scholarly journals Three-dimensional GIS-based approach for highway design consistency evaluation

Author(s):  
Yingfeng Li

The mission of transportation is to transport people and goods safely and efficiently. Therefore, traffic safety has been one of the most important topics since the birth of the subject of transportation. Improving highway design consistency is considered as an important strategy for improving traffic safety. Geographic information systems (GIS) has been popular for decades due to its great ability to deal with spatial or spatially-related data. Contributions from GIS to transportation have become well known in some aspects. However, GIS, especially its 3D visualization function, has not, in previous studies, been integrated into the core of the highway design consistency evaluation procedure. In contrast, the major objective of this thesis research is to integrate the latest advanced GIS techniques including its 3D visualization function and the state-of-the-art knowledge from previous studies into the highway design consistency evaluation procedure. By adding new functions specifically developed for highway design consistency evaluation, a 3D GIS-based highway design consistency evaluation methodology is developed. This newly developed methodology and associated software tools, as a combination of GIS, including its 3D visualization function, and highway consistency modules, will make significant contributions in the following aspects: highly automated consistency evaluation procedure, 3D-alignment-based consistency level analysis, impressive evaluation result presentation, and spatially based consistency improvement suggestion. Verification of this methodology on a typical 3D-highway segment in Ontario shows very promising results. This study, to a great extent, is convincing that, in the near future, designers could be able to design highways in a regular GIS environment.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingfeng Li

The mission of transportation is to transport people and goods safely and efficiently. Therefore, traffic safety has been one of the most important topics since the birth of the subject of transportation. Improving highway design consistency is considered as an important strategy for improving traffic safety. Geographic information systems (GIS) has been popular for decades due to its great ability to deal with spatial or spatially-related data. Contributions from GIS to transportation have become well known in some aspects. However, GIS, especially its 3D visualization function, has not, in previous studies, been integrated into the core of the highway design consistency evaluation procedure. In contrast, the major objective of this thesis research is to integrate the latest advanced GIS techniques including its 3D visualization function and the state-of-the-art knowledge from previous studies into the highway design consistency evaluation procedure. By adding new functions specifically developed for highway design consistency evaluation, a 3D GIS-based highway design consistency evaluation methodology is developed. This newly developed methodology and associated software tools, as a combination of GIS, including its 3D visualization function, and highway consistency modules, will make significant contributions in the following aspects: highly automated consistency evaluation procedure, 3D-alignment-based consistency level analysis, impressive evaluation result presentation, and spatially based consistency improvement suggestion. Verification of this methodology on a typical 3D-highway segment in Ontario shows very promising results. This study, to a great extent, is convincing that, in the near future, designers could be able to design highways in a regular GIS environment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Long He

This research focuses on evaluating driver visual demand on three-dimensional (3D) highway alignments consisting of combined horizontal and vertical alignments which is an important part of highway design consistency research. Using a driving simulator, ten hypothetical 2D and 3D alignments for two-lane rural highways were developed, following the standard guidelines of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Fifteen driver subjects drove in the simulator. The data relating to visual demand information were processed and analysed using Microsoft Excel and SAS statistical software. The results indicated that visual demand on 3D curves varies widely with the inverse of radius of horizontal curvature and the inverse of K value of vertical curvature. Age played another important role on visual demand. Models for evaluating visual demand on 3D highway alignments were developed for curves and tangents. The models developed in this study have been applied to horizontal and 3D alignments to carry out a design consistency evaluation. In addition, GIS virtual reality technique was applied to present the visual demand results for a real highway on the 3D visualization model. 3D visualization not only offers a better understanding of driver workload along the highway, but also represents an important tool to effectively manage information.


1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 789-798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gamal M Gibreel ◽  
Ibrahim A El-Dimeery ◽  
Yasser Hassan ◽  
Said M Easa

Consistent highway design is expected to provide safe, economical, and smooth traffic operation. Several studies have been performed to investigate the effect of highway consistency on traffic safety. However, the relationship between design consistency and highway capacity and level of service has not been addressed in current research work and design practices. In addition, the effect of the three-dimensional (3D) nature of highway alignments was not considered, and design consistency was studied based solely on two-dimensional (2D) analysis of highway horizontal alignments. This paper presents a methodology to determine the effect of highway design consistency on highway capacity utilization based on 3D analysis. This methodology will help road designers to estimate highway capacity more accurately. The study was performed on two-lane rural highways in Ontario, where two types of 3D combinations were considered: a horizontal curve combined with a sag vertical curve (sag combination) and a horizontal curve combined with a crest vertical curve (crest combination). An additional adjustment factor that reflects the effect of highway design consistency on capacity utilization was developed. Different statistical models are introduced to estimate this factor based on geometric or traffic data. In addition, typical values of the consistency factor were developed based on an overall consistency evaluation criterion and can be easily used in capacity analysis.Key words: three-dimensional, alignments, capacity, geometric design, operating speed, design consistency.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Long He

This research focuses on evaluating driver visual demand on three-dimensional (3D) highway alignments consisting of combined horizontal and vertical alignments which is an important part of highway design consistency research. Using a driving simulator, ten hypothetical 2D and 3D alignments for two-lane rural highways were developed, following the standard guidelines of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Fifteen driver subjects drove in the simulator. The data relating to visual demand information were processed and analysed using Microsoft Excel and SAS statistical software. The results indicated that visual demand on 3D curves varies widely with the inverse of radius of horizontal curvature and the inverse of K value of vertical curvature. Age played another important role on visual demand. Models for evaluating visual demand on 3D highway alignments were developed for curves and tangents. The models developed in this study have been applied to horizontal and 3D alignments to carry out a design consistency evaluation. In addition, GIS virtual reality technique was applied to present the visual demand results for a real highway on the 3D visualization model. 3D visualization not only offers a better understanding of driver workload along the highway, but also represents an important tool to effectively manage information.


