Transport Research Forum

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item: Conference-Abstract
Applicability and effectiveness of the park and ride system for Kandy City
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Karunadasa, JMAI; Pasindu, HR; Pasindu, HR
Kandy is the main city in Kandy District and Central Province. As a result of increased car ownership with increase of income level among other reasons, modal share of public transport has decreased over the years. This will increase congestion of roads, reduction of mobility and reliability. One possible option is to reduce the private vehicle users to public transport modes or combination of both private vehicles with public transport mode. “Kandy City Transport Study, (KCTS)” and “Kandy Transport Improvement Program, (KTIP)” have proposed strategic plans to improve transportation system in Kandy city. Furthermore three Satellite Stations were proposed at Getambe, Katugasthota and Thennakumbura with Kandy Multimodal Transport Terminal. In this research, applicability and effectiveness of the park and ride system to Kandy city was studied. Based on available traffic data, number of private vehicles entering to Kandy city in the year 2018 was forecasted in main links. Recent studies found that 59.5% of passenger vehicles‟ trips end are in Kandy CBD. Willingness to use of park and ride system among private vehicle users were assessed through questionnaire. Questionnaire was mainly focused on traveler‟s background information, travel behavior data, satisfaction of present transport mode and important factors for better Park and Ride system. Trip information data and other information given by the responders were analyzed through the statistical methods. Finally acceptability of the proposed Park and Ride system was analyzed with monthly income level, average travel time, average trip length, expected waiting time on average journey and average walking distance from point of egress from the public transport mode. According to the results, acceptability of the proposed Park and Ride system mainly depends on average walking distance from the point of egress from the public transport mode to destination, monthly income level and waiting time on an average journey. The effect of Travel time and Average trip length has not strong correlation with acceptability of the proposed Park and Ride system. Most responders were not satisfied with the current travel time, pedestrian walkways and satisfactory level of bus stands, bus halts, railway stations and halts. Responders are expecting reliable and comfortable public transport system with high frequency for successful proposed Park and Ride system in Kandy city.
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Assessment of service quality at Bandaranaike International Airport Katunayake
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Wendakoon, WMIS; Pasindu, HR; Pasindu, HR
Service quality at airports as perceived by air passengers is a comparison between their expectations and airport‟s actual performance which is measured by the performance of service delivery of the airport. Delivering high quality service to passengers by airports is vital for their market competitiveness and ultimately for promoting the image of the country. Since, service quality is an important factor in customer satisfaction, the study aims to assess the current service quality level which is being perceived by air passengers and their satisfaction levels for Airport Facilities at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake comparing other Airports in other geographical regions (Indian Subcontinent, East Asia & Asia Pacific, Middle East and Europe). The main objective of the study was to understand importance of customer expectations and level of satisfaction perceived by passengers concerning the facilities, services and service quality of BIA, Katunayake. For data collection, an online questionnaire (created based on Google® forms) was provided and the population of the study was comprised of those who have experienced the services offered by BIA, specifically frequent air travelers of national origin. The questionnaire was developed using the SKYTRAX questionnaire as a benchmark. The questionnaire was distributed online to the target population who have travelled using BIA during last three years of time. The Likert survey was the selected questionnaire type as this enabled the respondents to answer the survey easily based on their evaluation levels. A total of 147 completed questionnaires were selected out of 163 due to incompleteness of some answers. Results shows that, responders (almost 50%) who have travelled within last three years through more than 05 airports in more geographical areas have less satisfaction level for most of questions than other responders who have visited five or less than five airports. Further responders (almost 20%) who have travelled through many airports (more than 10 airports within last three years) in more than two geographical areas have neutral or dissatisfied responses for most of questions than other responders who have visited ten or less than ten airports those were in one or two geographical areas. This indicates that service quality at BIA for some areas does not match the satisfaction level of passengers who have experienced many airports in several geographical areas. The identified areas were  Availability & Service assistance from airport staff  Public transportation options  Waiting times at check-in counters  Waiting times / service efficiency at immigration  Security staff attitude / courtesy  Washrooms cleanliness and location  Other miscellaneous amenities Moreover the study also concludes that the satisfaction level of passengers on service quality was significantly different based on number of airports which passengers have visited and geographical areas where those airports are located, especially passengers who have travelled only in Indian subcontinent had more satisfied responses on BIA comparing others. There were no significant difference in observations on satisfaction levels based on passenger‟s gender, age group and reasons for travel, since 90% of passengers had travelled on business / employment purposes. In conclusion, the study suggests that policy makers as well as airport management need to comprehensive survey on passenger‟s satisfaction level on their services offered and take workable measures to improve upon airport service quality.
