InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-03-10DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030056
I. Răcănel
{"title":"Theoretical Study Regarding the General Stability of Upper Chords of Truss Bridges as Beams on Continuous or Discrete Elastic Supports","authors":"I. Răcănel","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030056","url":null,"abstract":"New or in-service truss bridges, with or without upper bracing systems, may display instability phenomena such as general lateral torsional buckling of the upper chord. The buckling of structural elements, particularly in the case of steel bridges, can be associated with the risk of collapse or temporary/permanent withdrawal from service. Such incidents have occurred in the case of several bridges in different countries: the collapse of the Dee bridge with truss girders in 1847 in Cheshire, England; the collapse of the semi-parabolic truss girder bridge near Ljubičevo over the Morava River in Serbia in 1892; the collapse of the Dysart bridge in Cambria County, Pennsylvania in 2007; the collapse of the Chauras bridge in Uttarakhand, India in 2012; and the collapse of a bridge in Nova Scotia, Canada (2020), and such examples may continue. Buckling poses a significant danger as it often occurs at lower load values compared to those considered during the design phase. Additionally, this phenomenon can manifest suddenly, without prior warning, rendering intervention for its prevention impossible or futile. In contemporary times, most research and design calculation software offer the capability to establish preliminary values for buckling loads, even for highly intricate structures. This is typically achieved through linear eigenvalue buckling analyses, often followed by significantly more complex large displacement nonlinear analyses. However, interpreting the results for complex bridge structures can be challenging, and their accuracy is difficult to ascertain. Consequently, this paper aims to introduce an original method for a more straightforward estimation of the buckling load of the upper chord in steel truss bridges. This method utilizes the theory of beams on discrete elastic supports. The buckling load of the upper chord was determined using both the finite element method and the proposed methodology, yielding highly consistent results.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"57 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140255218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-03-09DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030055
Georgia Charalampidou, Aristomenis Kopsacheilis, Ioannis Politis
{"title":"Assessing the Operation of a Multimodal Hub: A Traffic Impact Microsimulation Analysis","authors":"Georgia Charalampidou, Aristomenis Kopsacheilis, Ioannis Politis","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030055","url":null,"abstract":"Creating new multimodal infrastructure in an existing transport network of an urban city is a challenging process. The responsible transport authorities have to pay special attention to the details regarding the accessibility and effectiveness of the new development, to avoid travelers’ confusion and network congestion. The subject of this paper is the assessment and optimization of the traffic network in the surroundings of the new multimodal depot of Thessaloniki’s future metro system with the use of the microsimulation software PTV VISSIM (version 2022). Five different scenarios were developed in collaboration with the city’s transport authority and evaluated into two stages, beginning with the whole traffic network, and then continuing with the analyzed intersections separately. The evaluation is based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which were extracted by the software. According to the results of the base case scenario, the network functions satisfactorily, with slight delays. Regarding the future network, the operation of the new hub will strongly increase the traffic demand, while the proposed traffic network adjustments by the local authorities seem to cause significant delay problems. This paper aims to highlight the importance of using modeling tools during the design phase of a new infrastructure to create efficient, accessible, and sustainable infrastructures that enhance the public transport system.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"250 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140255594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-03-09DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030054
Guilherme Castro, Jonathan Saico, Edson de Moura, R. Motta, L. Bernucci, A. Paixão, E. Fortunato, Luciano Oliveira
