= HICVES7INighway and Transportation Engineering Il DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING NnamdiAzikiwe University, Awka CORE COURSE CVE 571: HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING I Lectures 2-3: Fundamentals of Geometric Alignment and Design Chidocie Nwakaire, com nwaksireaunisikedu.ng ; December 13,2016 Course Coen contaned In ubectn 23, Paragraph 90 the Deparment Hank for Undergraduate Sues (Page 44) "e: 4 s: < m 1.0: INTRODUCTION Road design optimization aims at the selection of geometric design parameters resulting in a road environment that i : surprising” + users are not faced with unexpected situations, + “forgiving” - in the sense that users’ mistakes can be, if not avoided, corrected, The selected design speed, on which road alignment parameters are determined, needs to be: + realistic and compatible to the expected operational speed, + im accordance to the type and functional requirements of the road, and + compatible to the roadway environment, The horizontal nment of a road comprises: straight lines, circular curves (with a constant radius), and transition curves => radius changes regularly to allow for a gradual transfer between adjacent road segments with different curve radi Highway alignment is a major cause for concern in all cotintries, whatever the level of development of their road system. Take for instance, in Denmark, about 20% of all Spersonal injity accidents’and\13% ofall fatal neces ot curves in rural afeas;"in France, over 20% of fatal accidents occur on dangerous curves in rural areas. Proportion of such accidents is dependent upon both the topography and demography of each country. {What about our country Nigeria? Certainly more accident reédrds, but either more or less ‘on curves. it’s worth investigating} 1.1; Accidents at Curves ‘Accidents on horizontal curves tend to be in the form of Running off the road and hitting an object; losing control and Rolled over; also a significant number of “Head On” and “Sideswipe accidents” at higher traffic volumes. The apparent cause is usually the driver entering the bend at too high a speed because the driver was willfully travelling at a high speed, was distracted (was paying insufficient attention) or the driver misjudged the severity of the bend. Several researgh results show that the number of road accidents tends to increase when the radii of horizontal curves decreases.2) CVESTIHighway and trangportation Engineeriwe T E 23 = = 0 500 1000 1500 7000 Radius (m) Figure 2 Effect of horizontal curve radius on accident risk (Hauer: 2000 PIARC 2003) ‘This could be asa result of higher forces put on the road surface by the side thrust of the tyre which frequently cause the surface aggregate on tends to polish more quickly than the rest of the road, around bends, as well as other driver and vehicle related factors. 1.2; Types of Curves Fundamentally, four types of curves are encou railways. tered in the geometric design of highways and ‘The simple eurve isan are of a circle of constant radius, The radius of the circle determines the sharpness oF flatness ofthe curve. ‘Compound eurve is two simple curves joined together and eurving in the same direction without an intervening straight section. The reason for such curves is to avoid certain points, the erossing ‘of which would involve great expense and which cannot be avoided by a simple circular curve, 1 is uncommon in practice as there is @ “hange in the radial force at the common tangent point, where one curve meets anotherS| CVES7AHighway and Transportation Engineering II resulting in a jolt on the passengers. To overcome this either, very large radii should be used to minimize the forces involved, or transition curves should be introduced, Reverse Curve consists of two simple curves (same or different radii) joined together without any intervening straight section but curving in opposite direction, For safety reasons the use of this kind of curve should be avoided when possible. Such curves are used to connect two straights which are very nearly parallel and that would otherwise require a very long simple circular curve, Spiral is a curve that has a varying radius. It is used on railroads and most modem highways. It is employed mainly for the purpose of provision of transition from the tangent to a simple curve or between simple curves in a compound curve. It differs from a circular curve in that its radius continuously changes, has more complex design formulae than for curves of constant radius. Since circular