item: Conference-Abstract
Cost effective roughness computation method using smart phones
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Gamage, DE; Pasindu, HR; Bandara, JMSJ; Pasindu, HR
Road roughness is a representation of its surface condition and is resulted of the irregularities in the pavement surface such as potholes, depressions, cracking, rutting, ravelling etc. International Roughness Index (IRI) is the globally accepted indicator to measure the road surface condition. The main problem- associated with low volume roads in Sri Lanka is lack of funding for maintenance and resources. Unfortunately in many developing countries like Sri Lanka planning decisions on maintenance are mostly taken based on subjective judgment/ad-hoc decisions without a consistent objective basis due to significant political and other interferences. Fund allocation can be optimized if the decision making can be supported by up to date information of the road network condition. Road Roughness information is very useful for road agencies because it can be used to assess the road condition and be used in decision making process for maintenance planning and programming. In addition, the information is very important for road users because using such information, road users can avoid the bad roads ahead. But existing measurement technologies used in Sri Lanka like Profilometer are very expensive. It also has limitations in accessing narrow roads though it can provide accurate information. Therefore it is necessary to investigate low cost, practical methods to evaluate roughness which can be used in maintainence planning and programming of low volume roads. Today smart phones have the capability of collecting information related to variation in road surface level which can be converted to road roughness measured as IRI (International Roughness Index). - number of smart phone applications are available but it is necessary to calibrate such models to suit local condition and vehicle used for data collection. The results of these can be considered as adequate for comparison of relative levels of road roughness which will be useful for maintainence decision making In this research regression analysis was used to - find a relationship between roughness value (IRI) obtained from profilometer and resultant accleration obtained from an android application called Androsensor. Engineers can use that relationship to estimate road surface condition based on accelerometer readings. It can be expected to have more than 60% savings by using this smart phone application for roughness computation of roads.
item: Conference-Abstract
Delay analysis at a signalized T intersection using VISSIM software
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Vajeeran, A; De Silva, GLDI; Pasindu, HR
Traffic signal delay is one of the major problem people face in urban areas. Though the traffic signals sometimes create a delay itself, they are needed for the safety of the junction to prevent collision between several vehicle movements. Delay is a component related with time which is more precious. A proper traffic signal arrangement has to be implemented which can optimize the delay for all vehicle moments through the junction. Apart from signal timing arrangement, other factors such as geometry also influence the delay at an intersection, which should be considered when analyzing the delay. The aim of the research is to analyze and find the parameters influencing the delay at a signalized intersection and get an optimize condition which can reduce the delay. Katubedda Junctions which is a T intersection has been selected for the case study. The traffic simulation software VISSIM has been used for the analysis. The geometrical arrangement, signal timing and traffic flow data was collected through a video survey. Driving behavior parameters is the key to calibrate the software model to Sri Lankan conditions. This was achieved by changing the driving behavior parameters of the model and matching the propagated queue length in model with actual queue length. Some geometrical and signal timing changes were categorized into three different alternatives which were modeled in VISSIM with the existing condition as the base case. The results show that changes in signal timing arrangement and changes in the geometrical arrangement has to be done to reduce the delay at the selected location
item: Conference-Abstract
Develop a sustainable model for implementing driver improvement points (DIPs) in Sri Lanka
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Bandara, ALKMMP; Bandara, JMSJ; Pasindu, HR
This research mainly focuses to come up with a suitable Sri Lankan model which will support the sustainable implementation of “Driver Improvement points system” (DIPs) - as per the regulations published under the Motor Traffic Act from the extra ordinary gazette numbered 1726/12 and dated 05.10.2011. It has declared 22 offences that could be counted for DIPs. The design of DIPs was done with the main objective of identifying high risk motorists and habitual offenders and to suspend them from driving for a specified period of time. While correcting the attitude and improving the discipline of drivers in order to ensure that they will be more responsible and courteous on the roads and reducing the high number of road accidents which has brought great loss to the country over the years are the two main objectives of a DIPs system. DIPs are a mechanism already adopted