{"title":"Evaluating Different Track Sub-Ballast Solutions Considering Traffic Loads and Sustainability","authors":"Guilherme Castro, Jonathan Saico, Edson de Moura, R. Motta, L. Bernucci, A. Paixão, E. Fortunato, Luciano Oliveira","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030054","url":null,"abstract":"The railway industry is seeking high-performance and sustainable solutions for sub-ballast materials, particularly in light of increasing cargo transport demands and climate events. The meticulous design and construction of track bed geomaterials play a crucial role in ensuring an extended track service life. The global push for sustainability has prompted the evaluation of recycling ballast waste within the railway sector, aiming to mitigate environmental contamination, reduce the consumption of natural resources, and lower costs. This study explores materials for application and compaction using a formation rehabilitation machine equipped with an integrated ballast recycling system designed for heavy haul railways. Two recycled ballast-stabilised soil materials underwent investigation, meeting the necessary grain size distribution for the proper compaction and structural conditions. One utilised a low-bearing-capacity silty sand soil stabilised with recycled ballast fouled waste (RFBW) with iron ore at a 3:7 weight ratio, while the second was stabilised with 3% cement. Laboratory tests were conducted to assess their physical, chemical, and mechanical properties, and a non-linear elastic finite element numerical model was developed to evaluate the potential of these alternative solutions for railway sub-ballast. The findings indicate the significant potential of using soils stabilised with recycled fouled ballast as sub-ballast for heavy haul tracks, underscoring the advantages of adopting sustainable sub-ballast solutions through the reuse of crushed deteriorated ballast material.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"151 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140256614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-03-05DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030050
Giulia Del Serrone, Paola Di Mascio, G. Loprencipe, Lorenzo Vita, Laura Moretti
{"title":"Bus Lane Design Based on Actual Traffic Loads and Climate Conditions","authors":"Giulia Del Serrone, Paola Di Mascio, G. Loprencipe, Lorenzo Vita, Laura Moretti","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030050","url":null,"abstract":"Bus lanes play a crucial role in urban areas as their primary objective is to increase public transport efficiency and help traffic and public transit systems flow more smoothly. This study starts with traffic and climate monitoring to verify asphalt bus lanes in Rome, Italy, according to the Italian Pavement Design Catalogue published in 1995. KENLAYER software calculated the stress-strain conditions under real traffic loads (i.e., hourly passages of urban buses, considering their axle load and seat occupancy rate), typical subgrade bearing capacity (i.e., resilient modulus equal to 90 MPa), current climate conditions, and road material properties. Then, the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) was used to verify the response of the pavement structure. The fatigue verification of bound materials resulted in damage values much lower than 1 at the end of the 20-year service life (i.e., 0.12 with the Asphalt Institute and 0.31 with the Marchionna law, respectively) and highlights that the Italian catalogue’s sheets are overdesigned. On the other hand, the rutting verification according to MEPDG is not satisfied after an 11-year service life (i.e., the total rutting is equal to 1.50 cm), forcing frequent and expensive maintenance of wearing and binder courses. Therefore, the results confirm the validity of the Italian catalogue for fatigue service life and suggest the need for high-performance asphalt to prevent early rutting due to bus traffic increasing by load and frequency in previous decades.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140263176","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-02-29DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030044
Ahmed Elgamal, Nissreen Elfaris
{"title":"Seismic Isolation Materials for Bored Rock Tunnels: A Parametric Analysis","authors":"Ahmed Elgamal, Nissreen Elfaris","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030044","url":null,"abstract":"Most recent tunnel designs rely on more thorough analyses of the intricate rock interactions. The three principal techniques for excavating rock tunneling are drill-and-blast for complete or partial cross-sections, TBM only for circular cross-sections with full faces, and road header for small portions. Tunnel-boring machines (TBM) are being utilized to excavate an increasing number of tunnels. Newer studies have demonstrated that subterranean structures such as tunnels produce a variety of consequences during and after ground shaking, challenging the long-held belief that they are among the most earthquake-resistant structures. Consequently, engineering assessment has become crucial for these unique structures from both the geotechnical and structural engineering standpoints. The designer should evaluate the underground structure’s safety to ensure it can sustain various applied loads, considering both seismic loads and temporary and permanent static loads. This paper investigates how adding elastic, soft material between a circular tunnel and the surrounding rock affects seismic response. To conduct the study, Midas/GTS-NX was used to model the TBM tunnel and the nearby rock using the finite element (F.E.) method to simulate the soil–tunnel interactions. A time–history analysis of the El Centro (1940) earthquake was used to calculated the stresses accumulated in the tunnels during seismic episodes. Peak ground accelerations of 0.10–0.30 g, relative to the tunnel axis, were used for excitation. The analysis utilized a time step of 0.02 s, and the duration of the seismic event was set at 10 s. Numerical models were developed to represent tunnels passing through rock, with the traditional grout pea gravel vs. isolation layer. A parametric study determined how isolation material characteristics like shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and unit weight affect tunnel-induced stresses. In the meantime, this paper details the effects of various seismic isolation materials, such as geofoam, foam concrete, and silicon-based isolation material, to improve protection against seismic shaking. The analysis’s findings are discussed, and how seismic isolation affects these important structures’ performance and safety requirements is explained.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"1978 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140416718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-02-28DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030043