curves are unquestionably easier to design than transition curves as well as being easier to set out on site, then the need for transition curves must be justified, ste Ee a 4 2 im nica eS breed FE S qt lobe avoide 00 s as 2 co rio 300 0 106 & 80, wo 1m ™ 4) 5 8 150 Radius of curve (m) Figure 4 Tuning radii in curve sequences (Lamm et al 1999, RAS-L 1995) Research indicates that: * proportion of vehicles run-offs at the external side of the curve increases when radius decreases, n tangent sections around two out of three run-offs occur towards the right, probably due to vehicles attempting to avoid collision with vehicles coming from the opposite traffic stream A transition zone between the tangent and the horizontal curve is needed to gradually introduce the superelevation\ Al eves7iHighway and Transportation Engineering II + Number of accidents on wet pavements is abnormally high in curves with a superelevation of less than 2% + Improving the superelevation reduces the number of accidents by 5 to 10% + On two-way two-lane roads, it is important to: + ensure sufficient length and sight distance for overtaking. + values of curve radii, for which it is not clear whether there is possibility for overtaking, are avoided. 2.0: THE ESSENCE OF TRAFFIC SPEED IN GEOMETRIC DESIGN ‘The design speed for any road isnot same as its speed limit neither is it the speed the drivers are meant to drive at, This is because humans are not inanimate objects whose actions are highly predictable. The design speed is the speed adopted for design purposes. Different countries have different ways of choosing the design speed but the bottom line is that traffic speed isa very important consideration in Highway design as many stakeholders are wrerested in it, For instance, traffic speed is of great interest totransportation and traffic iforcement agenciessafety advocates motorists, nonmotorized street and highway ‘isersresidential and commercial property occupants, and the public at large, Speed is a controversial and complex issue, Determining what is good or bad is very subjective based on preferences, which often vary among individuals and stakeholder groups. Generally, speed is an indicator or measure of two different transportation performance characteristics: 1, MobilityHigher speeds generally translate to faster travel times, “> ‘good mobility. 2, Safety;The relationship between safety and speed is complicated and unclear. There is a ‘ery little consensus on the effects of speed on crash probability. Complicating factor: high-speed highways (e.., Interstates) have low crash rates. | Major highways also have distinguishing design features (e-g» limited access and ‘wide clear zones), = difficult to separate the effects of speed General agreement that given a crash te risk of injuries and fatalities inereases with speed, S. oven without complete understanding,conflicts between the mobility and safety objectives of various user groups are often prevalent. Proper geometric design of a highway ensures that drivers use the facility with safety and aon font Tis involves (1) selecting appropriate vertical and horizontal curvature (2) physical features of the road such as sight distances and superelevation. ‘The aim of choosing a design speed is to ensure that the highway is both justifiable in dconomic terms and appropriate to the local environment-Highway designers, establish teomelrie design criteria by using a designated design speed. The origins of adopting design Speed in design dates back to the 1930s due to inereased accidents on horizontal uve Despite the concept of the design speed, the majority of drivers operate uniformly at U desired speed, but there is need for ccompatibiliy between design speed, operating speed, and posted speed limit.S|CVES7IHighway and Transportation Engineering tI 2.1; Speed Harmony The highway and street designers should attempt to achieve improved consistency among design speed, operating speeds, and posted speed limits. Inconsistencies in these speed components could result in an undesirable performance of the road. Predicting target operating speeds during the geometric design process is key to ensuring greater consistency among these various speed measures. Statistical models are used to predict operating speeds along an alignment and then the predicted speed is compared with the designated design speed.Large differences exist between operating speeds because Individual vehicle speeds are selected by drivers, very large and diverse population of drivers who