in limited number of countries, mainly by the developed countries like USA, Canada and Australia, and as well as by some developing countries like Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa. The implementation of DIPs within Sri Lanka is still doubtful though the legal enforcement is already available, due to some practical issues. A fully integrated and well equipped monitoring system will be required in order to ensure the effectiveness and the transparency of the system. The infrastructure facility requirement of the system is very high and eventually it requires a fairly large initial capital investment which is very hard to bear by a country like Sri Lanka. On the other hand the high possibility of corruptions in the current Sri Lankan system is one of the major issues to be addressed in the implementation process as it will drastically affect the credibility of the system. In developing a sustainable model a comprehensive literature review was carried out on the DIPs systems implemented worldwide including the factors affecting the driver behavior. Further an opinion survey was carried out to get the public opinion and ideas of the proposed system. The sample group comprising of Private Vehicle Users, Professional Drivers and Passengers/Road users were addressed through two different ways in form of Google forms and the printed version of the same. The online questionnaire using Google forms mainly targeted the private vehicle users. The printed version of the same questionnaire was used to get the opinion of the people who do driving as a profession and the other road users. The results clearly show ensuring the effectiveness and transparency is a must for a credible system. Provision of valid evidence of the offence before marking any points is expected by almost all the parties involved. The new model proposed, points out the draw backs of the previous system and focuses on low cost methods such as body worn cameras, in capturing reasonable evidence of the offence.
item: Conference-Abstract
Developing a PECAS spatial economic model for Sri Lanka: opportunities and challenges
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Premasiri, SMPM; De Silva, GLDI; Pasindu, HR
With the fast-growing economy of Sri Lanka, many new economic activities are taking place. These economic activities have direct impacts on changing, adjusting or reshaping the current land use patterns. (residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, mixed, etc.). Apart from that, the government policies on planned developments; namely the expressways, airports, ports, new LRTs (Light Rapid Transit), new railway lines, etc. have clear impacts on the current use of the land. Even though these are very complex processes to model, a PECAS (Production, Exchange, Consumption Allocation System) special economic model is capable of modelling very slow (networks/land use), slow (workplace/ housing), fast (employment/population) and immediate (goods transport/travel) economic activities on an urban subsystem with an acceptable accuracy, providing a scientific way of predicting land use changes. Thus, a carefully calibrated PECAS spatial model can be used for evaluating and forecasting of land use patterns due to policy changes or infrastructure developments. This will be highly beneficial to infrastructure planners, economists, policy makers, investors and especially transport planners, because the differences in land use are the basic origins of transport needs. Thus, there are numerous opportunities to develop a PECAS spatial model for Sri Lanka, while the acceptance of the need for integrated land use and transport planning for Western Region Megapolis Planning Project (WRMPP), a multi-billion, flagship project implemented by the Sri Lankan government, being the most important one. Main challenges of developing a PECAS model for Sri Lanka arise with inefficient, incomplete or unavailable data. Social Accounting Matrices (SAM) are considered to be the friendliest data source while developing a PECAS model. An effort has been taken on developing a framework for developing SAMs for Sri Lanka but a complete SAM is not present yet. The next best data source is Input-Output tables (I/O tables). They have been developed only for 2001 and 2006 in recent past. Among those two also 2001 tables are considered a failure and anyhow it is quite outdated for today. The one developed for 2006 by Asian Development Bank (ADB) consists 24 activity categories and 34 commodity categories, but only one household category and labour category. Apart from above data, available other data sources on space data (especially the distribution of non-residential space) and labour data (employment and income) are also not up to the expected level and descriptiveness. Problems like inefficiencies, inconsistencies, interpretation problems and data not being in readable formats can also be seen in available data. The complexity and the usefulness of a PECAS model increase from Setup Model through Demonstration Model to Production Model. As Demonstration Models and Production Models are more data hungry, previous studies show that acquiring data for developing such a model will be quite expensive (more than Rs. 100 million). Allocation of such an amount of money just for a planning process is still a challenge for Sri Lanka. Therefore, it can be concluded that developing a PECAS spatial economic Setup Model is the most viable one for the time being.