G. Bosurgi, Miriam Di Perna, O. Pellegrino, G. Sollazzo, Alessia Ruggeri
{"title":"Drivers’ Steering Behavior in Curve by Means of New Indicators","authors":"G. Bosurgi, Miriam Di Perna, O. Pellegrino, G. Sollazzo, Alessia Ruggeri","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030043","url":null,"abstract":"The design of road geometry is based on a rather elementary assumption that the user strictly follows the lane axis. Based on this hypothesis, the ideal trend of some factors related to the driver’s performance, such as steering angle and speed, can be derived to optimize the most appropriate design choices. In practice, driving behavior differs from the assumed one and produces trends in these variables, which are very different from the ideal functions. The purpose of this research is therefore to propose synthetic performance indicators useful for highlighting the real characteristics of users’ driving behavior during road travel. Toward this aim, some driving experiments along four different curves in a simulated environment were studied in order to evidence possible criticisms. The proposed indicators showed a remarkable ability to represent and synthesize even very complex performance function trends. The proposed performance indicators can have multiple uses, such as, for example, in statistical analyses—which are generally carried out at a later stage—or constitute sufficient information to guide the decisions of infrastructure managers. In the long term, in a “smart road” perspective, they can be used by road administrators for information exchange among users (with each other and with the infrastructure) to improve road operation and safety.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"62 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140419636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-02-26DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030042
Federico Eugeni, Sara Sacco, Donato Di Ludovico, G. D’Ovidio
{"title":"Walkability Infrastructures and Urban Rebalancing: The Case Study of L’Aquila City under Post-Earthquake Reconstruction","authors":"Federico Eugeni, Sara Sacco, Donato Di Ludovico, G. D’Ovidio","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030042","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes the first results of the application of an innovative methodology for the development of a walkability overall index for urban street infrastructure, aimed at the application of urban design techniques to improve the urban form and its use by pedestrians. The general objective of the research is to identify the performance of the current city walkable network, to structure public policies and strategies consistent with it aimed at rebalancing settlements and infrastructure, and above all at the development of active mobility. The methodology defined integrates three approaches on walkability analysis: geometric–morphological, proximity, and sociality. In this paper, the analysis process related to the geometric–morphological component and partly to that of proximity will be described. It will be applied to the case study of the city of L’Aquila (Italy), a city undergoing reconstruction after the 2009 earthquake. From the first results of the application of the methodology to the case study, it emerges that the urban area analyzed is not capable of hosting walkable infrastructures unless urban design interventions are aimed at structuring an efficient network of pedestrian paths. In the future development of the study, it is expected to conclude the analysis of the proximity and social components, the other two groups of analysis considerations for walkability, which will complete the experimentation of the general methodology.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"1 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140430492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-02-24DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030041
A. Kierzkowski, Łukasz Wolniewicz, Algimantas Danilevičius, Ewa Mardeusz, Maciej Kin, Łukasz Bakinowski, Dawid Barabasz, Przemysław Wielkopolan