interpret and respond to signals, both explicit and implicit, in the driving environment, and different vehicles have different levels of speed attainable. However, different information sources ¢.g., speed limit and roadway geometry, often send drivers different signals about the appropriate speed. Highway and street users do not consider design speed when selecting their operating speed, they only make use of the information sources present along a highway or street to select their speed and expect the enginecring community to set rational speed limits that are in harmony with the preferred operating speeds. Design speed is not an important speed concept for enforcement agencies but the difference between the operating speed and the posted speed limit is important and is ‘an indicator of speed compliance on a highway or street. For highway users and enforcement agencies whenever Operating speed >> Posted speed limit, speed discord would result. In such a case, we say that the design speed, operating speed, and the posted speed limit are not ‘compatible. 2.1.1; The designated design speed as defined in USA by AASHTO (the Green Book) is “a selected speed used to determine the various geometric design features of the roadway.” Designated design speed is used explicitly to determine: + minimum values for horizontal curve radius and + Minimum required sight distance. + superelevation rate that corresponds to a particular horizontal curve radius + Minimum length of vertical curve. 2.1.2; The inferred design speed is the Maximum speed for which all critical design-speed- related criteria are met at a particular location.Inferred design speed applies only to features and elements that have a criterion based on design speed e.g.zhorizontal and vertical sight distance and horizontal curvature. Fora feature, inferred design speed differs from designated design speed when: + actual dimension differs from the criterion-limiting (minimum or maximum) value inferred design speed for a radius-superelevation combination is the maximum speed for which the limiting speed-based side friction value is not exceeded for the designed superelevation rate and the inferred design speed (determined through an iterative process). Inferred design speed for a crest vertical curve is maximum speed for which the available stopping sight distance is not exceeded by the required stopping sight distance. Design speed, therefore, can be defined in three ways, (1) Maximum or highest speed a motorist can travel; (2) Speed at which the motorist is safe or comfortable; (3) Speed resulting from the influence of geometric features. Most countries set design speed for favourable weather conditions. Exceptions may include the United Kingdom and Netherlands6 CVESTLHighway and Transport ation Engineering 11 where design speed is a measure of the speed under wet affecting design speed include; To quality), Cost/ Economy, Environn Pavement conditions, Factors pography, Road function, Road type, Traffic (volume and ment (rural/urban), 2.1.3; Operating Speeds are speeds at which vehicles are observed operating during free- flow conditions. The operating speed of a road section or a curve is mostly measured by the 85th percentile of the distribution of observed speeds. Free-flow speeds are those observed from vehicles whose operations are unimpeded by certain traffic control devices (e.g. traffic signals) or other vehicles in the traffic stream. Actual operating speeds can differ significantly from the design speed. 2.1.45 Posted speed limit:This is the Maximum lawful vehicle speed for a particular location as displayed on a regulatory sign. Speed Harmony is, therefore, a condition that results when the designated design speed is within a specified range (i.e., +/- 5 mph) of the observed 85th percentile operating speed + the 85th percentile operating speed is within a specified range (i.e., +/- 5 mph) of the posted speed limit, Inferred design speed > designated design speed Posted speed < designated design speed, Whereas Speed discord occurs when a Roadway design produces a condition in which:design speed is lower thanposted speed limit, various operating speed measures, orBoth. {Design standards in most countries, ¢.g. ‘The Green Book in USA provides minimum or limiting values for geometric design criteria but also recommends “above-minimum design values should be used, where practical.” The Underlying the underlying rationale for thisabove-minimum concept is for the features to‘The minimum permitted horizontal radii