item: Conference-Abstract
Developing prioritization indexes for provincial road networks using AHP
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Gunasoma, HDS; Pasindu, HR; Pasindu, HR
In pavement management, Prioritization involves ranking the pavement sections with respect to the identified set of factors by using subjective judgment or adopting quantitative methods. In view of the complexity involved in the decision making process, subjective evaluation based on expert‟s judgments is unavoidable. This study identifies priority factors that affect the pavement maintenance planning and it developed prioritization indexes for formulation of the maintenance strategy in the provincial road agencies. Priority factors were identified by the opinion survey and through a comprehensive literature survey. Sample consists of the Engineers of provincial road agencies and sample is selected as random sampling techniques. Based on the opinion survey and literature survey, five main priority factors were finalized namely pavement condition, traffic volume, connectivity to local road network, land use pattern and importance to community. Those factors were relevant to local context in ranking pavement sections for maintenance. In order to quantify the importance to community factor it was spitted into four sub factors namely, civic centers, cultural events, produces in area and alternative roads during maintenance. In this study Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as the prioritization approach. AHP is one of the most important methods for prioritizing road maintenance factors since alternatives are very high in ranking process. AHP is used to make decisions in a more rational way and to make them more transparent and better understandable. It was found that a higher weight was given to importance to community factor followed by pavement condition, traffic volume, connectivity to road network and land use pattern. Under the importance to community, Civic centers have the highest priority. Cultural events also have the significance priority since the study was done for provincial road network.
item: Conference-Abstract
Development of a guideline for traffic signals at individual intersections
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Jayasooriya, NK; Bandara, JMSJ; Pasindu, HR
With the ever increasing traffic congestion, number of methodologies are developed to initiate sustainable traffic management solutions for the current traffic demand. Rather than going for mega scale infrastructure improvements which would be costly as well as time consuming in short term, it is needed to introduce short term traffic management initiatives to reduce traffic congestion. This has been identified as the research gap, where the main bottleneck of the system has been the delays at signalized intersections. This research identifies the issues with the current traffic signal system, and aims at developing a guideline for traffic signals at individual intersections. It has been identified that the behaviour pattern of the drivers can be categorised as aggressive and peaceful behaviours (Trabia, 1999). Gradinescu (2007) also refers to the parameters needed in identifying the aggressive driving behaviours, which were quite useful in directing the research in producing the methodology. With the aggressive driver behaviour patterns expected in Sri Lanka, the guideline to be developed has been categorised into four; guidelines for geometrical details, phasing arrangements, signal timing, and pedestrians. The data was collected for twelve intersections in Colombo area. Further, the collected data was analysed using VISSIM traffic simulation software, which is already calibrated for the Sri Lankan condition. Further, proper logical arguments are also developed in proving and verifying the guidelines. As for the geometrical details, when no separate right turn is available, it is recommended to use leading green for the right turns in signal design. If the intersection is supposed to have separate right turn lanes, it is recommended to use either lagging green or leading green for the right turns depending on the size of the right turn bay and vehicle