Permeability of Base Material for Maine Roads

Author(s):  
Michel B. Bouchedid ◽  
Dana N. Humphrey

Cutting the cost of road maintenance and reducing life-cycle costs are the main reasons the FHWA has increased its emphasis on drainage in the pavement structural section. Good drainage requires that the base and subbase drain freely and relatively quickly. Poor drainage is thought to cause the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) to spend millions of extra dollars each year maintaining its state highways. Improved specifications and design policies for subbase material were developed by investigating the gradation and permeability of the subbase currently used by MaineDOT. Eight field projects were selected to investigate the permeability and gradation of subbase material for Maine roads. Results indicate that typical MaineDOT subbase gradations have excess fines and sand-size fraction compared with FHWA recommendations. The standard subbase currently used by MaineDOT has an average coefficient of permeability of 5.9 × 10−4 cm/s (1.7 ft/day) whereas the FHWA recommends a minimum coefficient of permeability of 0.35 cm/s (1,000 ft/day) for permeable base material. With multivariable regression analysis, an equation was determined to estimate subbase permeability from percent fines and coefficient of uniformity. Life-cycle cost savings of up to $244,000/km ($406,000/mi) of road can be achieved in Maine with the use of permeable base.

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 927-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kishor Shrestha ◽  
Pramen P. Shrestha ◽  
Mylinh Lidder

Purpose To maintain road systems in the USA, state departments of transportation (DOTs) generally use in-house workers or private contractors. Limited studies have calculated the cost savings of hiring private contractors; however, most of them have not calculated cost savings based on life-cycle costs (LCCs). The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the LCC of chip seal and stripping maintenance activities performed by in-house workers are cheaper than those performed by private contractors. Design/methodology/approach The paper collected the hard cost data of chip seal and stripping maintenance activities performed by state DOT in-house workers, as well as private contractors, from 2003 to 2016 from the Nevada DOT Maintenance and Asset Management division. Statistical tests were conducted to test the research hypothesis that the LCC of chip seal and stripping activities performed by in-house workers are significantly less than those performed by private contractors. Findings The study results showed that the cost per unit and LCC of chip seal and striping work performed by in-house workers were significantly less than those performed by private contractors in Nevada. Research limitations/implications The study only collected data from Nevada DOT, so readers should use caution in generalizing the findings of this study. Additionally, factors affecting the cost of these maintenance activities for private contractors are significantly different compared to in-house contractors. Therefore, these differences may be some of the potential reasons for cost difference between these two methods. Practical implications The practical implications of this study are that state DOT engineers need to plan for outsourcing chip seal and stripping maintenance activities only to private contractors that are cost effective, based on life-cycle cost. Originality/value The LCC analysis framework developed in this study will help state DOT engineers to determine cost savings by using in-house workers for road maintenance works.


2013 ◽  
Vol 368-370 ◽  
pp. 1242-1245
Author(s):  
Chung Yi Chang ◽  
Hsien Te Lin

Greenhouse gas emissions and energy controls of industrial activities have become a main focus of the Taiwanese government, and because the cost of electricity is rising rapidly nowadays, adopting energy conservation measures to achieve cost savings and sustainable operation is essential for industries. In the textile industry, the energy consumption of A/C systems is second only to that of the manufacturing equipment. This study presents the life cycle costs and payback period by replacing old A/C systems with evaporative cooling systems. Based on the analysis, this study concludes that with evaporative cooling systems using only 10% to 15% of the energy used by A/C systems, the average payback period is less than 0.25 years despite the low electricity tariff in Taiwan. This suggests that for either the short term or the long term, evaporative cooling systems are an economical measure for the textile industry.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1423
Author(s):  
José Manuel Salmerón Lissen ◽  
Cristina Isabel Jareño Escudero ◽  
Francisco José Sánchez de la Flor ◽  
Miriam Navarro Escudero ◽  
Theoni Karlessi ◽  
...  

The 2030 climate and energy framework includes EU-wide targets and policy objectives for the period 2021–2030 of (1) at least 55% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels); (2) at least 32% share for renewable energy; and (3) at least 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency. In this context, the methodology of the cost-optimal level from the life-cycle cost approach has been applied to calculate the cost of renovating the existing building stock in Europe. The aim of this research is to analyze a pilot building using the cost-optimal methodology to determine the renovation measures that lead to the lowest life-cycle cost during the estimated economic life of the building. The case under study is an apartment building located in a mild Mediterranean climate (Castellon, SP). A package of 12 optimal solutions has been obtained to show the importance of the choice of the elements and systems for renovating building envelopes and how energy and economic aspects influence this choice. Simulations have shown that these packages of optimal solutions (different configurations for the building envelope, thermal bridges, airtightness and ventilation, and domestic hot water production systems) can provide savings in the primary energy consumption of up to 60%.


Author(s):  
Kosuke Ishii ◽  
Cheryl Juengel ◽  
C. Fritz Eubanks

Abstract This study develops a method to capture the broadest customer preference in a product line while minimizing the life-cycle cost of providing variety. The paper begins with an overview of product variety and its importance in overhead costs: supply chain, equipment and tooling, service, and recycling. After defining the product structure graph as a representation of variety, the paper introduces an approximate measure for the customer importance and life-cycle cost of product variety The cost measure utilizes the concept of late point identification which urges standardization early in the manufacturing process and differentiation at the end of the process. The variety importance-cost map allows engineers to identify cost drivers in the design of the product or the manufacturing system and seek improvements. The refrigerator door example illustrates the concept. On-going work seeks to validate and enhance the method with several companies from different industries.