{"title":"The Concept of a Universal Tram Driver Console with Interchangeable Panels for a Polish Tram Simulator","authors":"A. Kierzkowski, Łukasz Wolniewicz, Algimantas Danilevičius, Ewa Mardeusz, Maciej Kin, Łukasz Bakinowski, Dawid Barabasz, Przemysław Wielkopolan","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030041","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a concept for a universal tram driver console that has been developed based on research results regarding the review of tram control panels. These efforts were carried out as part of the project “Innovative training system for tram drivers, based on a full-cab simulator with the application of cognitive science” POIR.01.01.01-00-0135/22, with funding from the Smart Growth Operational Programme. This project involves the development of a tram driver training system based on a full-cabin tram simulator mounted on a motion platform, integrated with eye-tracking technologies and skin conductance response analysis for tram drivers’ assessment. The presented research results regarding the development of a universal control panel structure for a tram simulator have led to the creation of a panel based on interchangeable panels. The arrangement of individual switches was determined based on the identification, selection, critical evaluation, and analysis of data from current solutions.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"9 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140434520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-02-24DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030040
Lorenzo Stagi, Lorenzo Sclafani, E. M. Tronci, Raimondo Betti, S. Milana, A. Culla, N. Roveri, A. Carcaterra
{"title":"Enhancing the Damage Detection and Classification of Unknown Classes with a Hybrid Supervised–Unsupervised Approach","authors":"Lorenzo Stagi, Lorenzo Sclafani, E. M. Tronci, Raimondo Betti, S. Milana, A. Culla, N. Roveri, A. Carcaterra","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030040","url":null,"abstract":"Most damage-assessment strategies for dynamic systems only distinguish between undamaged and damaged conditions without recognizing the level or type of damage or considering unseen conditions. This paper proposes a novel framework for structural health monitoring (SHM) that combines supervised and unsupervised learning techniques to assess damage using a system’s structural response (e.g., the acceleration response of big infrastructures). The objective is to enhance the benefits of a supervised learning framework while addressing the challenges of working in an SHM context. The proposed framework uses a Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA)/Probabilistic Linear Discriminant Analysis (PLDA) strategy that enables learning the distributions of known classes and the performance of probabilistic estimations on new incoming data. The methodology is developed and proposed in two versions. The first version is used in the context of controlled, conditioned monitoring or for post-damage assessment, while the second analyzes the single observational data. Both strategies are built in an automatic framework able to classify known conditions and recognize unseen damage classes, which are then used to update the classification algorithm. The proposed framework’s effectiveness is first tested considering the acceleration response of a numerically simulated 12-degree-of-freedom system. Then, the methodology’s practicality is validated further by adopting the experimental monitoring data of the benchmark study case of the Z24 bridge.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"81 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140433856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
InfrastructuresPub Date : 2024-02-23DOI: 10.3390/infrastructures9030039
S. Bruno, Carlo Carpani, G. Loprencipe, Loretta Venturini, Lorenzo Vita
{"title":"Modified Asphalt with Graphene-Enhanced Polymeric Compound: A Case Study","authors":"S. Bruno, Carlo Carpani, G. Loprencipe, Loretta Venturini, Lorenzo Vita","doi":"10.3390/infrastructures9030039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures9030039","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, the increased use of heavy commercial vehicles with higher axle weights has required the development of innovative technologies to improve the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete conglomerates, such as fatigue resistance and rutting. This study offers a comprehensive comparative analysis of different types of asphalt concrete tested in four trial sections (S1, S2, S3, S4) of the SP3 Ardeatina rural road in Rome, under actual traffic and operational conditions. More precisely, the pavement technologies applied include modified asphalt concrete with graphene and recycled hard plastics for S1, asphalt concrete modified with styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) for S2, asphalt concrete with a standard polymeric compound for S3, and traditional asphalt concrete for S4. The evaluation approach involved visual inspections in order to calculate the pavement condition index (PCI) and falling weight deflectometer (FWD) tests. In addition, back-calculation analyses were performed using ELMOD software to assess the mechanical properties. The laboratory tests revealed superior properties of M1 in terms of its resistance to permanent deformations (+13%, +15%, and +19.5% compared to M2, M3, and M4, respectively) and stiffness (10,758 MPa for M1 vs. 9259 MPa, 7643 MPa, and 7289 MPa for M2, M3, and M4, respectively). These findings were further corroborated by the PCI values (PCIS1 = 65; PCIS2 = 17; PCIS3 = 28; PCIS4 = 29) as well as the FWD test results after 5 years of investigation, which suggests greater durability and resistance than the other sections.","PeriodicalId":502683,"journal":{"name":"Infrastructures","volume":"30 9‐10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140435592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}