volume. Further, with respect to left turns, it is recommended to provide a separate left turn, if the amount of left turns expected are more than the equivalent per lane amount of through movement. With respect to the selection of phasing arrangement, it is suggested to start off every intersection with two phases and use 1300 as the maximum number of right turns plus through volumes that can pass through an intersection during one hour green period. When any phase is violated, it is proposed to split the phase. If separate right turn lane is available, go for leading green for right turns only phase, even when both approaches have right turn lanes. If right turn percentage is significantly smaller, it can be accommodated at the end of Amber. Further, if no separate right turn is available, go for either complete through plus right turn phase for each direction or go for leading green for right turns only phase. As for the guidelines for traffic signal timings, the saturation flow for the Sri Lankan condition should be kept as 2000 vehicles per hour, which is verified through simulations. Further, maximum cycle time should be kept as 150 seconds for 4 phase intersections and 120 seconds for three phase intersections in order to reduce the overall delay for all the phases, except under very special circumstances. With respect to the guidelines for pedestrians, when heavy pedestrian movements are expected, it is proposed to delay the left turns by few seconds. It is also suggested not to provide the pedestrian phase with left turns if the speed of the turning vehicles is more than 15kmph. In conclusion, based on the number of surveys, arguments and simulations conducted the above guidelines are developed in order to reduce the ever increasing traffic congestion that is currently experiencing in Sri Lanka and further research need to be conducted in traffic signal coordination for intersection clusters.
item: Conference-Abstract
Development of expanded clay as internally curing concrete aggregate
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Bandara, MMHW; Mampearachchi, WK; Pasindu, HR
The increase of highway and other related structures development of any country due to economic boom may lead to introduce fast and sustainable construction techniques and materials. Internal curing is a revolutionary curing process which has lot of advantages more than the conventional curing process. Internal Curing is a practical and applicable method that can supply extra water throughout the concrete mixture in order to complete the cement hydration process. This can be done by using lightweight aggregate which replaces some of normal and conventional aggregate in the concrete mixture. Water that absorbed inside expanded lightweight aggregate can provide ad-additional water throughout the concrete mixture for curing process. According to the international context, lot of international researches on performance evaluation of internally cured concrete has been conducting. And also this method is used internationally for various concrete applications. Internal curing process is widely used for concrete road construction because of its advantages. As a one of rapid developing country, in Sri Lanka yet there is no better technical knowledge and materials to implement this method for road construction process. And also There is no good research in order to find locally available materials and to evaluate performance of internally cured concrete for Sri Lankan road construction according to the Sri Lankan climate and readily available local resources. This research focused on the method of selecting suitable locally available resources in any country as internally curing concrete aggregate and to evaluate internally cured concrete relevant to the local context of that country. As well the main objective of this research is to select or produce a suitable internally curing concrete aggregate using readily available local resources in Sri Lanka and to find a suitable method to develop the marginally suitable aggregates. That includes the characterization of locally available lightweight aggregates to evaluate the performance of internally curing concrete.