Author(s):  
Wai M. Cheung ◽  
Linda B. Newnes ◽  
Antony R. Mileham ◽  
Robert Marsh ◽  
John D. Lanham

This paper presents a review of research in the area of life cycle costing and offers a critique of current commercial cost estimation systems. The focus of the review is on relevant academic research on life cycle cost from 2000 onwards. In addition to this a comparison of the current cost estimation systems is presented. Using the review findings and industrial investigations as a base, a set of mathematical representations for design and manufacturing costs and the introduction of the critical factors is proposed. These are considered in terms of the operational, maintenance and disposal costs to create a method for ascertaining the life cycle cost estimate for complex products. This is presented using as an exemplar, research currently being undertaken in the area of low volume and long life electronic products in the UK defence sector. The benefit of the method proposed is that it aims to avoid the inflexibility of traditional approaches which usually require historical and legacy data to support the cost estimation processes.


2000 ◽  
Vol 1730 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
William G. Buttlar ◽  
Diyar Bozkurt ◽  
Barry J. Dempsey

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) spends $2 million annually on reflective crack control treatments; however, the cost-effectiveness of these treatments had not been reliably determined. A recent study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of IDOT reflective crack control System A, which consists of a nonwoven polypropylene paving fabric, placed either in strips longitudinally over lane-widening joints or over the entire pavement (area treatment). The study was limited to projects constructed originally as rigid pavements and subsequently rehabilitated with one or more bituminous overlays. Performance of 52 projects across Illinois was assessed through crack mapping and from distress and serviceability data in IDOT’s condition rating survey database. Comparisons of measured reflective cracking in treated and control sections revealed that System A retarded longitudinal reflective widening crack development, but it did not significantly retard transverse reflective cracking, which agrees with earlier studies. However, both strip and area applications of these fabric treatments appeared to improve overall pavement serviceability, and they were estimated to increase rehabilitation life spans by 1.1 and 3.6 years, respectively. Reduction in life-cycle costs was estimated to be 4.4 and 6.2 percent when placed in medium and large quantities, respectively, and to be at a break-even level for small quantities. However, life-cycle benefits were found to be statistically insignificant. Limited permeability testing of field cores taken on severely distressed transverse joints suggested that waterproofing benefits could exist even after crack reflection. This was consistent with the observation that, although serviceability was generally improved with area treatment, crack reflection was not retarded relative to untreated areas.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-155
Author(s):  
Allen Blash ◽  
William Butler ◽  
Lindy Clark ◽  
Kyle Fleming ◽  
LTC Jennifer Kasker

In order to make the best use of the defense spending budget, it is critical that the Department of Defense (DoD) accurately predict the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E), Procurement, and Operation and Support (O&S) costs down to the third level of the Work Breakdown Structure for Major Defense Acquisition Project (MDAP) wheeled or tracked vehicles. This research utilizes historical data, extracted from government databases, to develop cost estimating relationships (CERs) that predict the life cycle cost of wheeled and tracked vehicles based on attributes. This research can also be leveraged for defense acquisition programs across the DoD portfolio. The model will be integrated into a tradespace analysis tool, ERS & CREATE-GV, which was developed by ERDC to predict the cost of each alternative created in the tradespace.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung-Min Choi ◽  
Yeon-Sil Lee

Currently, repair and maintenance cycles that follow the completion of construction facilities lead to the necessitation of subsequent data on the analysis of study and plan for maintenance. As such, an index of evaluation was drafted and a plan of maintenance cycle was computed using the investigation data derived from surveying target housing units in permanent rental environmental conditions, with a minimum age of 20 years, and their maintenance history. Optimal maintenance and replacement methods were proposed based on this data. Economic analysis was conducted through the Risk-Weighted Life Cycle Cost (RWLCC) method in order to determine the cost analysis of maintenance life cycle methods used for repair. Current maintenance cycle methods that have been used for 20 years were also compared with alternative maintenance cycles.


1978 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-271
Author(s):  
F. Thomas Eggemeier ◽  
Gary A. Klein

Life cycle cost estimates of training equipment for F-16 Avionics Intermediate Station personnel were developed. The major purpose was to compare the cost of intermediate level maintenance training when conducted on simulated vs actual avionics test equipment. This was the initial phase of a planned two-part effort. The analysis was therefore limited to estimates of training device acquisition and maintenance costs. Total estimated fifteen year costs for simulated equipment trainers were approximately 50% less than comparable estimates for actual equipment trainers.


Author(s):  
Laxman Yadu Waghmode ◽  
Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe

In order to survive in today’s competitive global business environment, implementation of life cycle costing methodology with a greater emphasis on cost control could be one of the convincing approaches for the manufacturing firms. The product life cycle costing approach can help track and analyse the cost implications associated with each phase of product life cycle. Life cycle costing (LCC) practices with traditional costing methods may provide results that have a severe deviation from the real product LCC as it focuses on the cost of materials, labor and a low portion of overheads apportioned by the absorption rate to the product. Activity based costing (ABC) has emerged as one of the several innovative and more accurate costing methods in recent years. It is based on the principle that products or services consume activities and activities consume resources that generate costs. Thus, the ABC system focuses on calculating the costs incurred on performing the activities to manufacture a product. This paper presents a LCC modeling approach for estimating life cycle cost of pumps using activity based costing method. The study was conducted in a large pump manufacturing company from India that has significant global standing within its industry. Firstly, all the activities and cost drivers associated with the life cycle of a pump have been identified. A methodology for LCC analysis using ABC is then developed and it is applied to two different pumps manufactured by the same industry and the results obtained are presented.


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