Research Highlights

Recently, Alain El Howayek, Antonio Bobet, Sulaiman Dawood, Andrew Ferdon, and Maria C. Santagata from Purdue, with Nayyar Zia Siddiki from INDOT, completed "SPR-3517: Classification of Organic Soils and Classification of Marls - Training of INDOT Personnel."

Rumble stripes are an effective countermeasure for preventing roadway departure crashes. The noise and vibration produced by rumble stripes alert drivers when they leave the traveled roadway. Rumble stripes is the term used for stripes painted with a retro reflective coating to increase the visibility of the pavement edge at night and during inclement weather conditions.

In December 2012, Monica Prezzi, Min Sang Lee, and Yoon Seok Choi completed "SPR-3225 Quality Assessment of Geogrids used for Subgrade Treatment." The project objective was to evaluate the mechanical interaction between a subgrade soil and an aggregate base layer with and without a geogrid in place at the interface. A series of large-scale direct shear tests were performed to investigate the effects of geogrid properties, such as geogrid aperture area, junction strength, and tensile strength, on the interface shear strength of soil-geogrid-aggregate systems.

On January 10, 2013, Purdue University and INDOT's Division of Materials and Tests partnered to provide hands on training on new equipment for quality control testing on concrete samples. The training was held in Indianapolis at the office of Materials Management and attended by INDOT's district testing personnel, the Federal Highway Administration and a representative from the Indiana Chapter of the American Concrete Pavement Association.

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is an attractive replacement for a portion of the virgin aggregates and asphalt liquid. Incorporating milled pavement also reduces the need for disposal of the asphalt that contains valuable aggregate and asphalt.

INDOT initiated a study to assess the impact of joint spacing on premature concrete pavement deterioration.

Tire shred-soil mixture backfill is a low-cost material used in construction projects and provides many advantages over traditional backfill materials.

Each year, approximately 4,000 drivers damage infrastructure located along Indiana highways. This infrastructure includes guardrails, cable barriers, crash attenuators, lighting structures, signs, bridges, culverts, fences, traffic signals, pavement, and roadway drainage.

The Purdue Board of trustees recently approved naming the Purdue University civil engineering building for alumnus and donor Delon Hampton and his mother, Elizabeth Hampton.