from completely congested to free-flow conditions, were identified utilising surrogates such as area occupancy or average velocity along with additional attributes such as the number of corner features extracted using image processing. The algorithm was adjusted for changes in lighting and camera angles. The performance of the framework was evaluated on videos recorded from a major road in Chennai, India. The findings indicated that the proposed framework is well-suited for real-time identification of traffic states and has potential as a cost-effective tool for updating traveller information systems in similar road transport networks.

An Approach for Study of Traffic Congestion Problem Using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps and Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps-the Case of Indian Traffic

The aim of this paper is to find the reasons for traffic congestion problem and its solution using Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps (NCMs) and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs). Fuzzy theory only measures the grade of membership but fuzzy theory has failed to characteristic the perception when the relations between concepts in problems are indeterminate. Addition of concepts of indeterminate situation with fuzzy logic forms the neutrosophic logic. Since, some of the reasons for traffic congestions are indeterminate we use Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps to find a solution. The discussion is based on Indian road scenario.

Tracking of Potholes and Measurement of Noise and Illumination Level in Roadways

In country like India, Pothole detection is very important. Potholes on Indian roads are dry or water filled. Vehicle travelers choose best road to reach their destination. Due to pothole on roads many accidents take place. For avoiding accidents and traffic, there are lot of techniques are being used. This paper proposes pothole detection by using Google map and Blynk application. In this approach, Arduino Uno recognizes the pothole and maps on to the Google map. Blynk application is used to get desired output. This setup contain ultrasonic sensor and force sensing resistor. Ultrasonic sensor measures distance of the object by sound wave. Force sensing resistor is used to identify the presence of pothole. When the vehicle is forced to jerk then pressure sensor value goes to high and at the same time ultrasonic sensor value is checked. When the pressure sensor value is high and ultrasonic sensor is remains stable then it is identified as pothole. This information is send to the user end and pothole is plotted over the desired location.

Interpretation of CBR Test Consequences for Subgrade Soil Preserved Through Geo-Grid

The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) is a parameter for evaluation of the mechanical strength of sub grade, base course and other layers of a new carriage way. It depends on various factors and nature of soil. The service life of pavement on weaker soil sub grade is quite low due to the high compressibility and plasticity behavior of soils. Some soils possess less strength, CBR value and have high affinity to moisture content. Hence it is important to increase the strength of soil for sustainable performance of Indian roads. To increase the sub grade soil strength, geogrids are used in roads. Geogrids are cost effective polymeric materials used as soil reinforcement. It helps to increase the stability and bearing capacity of soil, enables good drainage and involves less maintenance. Increase in CBR value of the sample with use of geogrids leads to reduction in the thickness of pavement. Two soil samples are collected from the nearby construction sites. Basic tests are to be conducted on the samples to determine its engineering and index properties followed by CBR test under optimum moisture content. This paper deals with the experimental results of CBR tests on different types of sub grade soil by increasing the number of geogrid layers in each trial. This gives the optimum number of geogrid layer to attain the maximum CBR value. This paper also includes the application of CBR value in the design of flexible pavements as per IRC recommendations.

Use of Bottom Ash as a Partial Replacement of Fine Aggregates in Flexible Pavement

A survey of ongoing research on bottom ash appears to demonstrate it has the ability to improve asphalt pavement performance when used to supplant a segment of the aggregate in asphalt mixes. Bottom ash can be utilized as an aggregate substitution, giving a considerable reserve funds to both highway organizations and service organizations. Bottom ash has been utilized as fine aggregates in flexible pavements since the mid 1970's. The American Coal Ash Association detailed that, more than 17,200 metric huge amounts of bottom ash was utilized in flexible pavements clearing during 2006. The research is centered around examination of properties of bottom ash, which is the byproduct of Budgam coal power plant and attainability investigation of utilization of bottom ash in flexible pavements of indian roads. As indicated by the outcomes got, the best blends are delivered by mixing bottom ash with well-graded, angular, rough textured aggregate and restricting the level of bottom ash to 25% for wearing and 16% for binder course. Marshall Stability and flow values have been found to diminish as the level of Wet bottom ash is increased in the blend. Further, high level of bottom ash substitution increases ideal bitumen content, which primarily influences to high production cost. In spite of the fact that the expense per 1 Mt of bottom ash mixed blend is higher than the conventional mix for both surface courses, its low density increases overlay zone. In light of that the expense per 1 m2 is lower than the conventional mix. The fruitful utilization of bottom ash in black topped pavements in Jammu and kashmir would give huge monetary investment funds as well as an ecological inviting solution for a waste material.