item: Conference-Abstract
Estimation of vehicle kilometers travelled in Southern Province, Sri Lanka
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Weerasekera, TD; Amarasingha, N; Pasindu, HR
Estimation of vehicle kilometers travelled (VKT) is used in traffic and transport planning for various purposes such as allocating resources, estimating vehicle emissions, computing energy consumption, analyzing crashes, assessing traffic impact, and making road safety policy. Therefore, it is crucial to have an accurate timely estimation of VKT. Both traffic and non–traffic measurement methods are popular among the transport planners and researchers. Very few studies have conducted in Sri Lanka for estimating the VKT, but timely data on VMT could not be found. This study proposes to estimate the VKT based on the number of household daily trips, which are collected through the interviews. All trips made by household members are surveyed for a single “travel day,” with interviews conducted so that every day of the week, including holidays. The interviewer records the mode of travel, total number of kilometer travelled, and number of passengers. The modes considered in this study are car, van, motorbike, bicycle, three-wheeler, and jeep. The socio-demographic information is also collected and this includes age, gender, employment status, and income. The estimation of total VKT is derived from survey respondents‟ total number of kilometers each travelled during the previous 12 months in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. Variations in VKT among males and females, different age groups and income groups are identified. When investigating VKT by gender, it is observed yearly VKT of males were higher than females. People in age group of 30-34 years has more yearly VKT than any other age groups. By investigating the residence areas, it is not observed much differences on VKT between rural areas and urban areas. The collected data are also used to estimate the personal kilometer travelled and characteristics of travelers in Southern Province. The timely estimation of VKT in Sri Lanka is mainly important for road safety analysis, economic analysis, resource allocation, and urban planning. This method can be considered by policy makers to estimate the VMT in each year in all provinces for different vehicle types.
item: Conference-Abstract
Examine Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology students' travel pattern - a hierarchical tree-based regression model to student’s mode choice
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Attanayaka, DP; Pasindu, HR
This research attempted to find out important factors influencing Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) students‟ travel patterns. There are a large number of students who travel daily to/from SLIIT and it has become a huge traffic generation and attraction center in the neighborhood. Therefore, examination of students‟ travel characteristics and the consistent correlations of the students' travel mode choice is important. SLIIT is a leading degree awarding institute in Malabe area and over 8000 students study in Malabe main campus. The number of students‟ registration increases due to newly established Engineering Faculty. The number of trip generations increase with respect to the new student registrations. Therefore SLIIT Engineering Faculty was selected as the study location. A random sample of 219 engineering students participated in this quantitative study through a self-administered online questionnaire. Crosstab analysis was applied to analyze data. According to factor analysis, it is shown that students‟ daily travel behavior vary on different factors. The survey identified that the student travel behavior is influenced by students living status, travel time and travel distance of their trips. In addition, the study revealed that a number of demographic and socio-economic characteristics including gender, household vehicle ownership, household income and travel distance significantly correlated to student mode choice. To get a better understanding of student travel characteristics in the university, a nonparametric statistical method, hierarchical tree-based regression (HTBR) model was used to explore university student mode choice patterns in SLIIT. The HTBR model indicates that travel distance is a first level influence factor for the student mode choice because the distribution of all six modes (bus, by foot, car alone, car share, university shuttle service and motorcycle) significantly varies with the increase of travel distance. When the travel distance is less than 2km, 76% of students chose walking as their main mode of transport. But when the distance is over 4km almost no student chose to travel by foot. Particularly the model indicates the most feasible travelling distance for car is less than 20km. It is because after 20km, the percentage of private car users decreased sharply with the increase of travel distance. Also over 30km travel distance, almost all students travel by bus. The household vehicle ownership is the second level influence factor. 35% of students whose houses own more than one vehicle, use their private vehicles as the primary mode of transport. Gender and household income are the third level influence factors for student mode choice. The male students are more like to choose private vehicles as their main mode of transportation and female students tend to choose public transport and car share. Also household income has an impact on single vehicle ownership and the distribution of all six modes significantly varying with the increase of monthly household income.
