TRANSPORTATION

ENGINEERING
REFERENCES:
O Transportation Infrastructure Engineering :
A Multimodal Integration
by: Lester A. Hoel
Nicholas J. Garber
Adel W. Sadek
O Transportation Engineering
by: A.K. Upadhyay
O Introduction to Transportation Engineering
by: James H. Banks
Outline of Chapter 1
Overview of
Transportation

Career
Opportunities in
Transportation

Transportation
History
 Overview of Transportation

The purpose of transportation

is to provide a mechanism
(way, means) for the
exchange of goods, people,
information, and to support
economic improvements for
society.
 Overview of Transportation

Transportation provides the

means to travel for purposes of
employment, exploration, or
personal fulfillment and is a
necessary condition for human
activities such as commerce,
recreation, and defense.
Transportation influences the
competitive position with respect
to other regions or nations.
Without the ability to transport
products easily, a region may be
unable to offer goods and services
at an attractive price and thus may
reduce or lose market share.
Good transportation provides
many benefits to society in
addition to its role in economic
development.
The benefits of providing society
with improved transportation are
not achieved without a price. The
costs to society are both direct
and indirect.
Direct costs include capital and
operating expenses including right
of way, facilities and maintenance.
Indirect costs include
environmental effects, congestion,
property damage, injuries, and
deaths.
Just like the construction of the
46,700 mile National System of
Interstate and Defense
Highways, which began in 1956,
took over 40 years to complete
with an expenditure of $130
billion.
Transportation costs are
shouldered by the traveler
when crashes or disasters
occur.
Every mode of transportation
brings to mind a major
disaster.
Examples are the 1912 sinking of the
TITANIC, which took 1500 lives, the United
Flight 718 and TWA Flight 2 from Los
Angeles that collided over the Grand
Canyon in 1956 killing 128 passengers and
crew, and the explosion and downing of
TWA Flight 800 in 1996 while taking off
from New York for Paris, in which 230 lives
were lost.
Highway crashes are also a significant cost,
and in the United States result in the loss
of over 40,000 lives each year.
Career Opportunities in Transportation

The four major modes of transportation

are
Air
Water
Rail
Highway
Each mode has an established market,
and the modes compete as well as
cooperate.
O The management aspects of
freight transportation, known as
business logistics or operations
research, are concerned with
the movement and storage of
goods between the primary
source of raw materials and the
location of the finished product.
O This area of professional specialization,
which is considered an element of
business administration, has grown in
importance as shippers and carriers
seek to minimize their transportation
costs by utilizing combinations of modes
and services that provide the optimal
mix of travel attributes including time,
cost, reliability, frequency, and security.
OA large segment of the
transportation industry deals with
vehicle design and manufacture,
including aircraft, cars and trucks,
diesel locomotives, transit buses
and rail cars, ships, and pipelines.
O Vehicle design and manufacture
involves the application of
mechanical systems, electrical
systems, and computer
engineering skill.
O It also requires the employment of
technically trained mechanics and
production workers in other trades.
O Transportation employs many
workers in service industries.
O For passenger modes, jobs
include flight attendants,
railroad conductors, ship
stewards, travel agents,
maintenance technicians, and
ticket agents.
O In freight modes, jobs include
customs agents, truck drivers,
railroad yard workers, sailors,
stevedores, and security
guards.
O The transportation
infrastructure industry is also
a major source of employment
for professionals and deals
with all aspects of
infrastructure development.
O Professionals who work in this
area are employed by
government agencies,
consulting firms, construction
companies, transportation
authorities, and private
companies.
O Transportation engineering is
the profession responsible for
the planning, design,
construction, operation, and
maintenance of transportation
infrastructure.
O Employment opportunities in
these areas with federal
transportation agencies, state
government, special
transportation authorities,
consulting firms, railroad or
airline companies, private
industry, and professional
associations.
O Transportation planning involves the
process of developing plans and
programs that improve present travel
conditions.
O The process involves defining the
problem, setting goals and objectives,
collecting travel and facilities data,
forecasting future traffic demand, and
evaluating options.
O Transportation design involves the
specification of features that comprise the
transportation facility such that it will function
efficiently and in accord with appropriate
criteria and mathematical relationships.
O Design engineers must be proficient in
subjects such as soil mech. and foundation,
hydraulics, land surveying, pavement
structure, and geometric design.
O Transportation construction
involves all aspects of the
building process. Typically a
construction firm is selected
because of its experience,
availability of skilled
construction workers, and
competitive low bid.
O Transportation operations and
management involves the
control of vehicles in real time to
ensure that they are traveling in
paths that are secure from
interference with other vehicles
or pedestrians.
O Transportation infrastructure
maintenance involves the
process of assuring that the
nation’s transportation system
remains in excellent working
condition.
O Maintenance involves routine
replacement of parts, repair of
worn surfaces in pavements,
and other actions necessary to
maintain the vehicle or facility
in a serviceable condition.
 Transportation History
O Assignment:
Discuss briefly the transportation
history of the following:
1. Waterway transportation
2. Railroad transportation
3. Urban public transportation
4. Air transportation
5. Highway transportation
 CHAPTER 2

TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEMS MODELS
A system is defined as a set of
interrelated components that perform
several functions in order to achieve a
common goal and is therefore an
entity that maintains its existence and
functions as a whole through the
intersection of its parts.
The behavior of different systems
depends on how the parts are related
rather than on the parts themselves.
 Components of Transportation
Systems
O A transportation system consists
of three components:
Physical elements,
Human resources, and
Operating rules.
Physical Elements
O Physical elements include:
Infrastructure;
Vehicles;
Equipment; and
Control, communications, and
location systems.
 Infrastructure refers to the fixed parts of a
transportation system (i.e., parts that are static and
do not move).
These include travelways, terminals, and
stations.
Travelways vary depending upon the transportation
vehicle or mode.
Terminals are required for buses, railroads, aircraft,
trucks, and ships.
Terminals serve dispatching and storage
functions by regulating the arrival and departure of
vehicles and for storing vehicles and cargo.
 Stations serve only as a subset of the
functions served by terminals.
They are primarily points of system
exit or entry.
Vehicles are the elements of a transportation
system that move along the travelway.
They include automobiles, buses,
locomotives, railroad cars, ships, and airplanes.
Equipment refers to physical components
whose main function is to facilitate the
transportation process.
O Examples of equipment include:
a. snowplows,
b. railroad track maintenance vehicles, and
c. baggage-handling conveyor belts at
airports.
Control involves the elements required to
allocate right-of-way.
Allocating right-of-way requires air traffic
control centers, traffic signals, and travelway
signs.
Communications systems link traffic control
centers to travelway equipment such as
variable message signs, traffic signals,
transit vehicles, air traffic controllers, and
pilots.
Location systems identify individual vehicles
in real time, using global positioning systems
(GPS) to track vehicles such as transit
vehicles, trucks, and emergency vehicles.
Human Resources
O Human resources include vehicle operators
such as automobile truck and bus drivers,
railroad engineers, airline pilots,
maintenance and construction workers,
transportation managers, and
professionals who use knowledge and
information to advance the transportation
enterprise.
Operating Rules
Operating rules include:
a. schedules,
b. crew assignment,
c. connection patterns,
d. cost/level of service tradeoff, and
e. contingency plans.
Schedules define the arrival and departure
times of transportation vehicles at the
different transportation terminals and
stations.
Crew assignment involves assigning
operators to the different vehicles. It is a
challenging task, since a number of
constraints need to be satisfied by each
assignment.
Connection patterns refer to how service is
organized over the transportation system or
network.
 Cost/level of service tradeoff involves
setting operational rules for transportation
systems, and doing so involves a tradeoff
between cost and level of service.
For example, for a transit agency,
operating more buses along a route would
mean a higher level of service for passengers
but a higher operating cost for the agency.
Contingency plan are implemented when
something goes wrong with the
transportation system.
Tools and Techniques for
Analyzing Transportation
System
 There are five basic tools and
techniques that are widely used for the
analysis of transportation systems.
i. Traffic operations analysis tools,
ii. Regression analysis,
iii. Probability
iv. Queuing theory
v. Optimization
Traffic Operations Analysis Tools
This section describes two traffic operations
tools: time-space diagrams and cumulative
plots.
Time-space diagrams are used in cases
where many vehicles interact while sharing a
common travelway.
Cumulative plots deal with problems
involving traffic flow through one or more
restrictions along a travelway.
Time-space diagrams are simple but effective traffic
analysis tool that tracks the position of a single
vehicle over time along a one-dimensional travelway.
Time-space diagrams may be used to track the
position of a vehicle on a freeway, an aircraft on a
runway, or a bus on a transit route.