Exploration of Road Accidents Severity and Inquiry of Reason for Road Accidents in National Highways in Tamil Nadu

Recent day’s government of India is more particular about the Road transportation development as it leads to the economic development of the nation. With the improvement of road, the risk of road accidents, injuries and fatalities has also outstretched to the extreme extent. Road accident severity has been recorded to 31.8% in 2017 in India. Among this more than 30% of the accidents are befalling in National Highways. Among the total Indian roads, 1.8% is National Highways which carry about 40% of the Indian traffic. Huge volume of traffics on national highways and the attitude of the driver towards driving on National Highways are the important reason for National Highways road accidents. The researchers in the recent study are going to analyse about the severity of road accidents in National and in state level by calculating the number of deaths to every 100 road accidents. The researchers are also going to analyse the reasons for National highways road accidents from people’s perspective.

Factors influencing Pedestrian Speed in Level of Service (LOS) of pedestrian facilities

Walking is the major mode of transportation for the pedestrians in their daily life. To provide the pedestrians with good infrastructure facilities we need to know the requirement for it. The requirement can be found only after the evaluation of existing facilities and its impact on pedestrian flow. There are different methods for evaluating Level of Service (LOS) for pedestrian facilities which is given in Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) and Indian Roads Congress (IRC). In this study it was found that different LOS can be obtained for different parameters as discussed in the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), that has to be questioned which led to a detailed study of one of the parameters, Pedestrian Speed. There are different factors that influence the pedestrians speed. The factors identified for the study are age group, gender, size of the group and trip purpose of the pedestrians. Through the survey, the primary data are collected based on the factors influencing the pedestrian speed. After analysis it was found that, Pedestrian Speed varies with respect to Age Group, Gender, Group Size and Trip Purpose of the pedestrians. At the end of the study a new chart for evaluating pedestrian LOS based on Pedestrian Speed was formulated and validated.

Accident Analysis and Safety Measures at Erode City

Indian roads have a sizeable amount of accidents happening in them. The transportation problems faced by various nations across the world have increased manifold, necessitating search for methods or alternatives that ensure efficient, safe, feasible and faster means of transport. Government of India is taking many efforts to minimize the road accidents. Amongst all traffic accident, road traffic accident bears largest number of human life and tends to be most serious problem world over. Road accidents are largely predictable and preventable, provided rational analysis and counter measures. The number of accidents in India is increasing rapidly every year due to addition of more number of vehicles on the streets. This project is to look for few accidental prone spots in our locality and analyze the causes of accidents and try to provide viable solutions for improving the safety in the accidental zones. In this study, the accident zones were taken and a particular spot was selected and suitable measures to control the accidents were suggested.

Influence of climate and traffic on the HMA rut-depth for India

Rutting is one of the major distresses observed in bituminous pavements. In the majority of the design approaches including the Indian Road Congress (IRC) guidelines for the design of bituminous pavements, the rut depth is predicted by limiting the vertical compressive strain at the top of the subgrade. Here, due consideration is not given to the rutting in individual layers of pavement. There are more than 20 variables that influence rutting in the pavement with the degree of influence of the variables differing for each layer. The analysis performed in this study is limited to the rutting observed in bituminous layers (HMA rutting) and the factors influencing it. Several factors influence the HMA rutting, and among them, traffic and climatic characteristics play a critical role. In this study, traffic data was collected for 12 National Highways across India, and appropriate weather stations were identified. Detailed weather data was collected for all these locations on an hourly basis. Using this information, simulations were carried out in AASHTOWare to generate the rut depth data. For the HMA rutting, it was seen that the pavement temperature distribution played a critical role compared to the maximum pavement temperatures. The degree of influence of Average Annual Daily Truck Traffic (AADTT) on the HMA rutting was, however, found to depend on the pavement temperature strongly.

Managing the Risks Faced by Indian Road Construction Projects

Managing the Risks Faced by Indian Road Construction Projects

Performance Evaluation of Sustainable bituminous-Plastic roads for Indian conditions

The amount of plastic waste in India is reaching a gigantic scale. Wastes from household, industries and medical facilities contribute towards this. As the plastic waste is a cause of various environmental and health hazards, its proper management that leads to an effective reuse or disposal is a concern for the Government and civic bodies. Waste plastic, when added to hot aggregates, forms a fine coat of plastic over the aggregates and such aggregates, when mixed with the binder is found to give a mix that has higher strength and resistance towards the deteriorative actions of water. Thus, (the bituminous Roads using waste plastic in the wearing course) also called as plastic roads are now gaining popularity in India. With the Indian Road Congress bringing out a code of specifications on plastic roads (IRC SP: 98 -2013), many agencies are coming forward to implement plastic roads in India as it is a sustainable method and also need of the hour. However, for a large scale implementation, the performance and longevity of these roads need to be evaluated comprehensively. This paper presents the various properties of bituminous mix with 8% waste plastic when compared with normal bituminous mix with the help of a comparative case study. In Pune, Maharashtra, India ten city roads which were overlaid with normal bituminous mix and ten roads which were overlaid by bitumen mixed with shredded waste plastic were studied for their performance over duration of two years from the time of laying of the overlays. Laboratory experiments and on- field tests were carried out to evaluate their functional and performance characteristics after they were opened to traffic. The results report an improved performance of plastic roads over the conventional ones.