Author(s):  
Salvatore Cafiso ◽  
Alessandro Di Graziano ◽  
Grazia La Cava

In recent years, researchers have proved that a consistent highway design ensures that successive elements are coordinated to produce harmonious and homogeneous driver performances and does not provoke unexpected events. Knowledge and practice show that drivers make fewer errors near geometric features that conform to their expectations. On this basis, the importance of identifying inconsistencies on highways for its significant contribution to road safety is emerging as an important feature in highway design. Although several techniques and models for evaluating the consistency of a design in a quantitative way have been identified and some countries have implemented the design consistency concept in their road design guidelines mainly in a qualitative way, there have been only a few efforts to measure actual driving behavior. The aim of this paper was to determine design inconsistencies on existing two-lane rural roads with the use of actual driving behavior by means of field data measurements and to verify their agreement with a consistency evaluation model. Furthermore, suitable equipment and a procedure for surveying driving dynamics and driver workload have been developed. In particular, driving behavior was assessed through direct measurements and parameters taken from data collected on a selected sample of test drivers by using a purposely designed instrumented vehicle. The vehicle, named the driver instrumented vehicle acquisition system (DIVAS), was driven under real traffic conditions on a two-lane rural road. The design classes of consistency of the test courses also were evaluated with a well-known safety criteria model. Data collection and treatment procedures are presented, and data analysis and results from this first experiment are given.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
César de Santos-Berbel ◽  
Mohamed Essa ◽  
Tarek Sayed ◽  
María Castro

Sight distance is of the utmost importance for traffic safety. The consideration of three-dimensional (3D) available sight distance (ASD) in geometric design has been supported by several researchers. However, existing ASD estimation methods are two-dimensional (2D) in nature, which do not evaluate varying visibility conditions. This paper compares different methodologies of modelling the ASD. The ASD of 402 horizontal curves, located in twelve in-service two-lane rural highways, was analyzed. Three ASD estimation methods were used which include a 2D method and two different 3D methods. The ASD results obtained through 2D and 3D methodologies are compared. Also, the different conditions of the existing roadside features or geometric elements, under which the 3D ASD estimation is important, were identified. Next, reliability theory is utilized to evaluate the risk level (probability of noncompliance,Pnc) associated with limited sight distance for each ASD modelling method. The results of the comparison emphasized the importance of considering the 3D modelled sight distance when evaluating the associated risk either in highway design or during the service life. In addition, the results indicated that the ASD modelling approach can have a significant impact on the estimation of the safety of highway design.


2012 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 952-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Russo ◽  
Raffaele Mauro ◽  
Gianluca Dell’Acqua

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 540-555
Author(s):  
Hayley L. Mickleburgh ◽  
Liv Nilsson Stutz ◽  
Harry Fokkens

Abstract The reconstruction of past mortuary rituals and practices increasingly incorporates analysis of the taphonomic history of the grave and buried body, using the framework provided by archaeothanatology. Archaeothanatological analysis relies on interpretation of the three-dimensional (3D) relationship of bones within the grave and traditionally depends on elaborate written descriptions and two-dimensional (2D) images of the remains during excavation to capture this spatial information. With the rapid development of inexpensive 3D tools, digital replicas (3D models) are now commonly available to preserve 3D information on human burials during excavation. A procedure developed using a test case to enhance archaeothanatological analysis and improve post-excavation analysis of human burials is described. Beyond preservation of static spatial information, 3D visualization techniques can be used in archaeothanatology to reconstruct the spatial displacement of bones over time, from deposition of the body to excavation of the skeletonized remains. The purpose of the procedure is to produce 3D simulations to visualize and test archaeothanatological hypotheses, thereby augmenting traditional archaeothanatological analysis. We illustrate our approach with the reconstruction of mortuary practices and burial taphonomy of a Bell Beaker burial from the site of Oostwoud-Tuithoorn, West-Frisia, the Netherlands. This case study was selected as the test case because of its relatively complete context information. The test case shows the potential for application of the procedure to older 2D field documentation, even when the amount and detail of documentation is less than ideal.


2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
pp. 282-283
Author(s):  
Matthew Dougherty ◽  
Wah Chiu

Sophisticated tools are needed to examine the results of cyro-microscopy. As the size and resolution of three dimensional macromolecular structures steadily improve, and the speed at with which they can be generated increases, researchers are finding they are inundated with larger datasets and at the same time are compelled to expediently evaluate these structures in unforeseen ways. Integration of EM data with other types of information is becoming necessary and routine; for example X-ray data, 3D EM reconstructions, and theoretical models, must be evaluated in concert to discount or propose hypothesis. To create such tools, the developer must take into account not only the empirical and theoretical possibilities, but also they must master the human factors and computational limits. During the last five years, the National Center for Macromolecular Imaging (NCMI) has progressed from a remedial 3D visualization capability to a collection of visualization tools allowing researchers to focus on the discovery phase of biological research.


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