for a given hi i i i given highway will depend on the design spec and the superelevation of the carriageway. ne. Centrifugal _——7 forcelF,) Superelevation Superelevation e Kingdom and most parts of the world, the maximum allowable superelevation is 7% though for must design purposes 5% superelevation is adopted. The TD 9/93 (DoT, 1993) summaris jnimum horizontal radi Horizontal Curvature (R) reel? Trinimum R with e = 25% (not recommended for single 2040 1440 1020 720 510 _carriageways) (m), Minimam R with © = 35% (not recommended for single 1440 1020 720 S10 360 255 carriageways) (m) ba ‘Desirable minimum R with e= 5% (m) 1020, 720 S10 360 255 180 ‘Absolute minimum R with e = 7% (m) 720 510360255 180_127 ‘One step below absolute minimum R with e = 7% (m) $10 360255 180127 90 “This is the major objective of the core course CVE471 which you have received and possibly passed as a prerequisite to this course. You may wish to still refer to your course materials Felevant to this topic as we may not have the time to dig dipper into the theories behind this : Besides, 1 hope you may wish to recall; (1) that simple but powerful expression which deseribes the relationship between the radius and superelevation of a curve, the design speed, and the road surface friction. oe (1) a Gaemata anlevemeN(ghw2y and Transportation Engineering 11 The values in table 1 above are based on thi ‘equation. It is assumed that at the desi friction, with the remaining 45% is relationship. It is termed the minimum radius esign speed, 55% of the centrifugal force is balanced by being counteracted by the crossfall or superelevation, This reduces equation (1) to; o4sv? eo 27k 0.353v? Hence [R= =) {Assuming e = 5%, calculate the value of R and compare with table | above, #hope it makes sense to you} (2) the basic requirements for sight distances which ensures that the road has adequate visibility for safe stopping and overtaking. ‘Two categories of sight distance are; ‘a; Stopping Sight Distance (SSD) Which is the theoretical forward sight distance required bya driver to stop safely and comfortably when faced with an unexpected hazard. the combined perception and reaction distance with t being the time seconds (assumed. as 2s for safe design) and V is n _V?2w is the braking distance with w as the rate c ) length of visibility required by ri em to overtake other vehicles on the road ahead in safety and ‘comfort. FOSD values are always greater than SSD values for a particular curve. Usually, FOSD is considered at the crest of vertical curves on single carriageways, as overtaking is not an issue on dual carriageways and on sag curves, there is usually adequate visibility. For instance, a driver’s eye level height is taken as 1,05m, tall vehicles are taken as 2.00m and small objects taken as 0.26(this is the height of tail light of a car) which gives the ‘envelop of visibility illustarted below, « 20m remy 200 pl Sie 3 Fut Ovenang Sgt Datarce FSO) ‘ 4 3.15 Vertical Curves . ‘Vertical Curves are to connect vertical straights, Le. gradients by sag or crest vertical curves.M|CVESTAHighway and Transportation Engineering II ‘Wah sog veil curves ) it) {In road Sections with high gradient, safety problems may occur from speed differentials er cars and heavy vehicles (eg. heavy vehicles idling on upgrade sections), as well as vehicles braking on downhill sections (c.g. increases in braking distances i brake overheating). {tan increased road accident risk. It has been accident ates for sw a the curve than when leaving the eurve, for both crest and sag curves. ‘Accident rates at sags and crests are very different and should not be considered similar Accident rate: increases with the gradient on downhill sections (a 10% every 1% increase ‘of the downhill gradient is indicated), unclear whether the accident rate increases with the uphill gradient. higher radius vertical curves have a smaller accident rate than lower radius vertical curves \ Due to restriction on maximum gradients, in practice, vertical curves are categorised as flat ‘curves. Flat curves can be defined mathematically as curves whose length to radius ratio (2 )istessz ‘A vertical curve can either be a circular, an elliptical, or parabolic, In practice, in order to achieve a uniform rate of change of gradient and to gradually introduce the vertical radial force, parabolic curves are generally adopted. Recall thatthe equation ofa parabola is of I form, [x = ey?) This greatly simplifies the calculations involved inthe design of a vertical ‘curve, and when