The trajectory of one vehicle

Distance (X)

is a graphical representation
of the position of the vehicle
(x) as a function of time (t).

Time (t)
 Regression Analysis Techniques
O The simplest case of a linear regression between
two variables (a dependent variable Y, and
independent variable X) is the relationship
Y = a + bX
where
Y = value of the dependent variable
X = value of the independent variable
a = constant that represents the intercept of
the fitted line with the y-axis
b = slope of the fitted line
 N
Σ (Xi – X)(Yi – Y)
i=1
Ob =
N
Σ (Xi – X)²
i=1

O a = Y – bX
where X and Y = mean (average) values
for variables X and Y
Example for Regression:
O Let the trip rate of a zone is explained
by the household size done from the
field survey. It was found that the
household size are 1, 2, 3 and 4. The
trip rates of the corresponding
household is as shown in the table
below. Fit a linear equation relating trip
rate and household size..
Example for Regression:
 Probability Theory
O In many transportation situations, the
outcome is unknown or uncertain.
O For example, it is impossible to predict
exact number of vehicles that will
arrive at an intersection during a
specified period or number of people
who will take a particular travel route
in preference to another.
O Probability theory is a branch of
mathematics that deals with the uncertainty
of events.
O It began when the noted French scientist
Pascal (1623 – 1652) invented the theory of
probability and predicted the likely outcome
of gambling games in order to help friends
settle their bets.
O Since then, probability has been applied to a
wide range of fields, including traffic and
transportation.
O Probability theory describes
uncertainty by referring to
outcomes and their probabilities.
O The outcomes refer to events that
might happen, whereas the
probabilities specify the likelihood
of the occurrence of an outcome.
O The outcomes must be mutually
exclusive and collectively
exhaustive.
O Mutually exclusive limits the
outcome to only one event.
O Collectively exhaustive stipulates
one of the specified outcomes
must occur.
 Probability Theory
O Simple probability models
O Discrete random variables and their
probability distributions
- binomial distribution
- the geometric distribution
- the Poisson distribution
- continuous distribution
- normal distribution
 The Poisson Distribution
OA discrete probability distribution with
applications in traffic and transportation
analysis.
O It is used to estimate the probability that x
number of events occur within a stated time
interval, t.
O It is formulated as
x -λ
p(x) = (λ) e
x!
O Where
p(x) = probability that exactly x units will
arrive during time interval t
t = duration of time interval
λ = average arrival rate in passengers or
veh/unit time
e = base of the natural logarithm (e =
2.718)
The Poisson distribution is most reliable where
traffic is free flowing. If traffic is heavily
congested, it is not accurate.
Example:
O Vehicles pass through a junction on a
busy road at an average rate of 300 per
hour.
O Find the probability that none passes in
a given minute.
O What is the expected number passing in
two minutes?
O Find the probability that this expected
number actually pass through in a given
two-minute period.
Example:
O Vehicles pass through a junction on a
busy road at an average rate of 60 per
hour.
O Find the probability that none passes in
a given 30-minute interval.
O What is the expected number passing in
