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Transportation Enterprise Newsletter |
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Fall 2011
 Houghton Transit
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TE RECEIVES FORD COLLEGE COMMUNITY CHALLENGE GRANT The Michigan Tech Transportation Enterprise (TE) and the Automotive Computing Enterprise (ACE) were recently awarded a Ford College and Community Challenge (Ford C3) grant. The $50,000 competitive grant is awarded to students at colleges and universities for projects designed to address urgent community needs. The TE and ACE are teaming up to develop a plan to make the Houghton and Hancock bus transit systems more sustainable. For this project the TE and ACE will partner with the Cities of Houghton and Hancock, and the Western UP Planning and Development Region (WUPPDR). Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Bill Sproule, who currently heads the Houghton Transit Board, will also work with the teams. TE Advisory Board member, Eric Morris of HNTB will also meet with the student teams via web conferencing to help offer input and advice. The TE will evaluate the existing bus transit service, conduct interviews with current transit users, and distribute a survey to users and potential users as part of their data collection. They will then develop a sustainability model to evaluate various bus system configurations to serve both cities and campus. The project will also include adding two bus shelters that may incorporate solar lighting and covered bike parking. Alternative-fuel buses will also be evaluated as part of the project. ACE will identify the hardware and software needed to provide riders with real-time information on the location of buses so they know when to expect them at any given bus stop. “This project has the potential to produce a genuine change for the better in our community,” said TE advisor George Dewey. LAKE SUPERIOR AND ISHPEMING RAILROAD FIELD TRIP top The first lubrication site observed was located at mile posting 67.5, which happened to be between two right hand curves, one of which was a 10 degree curve, the sharpest on the entire track. It was evident that this lubrication unit was not efficient. For example, excess grease was built up on the wiper bars of the lubrication unit, meaning that the intended lubricant was not actually being applied to the rail. Grease was also accumulating on the ballast under the wiper bars and rail, as well as further down the track. Some negative impacts associated with this are potential soil and groundwater contamination, as well as increased costs due to wasted lubricant. Another concern found with this system was that the ramp lever which is pushed down by a passing wheel to release a set amount of grease appeared excessively worn. The students also measured the distance along the track that grease travelled. A second lubricator was examined at a tangent section of an S-curve and was found to have some of the same issues as the first lubricator looked at. While walking along the tangent section between the two curves, they noticed that neither the left nor the right rails appeared to be lubricated near the lubricator but that the inside face of the outside rail in the curve had lubricant on it. The team found that the field trip provided them with a deeper understanding of rail lubrication and the current state of the LS&I lubrication systems. They believe that this will help with their project work with in Transportation Enterprise. Transportation Enterprise Project EAGLE RIVER BRIDGE top The team will design the track and a working platform, complete with necessary components for removable construction scaffolding that will allow for close deck work. The design will include a system of hangers to attach the track and platform to the bottom chord of the truss. The platform will manually move along the track using rolling casters. A 3-Dimensional model of the platform and track with complete dimensions will be developed. A structural analysis of the platform as well as the bridge trusses will also be performed. The bridge team has received assistance and advice from local structural engineer Bill Kallman. Mr. Kallman is a retired bridge engineer from the NYDOT and maintains a local consulting practice in Hancock. The Bridge team is also responsible for developing a Keweenaw bridge inventory with a goal of highlighting 12 unique bridges in the area. This will include locations and photos, as well as historic and engineering details of the bridges. This information will be used to create a Transportation Enterprise calendar and a scenic tourist route of the bridges, highlighting interesting facts about the bridges and the Keweenaw. Transportation Enterprise Project CARBONATE AGGREGATES top In past work the TE was able to establish a relationship between bulk specific gravity (BSG) for dolomite aggregates and AWI. They found that aggregates classified as dolomites typically showed an increasing AWI with decreasing BSG. For limestone aggregates, they found a strong correlation between acid insoluble residue (IR) values and AWI, with increasing AWI associated with increased IR. This semester, the team has received archival aggregate samples from past MDOT AWI testing. MDOT provided AWI and IR values for each sample. With the help of technician Jim Vivian, the students are performing BSG, ASG, and porosity testing on these historic samples. They will also perform XRay De-fraction (XRD) testing to determine dolomite mineral content. They plan to use these results from this select sample set to develop a multivariable regression analysis to determine a relationship between wear track AWI and physical properties of the aggregates. Transportation Enterprise Project RAIL LUBRICATION top Proper rail lubrication would be expected to have dual benefits for LS&I. The costs of material and labor for track maintenance would likely decline, while operational savings would be expected from reduced friction of the rolling trains and thereby lower fuel consumption. The project allows a TE team to develop an understanding of the importance of providing a proper rail lubrication program in a real life scenario. Rail wear is an industry wide problem and the main cause of rail replacement all over the world. This project will include a literature review of rail lubrication technologies with advantages and disadvantages of each proposed solution and recommendation. The project will also perform a cost/benefit