certain assumptions are made, further simplifications are achieved. . increase in accidents forDesign Speed (Km/h) — 0 q minimum K value — ees cave Gar te g : = 120 100857060 St fel fr ingle arpa) Curves (not 182° 100 55 3017 ih Minimum K value—crest curves ——~—~—~«0) 88) ‘minimum K value —sag curves a e es it i listan ing Sight distance (FOSD) K value — crest - 400 ae aa 142 100 sight distance requirements i aurea for vertical curves should necessary be satisfied both for AS? (/hi+ Vi Fest curve; Lin = eS 2 a Nei Ln aaa {OFS L pas ASE 2(h+s tanBs ReSED) for 1 Where hy is the height of drivers eye above the pavement ha is the height of the sighted ‘object above the pavement his the height ofthe vehicle’s headlight above the surface, S is the available sight distance and A isthe algebraic sum of the alignment gradients. 3.3; Transition Curves a curve is a curve whose radius is always changing. They are inform of spirals oe mplex formulae and design than the circular curves with constant radius. The esign and easier setting out achieved with circular curves brings the thought abut Te transition curves are necessary. The need for transition curves arose as result of the forees that act on vehicles as they travel around a bend. Transition ches are used to jatroduce those forces gradually and uniformly thus ensuring the safety ofthe passenger. Sag Curve; Ln 3.3.1; Radial Force and Design speed oil forces act on a vehicle asi travels around a eurve and this is why transition curves are necessary. A vehicle of mass m, travelling at a constant speed v, along a curve of radius r, is subjected to a radial force P such that: P = "22" ‘This free acting onthe vehicle is trying to push the vehicle back on a straight course; On a straight road where ris ©, P= 0. Pads are designed according to a design speed which is constant for a given stretch of roadway, Thus a vehicle must be able to ‘comfortably and safely travel the length of a given Trreigh of road at the design speed regardless of bends ‘gradients etc. If the mass of the 1 vehicles are assumed to be constant, consequetlys Ree. dius of a curve, the greater the radial force acting on the n of the road and entering a circular curve of ial force P. If the radius is two. small, that is, P ‘Thus the smaller the smaller the ra vehicle, Any vehicle leaving a straight section vis will imidiately experience the full radighway and Transportation Enginee ering Il the vehicle would ski Wi overturn, f i id off the carriageway or rt <4 Ciroular are anges from infinity to a particular value R. the ial force P from zero to its maximum value, long the length of the transition curve, ‘The radius of transition curves gradually chi is to gradually increase the radi Jng its effect. To introduce P uniformly al so be proportional to the length of the transition curve Lr. i x 8 \ ti here K is a constant. Therefore for each transition in a transition curve, the jroduct of the radius Rand the length Lx can be designed to equal K over the whole length of the curve. “Transition Curves can be used to join two straights either a5 8 composite curve as a wholly transitional curves. Composite Curves ost ot "Panam treme aaa a ot JC We a Seeing OS - . a me on either sides of In the case of composite curves, transition curves of equal lengths are used a central circular are of radius R.Engineering 11 T. = common tangent point wholly transition curve consists of two transition curves of equal length with no central are. The radius of this curve is constantly changing and so the force. At the common tangent point "To, the force P is maximum. ‘This means wholly transition curves are safer than composite curves but they cannot always be fitted between two straights due to minimum radius requirements. 3.3.2; The Essence of Superelevation ~ Although transition curves ‘can reduce the effect of ‘radial force on a vehicle, this can also be “further reduced or even eliminated by raising one side of the road relative to the other. The difference in height between the two sides of the road is known as superelevation (SE) as jllustrated in the figure below. Snr i B pate a Resultant force Suporstevation * 68 \ Se Radius = R {to centre tine) B. > wn of the superelevation can be high enough to make the resultant ‘Theoritically, the appplicatio the surface of the road pushing the vehicle down rather than force to act pependicular to throwing it off. SE=Btana amv 2 tan a= C- Yng = oqTHVGHWSY @nU transportation a a 7 tion Enginee 8 maximum Theoritical superelevation, SEq, = 222 is