Communication Product Updates

Compiled by Michael Thoryn of FHWA's Office of Corporate Research, Technology, and Innovation Management

Below are brief descriptions of communications products recently developed by the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Research, Development, and Technology. All of the reports are or will soon be available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). In some cases, limited copies of the communications products are available from FHWA’s Research and Technology (R&T) Product Distribution Center (PDC).

When ordering from NTIS, include the NTIS publication number (PB number) and the publication title. You also may visit the NTIS Web site at www.ntis.gov to order publications online. Call NTIS for current prices. For customers outside the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the cost is usually double the listed price. Address requests to:

National Technical Information Service
5301 Shawnee Road
Alexandria, VA 22312
Telephone: 703–605–6000
Toll-free number: 800–553–NTIS (6847)
Web site: www.ntis.gov
Email: customerservice@ntis.gov

Requests for items available from the R&T Product Distribution Center should be addressed to:

R&T Product Distribution Center
Szanca Solutions/FHWA PDC
13710 Dunnings Highway
Claysburg, PA 16625
Telephone: 814–239–1160
Fax: 814–239–2156
Email: report.center@dot.gov

For more information on R&T communications products available from FHWA, visit FHWA's Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/research, the FHWA Research Library at www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/library, (or email fhwalibrary@dot.gov), or the National Transportation Library at ntl.bts.gov (or email library@dot.gov).

Exploratory Advanced Research Program Hand-Off Workshops (Brochure)

Publication No. FHWA-HRT-11-034

In 2010, the first project awarded under the FHWA Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program concluded. In March and April 2010, two EAR Program workshops involving almost 100 researchers and stakeholders from different fields and sectors reviewed the work of a selection of these projects. Workshop participants assessed which projects had the potential to lead to transformational improvements to planning, building, renewing, and operating safe, congestion-free, and environmentally sound transportation systems.

This brochure provides an overview of the 10 projects that were the focus of these workshops. The projects fall into five topic areas: human behavior and travel choices for safety, nanoscale research, human behavior and travel choices for planning, integrated highway system concepts, and technology for assessing performance.

The brochure also highlights a workshop discussion on a California PATH Program project aiming to improve traffic flow and a Colorado School of Mines project that advances intelligent compaction technology. Further, the document includes information about the research life cycle, communication activities, and efforts to advance the research.

The brochure is available at  www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/pubs/11034/index.cfm. Printed copies are available from the PDC.

Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation Workshop 2010 (Summary Report)

Publication No. FHWA-HRT-11-036

Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation (ABMS), an approach to modeling systems that consist of autonomous and interacting agents, can be used to gain in-depth understanding of traveler and driver behavior. In May 2010 at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA, a panel of agent-based modeling experts presented tools, methods, and concepts related to ABMS at a 1-day workshop convened by FHWA's EAR Program. Following the presentations, speakers and representatives from academia, research organizations, and industry discussed applications to transportation, knowledge gaps, and barriers to implementation.

This summary report covers seven presentations from the workshop and three group discussions. The titles of the presentations are as follows: Agent-Based Simulation and Modeling: Identification of Breakthrough Research for Highway Transportation; Computer Simulation for Transportation Studies -- A Brief History; Overview and Development of Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation; Agent-Based Modeling with Repast Simphony Including a Consumer Products Modeling Example; Using Pattern-Oriented Modeling in Developing the Agent-Based Model of Hawaii's Longline Fishery; Predicting Pandemic Disease Spread in Urban Environments with Agent-Based Simulation; and Agent-Based Modeling of Transportation Systems. Discussion topics include key technical gaps to overcome, challenges of incorporating ABMS in transportation, and potential applications of ABMS in transportation.

The document is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/pubs/11036/11036.pdf. Printed copies are available from the PDC.

Improved Corrosion-Resistant Steel for Highway Bridge Construction (TechBrief)

Publication No. FHWA-HRT-11-061

Structural stainless steel ASTM A1010 (UNS S41003) provides corrosion protection for highway bridges subjected to high levels of wetness and high chloride exposures, making painting unnecessary and greatly reducing the need for maintenance. However, the initial cost of stainless steel is more than twice the cost of carbon or weathering steel. This TechBrief discusses research to identify steels with lower potential costs that could be candidates for bridge construction, while still providing low corrosion rates.

To study corrosion, researchers conducted laboratory and field testing on several steels on an existing bridge with a high corrosion rate. The steel samples were subjected to weathering for 1 year. The researchers also conducted a life-cycle cost analysis to examine the benefits of using maintenance-free, corrosion-resistant steel in place of regularly repainting conventional steel. They conducted deterministic and probabilistic life-cycle cost analyses for a bridge intended to have a 125-year service life.

The researchers found that the combination of strength and impact toughness required for steel bridge members could not be achieved with lower chromium steels. Experimental steels were more corrosion resistant than conventional steels but still required maintenance, such as repainting at certain intervals, for those service environments with high salt exposure. 

The document is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/bridge/11061/11061.pdf. Printed copies are available from the PDC.