analysis of the lubricator system and compare the implementation and maintenance costs with anticipated savings in maintenance and operational costs. The team will also recommend metrics and criteria for LS&I to measure and monitor the wear rates and performance of the system. This project is assisted through guidance from Michigan Tech Rail Transportation Program Director, Pasi Lautila, retired BNSF engineer Mark Stehly, and LS&I engineer Darryl Babbit. Transportation Enterprise Project ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE top The teams recently made a presentation to the Houghton City Council to present their plans and seek continued city support. The team is developing recommendations for wayfaring and informational signage in addition to what type of charging station to install. Discussions center on whether to use a Level 1 or Level 2 station. Level 1 charging can use a simple 3 prong 110 V outlet and Level 2 uses an industry standard J1772 plug at 220-240V. In addition to the TE and ACE teams, a group of Business seniors is using this project as their capstone Business Development Experience. They are looking at developing a reasonable business plan to pay for the broad based installation and operation of EV charging infrastructure nationally. An unresolved question remains of who will pay for this new infrastructure. While many early adopter cities have found industry or government grants to install public charging stations, a more self-supporting model is needed to fund the extensive charging infrastructure needed for widespread adoption of EVs. Transportation Enterprise Project TRANSIT SUSTAINABILITY top The TE has outlined the expected inputs into the sustainability model and developed a recommended scoring system for all three components of this model. The team has also formulated a survey to use throughout the community to better understand existing perceptions of the transit systems and what current riders and potential new riders want to see in an improved system. The team has been investigating potential sources of new transit revenue and is considering approaching Michigan Tech students with the option of paying a semester fee in exchange for unlimited use of the transit system. They are also looking at recommendations in a recent Michigan Tech Parking and Transportation study performed by Carl Walker, Inc. that recommends using parking Demand Management strategies to improve parking on campus. The team believes that if the university decides to charge employees for parking on campus as part of parking Demand Management, that a robust transit system will be an important part of offering employees an alternative to bringing a car to campus. ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT LAUREN (BENDES) WARREN TRAFFIC ENGINEER WITH PARSONS BRINCKERHOFF – DETROIT, MI top “My career as a Traffic Engineer covers a wide variety of projects. The majority of my career has been spent on a relatively recent trend called signal optimization. When completing a signal optimization, the purpose is to evaluate current operational conditions, identify operational or safety deficiencies, and provide updated signal timings and progression plans for the corridor. If you live in Lower Michigan you may be familiar with some of the corridors that I have timed: US-24 (Telegraph), M-59, and Downtown Lansing. In addition to signal optimizations, I get to work on Traffic Impact Studies for new developments and on Complete Street plans and projects. I use a variety of software programs including Synchro and VISSIM. My knowledge of VISSIM has allowed me to model a variety of interesting projects including the new Bus Rapid Transit line in Grand Rapids and the Woodward Light Rail line in Detroit, MI. Due to the recent boom of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) projects in the state of Michigan I have had the opportunity to work on Roadside Weather Information System towers, largely in upper Michigan and the UP, that record current weather and report it back to a central database assisting MDOT with dynamic roadside warning sign messaging and the closing of roads. Camera systems in the lower also assist with traffic conditions and can warn drivers of a crash or lane closure. My job is never “boring”. It’s constantly changing and evolving to what our clients need. This affords me the opportunity to work on the wide variety of projects that Parsons Brinckerhoff is capable of performing, not only in Michigan but across the world. I’ve even worked on a project in Kuwait! Although a lot of my work is done at a computer, I enjoy that my career has a mixture of office and field work. Field work typically consists of driving a corridor to understand traffic conditions, taking field measurements used for signal retiming, and implementing new signal timings (yes, I can program a signal controller). Now I can also add being lifted by a 90 ft crane to take pictures of what an ITS Camera would see from a tower site that we selected. My husband Chris (also a PDCM alum) always jokes that I have the hardest civil engineering job – predicting people. Although I do use historic traffic data, a lot of my work involves predicting what the future conditions will be like, what people will do, and where they will go. Because traffic is something that everyone experiences, it is also challenging at times to explain to the public why we do the things we do the way we do. While a part of the PDCM Enterprise I learned the value of teamwork to accomplish a goal whether that is with mix design, bidding, or our team projects. Being a part of a team doesn’t end after college and can make or break a project. Additionally, the wide variety of technical projects and experience gained outside of the typical classroom setting gave me a wider knowledge base to draw from when looking at projects that overlap civil disciplines. For instance, it is nice to have a general knowledge of concrete and asphalt as I know the methods in which the items we design are being built. Lastly, I would say that the presentation skills obtained while preparing for and during the Advisory Board meetings was one of the most valuable experiences I received while being involved. The Advisory Board taught you to think on your feet, but to think smartly as well. This is often the case during project interviews and client meetings. Being well prepared and familiar with your product can get you a long way… confidence gets you the rest!” Transportation Enterprise |