SE occurs where the radius r= R, alon, Ee = ones along the central are of a composite curve or at ren v is expressed in kph, with R in metre: y as 9.81m/s*, the above [SEnas = mask v 8, and the vallue of the ic ‘equation for the maximum allowable SE a mee It will be imports oe a aa that in practice, for roadwaqys with high design speeds, wid radil, SEpuy COUGIEAURE) ARPBIARAOHLd be alarming to drivers approaching it and dagerous eK ene \gerouswith reduced speeds, therefore the following rules are applied, as (1) Superelevati peelevation shall normally balance out only 45% of the radial force P (ie. SE 0.45x2) ) Inno a (2) In rural areas, superelevation shall n i ra : jot exceed 7% (1 in 14.5) and whenever possible, aa ee Seon et AHERN SER PRO UeaeDealg CS. in (3) In urban areas, superelevation should not exceed 5% (4) The minimum allowable SE is 2.5%(1 in 40) to allow for drainage 4.0; CONCLUSION ‘The concept of design speed lies at the center of the geometric design of highways. Safety and comfort are the major objectives of the same. The basic processes procedures and precautions in design has been summarized inthis lecture ina Very ‘concise and clear manner. vr is believed that this is a refresher course and not jus introductory 9$ other two courses in Surveying and Highway Engineering 1 are expected (0 have given enough details and foundation for these principles. Besides, construction companies and design engineers have different softwares for geometric design of roads, the performance and applicability of « design software should be judged by the confpliance ofthe program to these principles. {Please try your hands on these following exercises} ‘ Eee a i sit i falli dient of intersection of a rising gradient of |.Steand a fling Sc Oh Aredia lve ‘Given the K Value for this particular road is 55, the 1.0% on a proposed road is 93,60m. G through chainage of the intersection pol calculate: tangent lengths, i) the through chainages tits tangent p i is to be used; if Te els of used agent points and the reduced levels st exact 20m ii) ANE ples ofthe through chainage 210° THe CUE iiiy the position and red level ofthe highest pot on te curve int is 671.34m and the vertical curve is to have equal ints of the vertical eurve if the minimumSP 2O[CVEGITHighway and Transportation Engineering II QI. A reduced level at the intersection of a rising gradient of 1.5% and a falling gradient of 1.0% on 4 proposed road is 93.60m. Given the K Value for this particular road is 55, the through chainage of the intersection point is 671.34m and the vertical curve is to have equal tangent lengths, calculate: i) the through chainages of the tangent points of the vertical curve if the minimum required length is to be used; ii) the reduced levels of the tange multiples of the through chainage along the curve; iii) the position and reduced level of the highest point on the curve nt points and the reduced levels at exact 20m -2,5% gradient to a +3.5% gradient on a highway Q2. A parabolic curve is to connect a 26 and the minimum designed for a speed of 100 kph. The K value for the highway required length is to be used. hhainage of the intersection point of the gradients are 59.34m ‘The reduced level and through cl site conditions, the through and 617.49m respectively and, in order to meet particular chainage of the entry point is to be 553.17m. Calculate: i) ___ the reduced levels of the tangent points ii) the reduced levels at exact 20m multiples of through chainage along the curve. Q3. On a proposed road having a design speed of 80 kph and a carriageway width of 7.30 m, 4 composite curve consisting of two transition curves and a central circular are of radius 800 mm is to join two intersecting straights having a deflection angle of 09°34"28”. The rate of change of radial acceleration for the road is to be 0.3 m s™ ‘The superelevation should be introduced at a rate of no more than 1%. {) Calculate the amount of superelevation that must be built into the central circular arc. ‘Are the transition curves long enough for the superelevation to be introduced. }) Calculate the amount of superelevation that should be constructed along the entry transition curve at 10 m intervals from the entry tangent point. fithe following relationship will be of use: At 10m from the entry point: =(K/10) Calculate SE and s% at 10m along the curve similar to i) Hsslesiied 8% is less that 2.5% you MUST use 2,5% for drainage in which case SE =2.5°x References Banister, A. and Raynod, S. (1984) Surveying. Longman, Essex, UK.