two minutes?
O Find the probability that this expected
number actually pass through in a given
five-minute period.
 Queuing Theory
O A queue is a waiting line of persons or
vehicles.
O A queuing system consists of two basic
elements: 1) costumers, and 2) servers.
O Examples of transportation queuing
systems are vehicles waiting at a tollbooth,
airplanes waiting to land or take off at a
runway, or people waiting to renew their
driver’s license.
O Queuing theory is a branch of
mathematics dedicated to
studying queues and their
properties and is a useful tool
for calculating performance
measures to assess how well a
queuing system function.
O These measures include
estimates of the number of
customers in the queue, the
time a customer spends in the
queue, and the time a
customer spends in the
system.
O Queue forms when the arrival rate is greater
than the departure rate.
O For example, in a construction zone on a
freeway, vehicles arrive at the rate of 40
veh/min but the work zone can only handle
30 veh/min.
O In other words, 10 more vehicles will arrive
each min. than can pass through.
O These vehicles will form a queue that keeps
getting longer until the arrival rate is less
than the departure rate.
Two Cases of Queuing Analysis
O The first case is when the arrival rates
does not exceed the system capacity
or ρ < 1 and is known as a stable
queue.
O The second case is when the arrival
rate exceeds the system capacity, at
least temporary.
 The M/D/1 Queue
O This model assumes that the interarrival
times between vehicles are exponentially
distributed (i.e., Poisson arrivals), that the
service times are deterministic (having an
outcome that can be predicted), and that
there is one server.
Q = ρ²/2(1 – ρ)
W = ρ/2µ(1 – ρ)
t = (2 – ρ)/2µ(1 – ρ)
O Where
Q = average no. of customers waiting
for service (excluding the one being
served)
W = average waiting time/customer
t = average time spent in the
queuing system
µ = arrival rate, customers/unit time
ρ = ratio of the arrival rate to the
service rate
 Queuing Models
O Queuing systems are usually described by
three values separated by slashes
O Arrival distribution / service distribution / #
of servers
O where:
• M = Markovian or exponentially distributed
• D = Deterministic or constant.
• G = General or binomial distribution
 Common Models
O The simplest queuing model is M/M/1
where both the arrival time and service time
are exponentially distributed.
O The M/D/1 model has exponentially
distributed arrival times but fixed service
time.
O The M/M/n model has multiple servers.
 Common Models
O • M/M/1
– Poisson arrivals, exponential service times
O • M/G/1
– Poisson arrivals, general service times
O • M/D/1
–Poisson arrivals, deterministic service times
(fixed)
O Example:
Vehicles arrive at a toll booth at an
average rate of 300 per hour. Average waiting
time at the toll booth is 10s per vehicle. If
both arrivals and departures are exponentially
distributed, what is the average number of
vehicles in the system, average queue length,
the average delay per vehicle, the average
time a vehicle is in the system?
O Assignment:
Application of Single-Channel
Undersaturated Infinite Queue Theory to
Tollbooth Operation. Poisson Arrival, Negative
Exponential Service Time
Arrival Rate = 500 vph,
Service Rate = 700 vph
Determine:
a. Percent of Time operator will be free
b. Average queue size in system
c. Average wait time for vehicles that wait
 CHAPTER THREE