Box Type Minor Bridge- As a Sustainable Option Over Small Rivers in Alluvial Region

time immemorial, mankind has been using various techniques to cross the rivers, streams or any depression without closing or obstructing the original flow through a structure called bridge. With the span of time and advancements in civil engineering, several types of bridges have come into existence like wooden, steel, masonry arches, RCC and prestressed concrete bridges. Indian Roads Congress categorizes three types of the bridges on the basis of length i.e. culverts up to 6.0 m, minor bridges above 6.0 m to maximum 60.0 m length and major bridges above 60.0 m. In present scenario, minor bridges over small rivers has become necessary for development and prosperity of nation as most of the roads have to cross small rivers at several places to connect remotest corner of the country. Bridges, though a man made structure, over a period of time become an important part of environment because in most of the cases water flowing below is used for drinking, irrigation and underground recharging. The alluvial region of India spread from Punjab to West Bengal has a peculiar nature because soil is almost soft in nature consisting of mainly sand, clay and silt which is fertile for vegetation. Water retention and its movement condition are high throughout the year. Several type of water bodies which exists in this type of region are pond, small drain, small and medium rivers which drains into the big rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Ghahgra, Gomti and Sai etc. Since long time, road system on the earthen track and pucca road has been introduced for traffic like chart, chariot and motorised vehicle. There were little number of bridges over major rivers i.e. bridge alone to cross over the river Ganga except in few places like Allahabad, Kanpur and Varanasi and over the Ghaghra Algine bridge, Maghighat, Bhatni. Some bridges were constructed over small and medium rivers in medieval period by local rulers and business men which have now become obsolete. It is found that most of the bridges are of masonry arches wooden and trusses having insufficient water and carriage way. After independence, the road network system has been improved to meet out socio economic needs of people. The new bridges have been constructed with standard road width and sufficient water way. Study has been conducted for existing new constructed bridge system over small river and alluvial region of Uttar Pradesh to set guidance for future course of action in replacing and providing new bridges to optimize the needs of the people. Bridge system being provided over small & minor rivers for the road network for new and replacement of older bridge at different site is varying from place to place. For this purpose, study has been conducted for sustainable option of minor bridges over small rivers discharge upto 300 m3/s. It is found that the box type minor bridges are best option on small & minor rivers.

Simulation of Traffic Optimization to Reduce Congestion

There has been an alarming increase in the number of vehicles on the Indian roads in the recent times, almost triple as that in 2005[10]. which obviously leads to traffic congestion on road and enhanced pollution, although there has been many reasons for the same but major one is unmanaged traffic light system as the current traffic light system is either manual or static timings of traffic lights regardless of the flow of traffic. There is a need for smart solution to the traffic light in Indian cities or to have ITS (Intelligent traffic system). Paper provides a solution based on camera feed at crossings for each lane, process the data through and allocates the “Green” time according to its traffic flow density using YOLO v3 and also takes care of starvation issue that might arise of the solution. As a result the flow of traffic on each lane is automatically optimized and the congestion that used to happen unnecessarily earlier is eliminated and results shows significant benefits in reducing traffic waiting time.

Fuzzy probabilistic approach for risk assessment of BOT toll roads in Indian context

Purpose The built-transfer and operate (BOT) toll model has been a common approach for highway construction in India. Due to large amount of investment, many stakeholders and long concession period, Indian BOT toll roads become susceptible to different risks. Risk assessment is one of the essential and difficult steps of risk management that enables professionals to quantify and analyze the risks that may hamper the BOT toll project performance in terms of cost, quality, safety and time. The purpose of this study is to identify and assess the risk factors by the fuzzy probabilistic model.Design/methodology/approach The comprehensive literature review has been carried out for identification of Indian BOT toll roads projects' risk factors. A structured questionnaire was prepared which was then filled by contractors, government officers, academicians, project managers and consultants. For risk assessment, a systematic quantitative-based fuzzy probabilistic model is proposed with the help of lab-view, as a risk assessment technique to simulate the impreciseness of human judgment and to improve the assessment accuracy.Findings The risk assessment is one of the difficult tasks because BOT toll roads have complex structure. In this study, total 71 risks have been identified and categorized under 14 risk factors on a basis of case studies of Indian toll roads and literature review. All risks have been assessed by the fuzzy probabilistic model by lab-view. The land acquisition is the most crucial risk of BOT toll roads project which is subsequently followed by construction time and cost over-run. Also, Indian BOT toll roads are facing the traffic shortfalls critically, which became a reason toward declination trend for investment in BOT toll projects by the private players. Other risks like political risks, contractual and social risk badly are affecting the project performance. Early risk identification and assessment can be beneficial for the project, which is required to prepare the risk response strategy before the project commencement.Originality/value This study throws light on comprehensive risk assessment and framework modeling of the risk assessment for the BOT toll roads project in India. This comprehensive risk assessor model can be used for BOT toll roads in Indian scenario for prioritization of the critical risk. It is important for the public and private sectors to establish an effective risk assessor model for public–private partnership (PPP) projects to achieve win-win condition for both.