Human, Vehicle,
and Travelway
Characteristics
O The main components of any mode of
transportation are human beings, the
vehicle, and the travelway.
O In the air mode, human beings are the
pilots and flight attendants, the vehicle is
the airplane, and the travelway is the
runway.
O Awareness of the interrelationships among
these components is also important in
order to determine the effects, if any, they
have on each other.
O These characteristics also become critical
when the control of the operation of any
transportation system is under
consideration.
 Human Characteristics
O A major problem that faces transportation
engineers when they consider human
characteristics or factors (usually referred to
as ergonomics) in the design of
transportation systems is the varying skills
and perceptions (opinions) of humans using
and/or operating the system.
O This demonstrated in the wide range of
people’s abilities to react to information.
O Studies have shown that these
abilities may also vary in an individual
under different conditions, such as the
influence of alcohol, fatigue, stress,
and time of the day.
The Human Response Process
O Actions taken by operators and users
of transportation systems result from
their evaluation of, and reaction to,
information they obtain from certain
stimuli (provocations) that they see or
hear.
 Visual Reception
O The receipt (reception) of stimuli by the eye is
the most important source of information for
both users and operators of any transportation
system, and some general knowledge of
human vision will therefore aid in the design
and operation of most transportation systems.
O The principal characteristics of the eye are
visual acuity, peripheral vision, color vision,
glare vision and recovery, and depth
perception.
 Visual Acuity
O Visual acuity is the ability of an observer to
resolve fine details of an object.
O It can be represented as the reciprocal of the
smallest pattern detail in minutes of arc of
visual angle that can be resolved.
O Visual angle φ of a given target is given as
φ = 2 arctan (L/2D)
where L the diameter of the target, D
distance from the eye to target
 Two Types of Visual Acuity
O Static acuity is the ability of a person to
resolve fine details of an object when
both the person and the object are
stationary.
O Factors that influence static acuity
include the background brightness,
contrast, and exposure time which can be
defined as the time an observer will take
to read and understand a given message.
O The ability of individuals to resolve fine
details of an object that has a relative
angular movement depends on their
dynamic visual acuity.
O For example, signs displayed on
highways and railroads should be
adequately legible so that drivers or
locomotive operators can easily read and
understand the information given.
 Peripheral Vision
O Peripheral vision is the ability of
individual to see objects beyond the cone
of clearest vision.
O Most people have clear vision within a
conical angle of 3 - 5° and fairly clear
vision within a conical angle of 10 - 12°.
 Color Vision
O Color vision is the ability of an individual to
differentiate one color from another, and
deficiency in this ability is usually referred
to as color blindness.
O Between 4 and 8% of the population
suffer from this deficiency.
O For example, in order to compensate for
color blindness, traffic signs are usually
standardize in size, shape, and color.
 Glare Vision and Recovery
O Classified into two types: direct and
specular.
O Direct glare occurs when relatively bright
light appears in the individual’s field of
vision.
O Specular glare occurs as a result of a
reflected image by a relatively bright
light appearing in an individual’s field of
vision.
O The sensitivity of glare (stare or frown)
increases as we age, with a significant
change at about age 40.
O Recovery from the glare occurs sometime
after an individual passes the light source
that causes the glare, a phenomenon
usually referred to as glare recovery.
O Studies have shown that glare recovery
take about 3 sec when the movement is
from dark to light and about 6 sec when
movement is light to dark.
 Depth Perception
O Depth perception is the ability of an
individual to estimate speed and
distance.
O It also influences the individual’s ability to
differentiate between objects.
 Hearing Perception
O Hearing perception occurs when the air
receives sound stimuli.
O It is important when warning signs are
given.
 Walking Speeds
O Walking speeds of individuals are
important in the design of many
transportation systems.
O Observations of pedestrian movements
have indicated that walking speeds vary
between 2.8 and 6.0 ft/s.
O At intersections, the mean male walking
speed has been determined to be 4.93
ft/sec and for females 4.63 ft/sec.
 Perception Reaction Time
O Perception reaction time is the period of
time a driver perceives an obstruction and
the time action is taken to avoid the
object.
O The time depends on several factors,
including the distance to the object, the
driver’s visual acuity, the ability of the
driver to react, and the type of obstruction
and varies considerably from one
individual to another
 Dynamic Characteristics of
Transportation Vehicle
O The forces that act on the vehicle
while it is in motion are the air
resistance, the grade resistance, the
rolling resistance, and the curve
resistance.
Air Resistance on Automobiles
O The air in front and around a vehicle in
motion causes resistance to the movement
of the vehicle, and the force required to
overcome this resistance is known as air
resistance.
O It has been shown by Claffey that this force
can be estimated from
Fa = 0.5(2.15ρCDAμ²)
g
 Where:
O Fa = air resistance in force (lb or N)
O ρ = density of air (0.0766 lb/ft ³
O CD = aerodynamics drag coeff.(the current
average value for passenger cars is 0.4, 0.5
to 0.8 for trucks but typical value is 0.5)
O A = frontal cross-sectional area (ft ²)
O u = speed of automobile (mph)
O Acceleration of gravity (32.2 ft/s²)
Example:
O Determine the difference in air
resistance between a passenger car
and a single-unit truck if both vehicles
are traveling at a speed of 60 mph.
Assume that the frontal cross-sectional
area of the passenger car is 30 ft² and
that for the truck is 115 ft².
 Grade Resistance
O A vehicle traveling on an upgrade is resisted
by a force acting in the opposite direction
(i.e., downwards).
O This force is the component of the vehicle’s
weight acting downward along the plane of
the vehicle’s travelway. This force is the grade
resistance.
O The grade resistance is given as:
Grade resistance = wt. x grade in decimal
 Rolling Resistance
O These forces are mainly the effect of
friction on moving parts and other
mechanical resistances and those
generated by friction between wheels of the
vehicle and travelway.
O The total effect of these forces on motion is
known as the rolling resistance.
O Factors that influence this resistance
include the speed of the vehicle and the
condition of the travelway.
O The rolling resistance for passenger cars on
smooth pavement can be determined from
Fr = ( Crs + 2.15Crvu² )W
Where
Fr = rolling resistance force (lb)
Crs = constant (typically 0.012 for passenger
cars)
-6
Crv = constant (typically 0.65x10 sec²/ft²
u = vehicle speed (mph)
W = gross vehicle weight (lb)
Example:
O Determine the distance traveled on a
passenger car at t = 15min. If the
rolling resistance force is 35.8 lb.
Assume wt. of the car is 800 lb.
Example:
O Determine the rolling resistance on a
train with conventional equipment
travelling at 80 mph on a straight and
level track section if the load per axle
is 20 tons and the train consists of
16 cars each having four axles.
Assignment:
O Determine the power that is required
to operate a train of 16 cars traveling
around a curve of 2 at 70 mph on a
level track if the total load including
that of the locomotive is supported by
64 axles carrying an average of 20
tons/axle.
 Curve Resistance
O When a vehicle travels on a curve
section of its travelway, external
forces act on the vehicle.
O Certain components of these forces
tend to retard (delay) the forward
motion of the vehicle.
O The sum effect of these components
is the curve resistance.
O The radius of the curve, the velocity at which the
vehicle is moving, and the gross weight of the
vehicle are the factors that determine the curve
resistance. Curve resistance can be estimated from
Fc = 0.5(2.15u²W)
gR
Where
Fc = curve resistance (lb)
u = vehicle speed (mph)
W = gross weight of vehicle (lb)
R = radius of curvature
g = acceleration of gravity
 Running Resistance
O The force that should be applied to
overcome the various resistances is
the running resistance, which is
determined by summing the values
for all the resistance derived by
computing the appropriate equations.
 Power Requirement
O The performance capability of a
vehicle is measured in terms of the
horsepower the engine can produce
to overcome the different resistances
and put the vehicle in motion.
O The horsepower is the rate at which
work is done, and 1 hp is 550 lb/ft.
O The power delivered by the
engine is
P = 1.47Fu/550
Where
P = horsepower delivered
F = sum of resistance to
motion
u = speed of vehicle (mph)