item: Conference-Abstract
Formulation of a rapid transit route network for Colombo
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Devasurendra, KW; De Silva, GLDI; Sirisoma, RMNT; Bandara, JMSJ; Pasindu, HR
Colombo, as many major cities in the world with a growing population and an expanding economy, is facing the challenge of meeting the demands of increasing mobility needs within the city in terms of quantity and quality. Over the past few decades, land transport in Colombo has evolved in to traffic clogged roads especially during the peak hours making access and mobility between households, work places and other important locations a time consuming and a tiring task. Therefore, improving the mobility and accessibility in the inner core of the city, has become one of the major requirement of the country. A review of literature for the possible interventions suggested that an elevated mode of rapid transit is the best due to the unavailability and high costs of lands in this area. The other supporting reasons for such a system are the comfort, ease of access, less obstruction for the existing road traffic and hence low travel time between origins and destinations. Therefore an elevated system is likely to attract more private vehicle users, provide more options for public transport commuters and reduce road traffic congestion while improving the accessibility and mobility. Formulating the most effective and efficient route network to solve the mobility issue is therefore at utmost importance. The access locations of the rapid transit system which is the most important component of the network, were identified with due regards to the major trip generation points (Residential areas, apartment buildings and etc.) and major trip attraction points (office complexes, schools, recreational facilities, transport nodes, super markets and public places like hospitals and etc.). Possible major stations (nodes) were selected within the walking distance (500m) of majority of these trip attraction and generation points considering the land availability and security reasons as well. The routes were identified through minimum spanning tree process in order to minimize the cost of construction by minimizing the total length required to cover the identified locations and by taking the difficulty of construction (sharp bends and etc.) and required land acquisition in to account. Possible connections between the nodes along the existing roads that are possible to connect were identified with their distances. All these links were converted to equivalent cost figures which has taken the length, difficulty of construction and required land acquisitions in to account. A cost matrix was then formed between the nodes. In order for the cost to be a minimum, these nodes have to be connected with the links with minimum possible costs. Therefore, the minimum spanning tree method was utilized to connect the nodes. Using the cost matrix, a minimum spanning tree was developed to connect the identified nodes (possible RTS stations). From the developed minimum spanning tree network, the RTS network was derived while giving due attention to the construction and operational aspects. Special attention was given to the possibility of creating loops and connecting links with other available transport modes such as railway and bus transport.
item: Conference-Abstract
Improvement of coastal sandy soil by blending the local Uoori clay for subgrade/embankment and sub base construction: experimental study
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Kowsikan, K; Mampearachchi, WK; Pasindu, HR
The major part of the Northern Province is surrounded by sea and the mainland is connected by several lagoons. The terrain of the province is almost flat and of low elevation. The road development activities in the coastal line of the province has been intensified in the recent past to provide access to the community and other infrastructure development. Formation of coastal road network is emphasized to achieve socio economic benefits to the community. However scarcity of locally available road construction materials hinders the road development badly and causes heavy transport costs involving long haul distance. The borrowing of materials from outstations also leads to social and environmental issues. Usually a traditional method is used for road formation/construction in the coastal areas, by placing the Palmyra leaves to reinforce the subgrade with adequate cover of locally available Uoori clay. However above construction method had shown signs of failure within a short period despite low traffic on the road due to Non- blending of materials by mechanical means and placing the clay with improper moisture content and uneven layer thickness. It is prudent to explore the use of locally available materials with improvement of its quality with suitable stabilization technique. The coastal sandy soil and local Uoori clay are freely available in bulk in the coastal areas. Research on these materials were conducted to determine its properties under different compositions to meet the specification limit of the “Standard Specifications for Construction and Maintenance of Roads and Bridges (SSCM) (ICTAD, 2009)" in Sri Lanka. Testing for Sieve Analysis, Atterberg Limits, Modified Proctor and California Bearing ratio (CBR) were performed for different composition 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20, 90:10 and 100:00 of Uoori clay and coastal sand. Initial dry sieve and wet sieve tests were conducted for composite material before compaction to determine the clay influenced by Uoori. The results shows the percentage of passing 0.075μm sieve is less than 1.20% for dry test and the percentage passing through 0.075μm varies from 14.7% to 32.6% for wet test depend on the percentage of Uoori clay resulting higher passing percentage for samples with high amount of Uoori clay. The Liquid Limit (LL) and Plasticity Index (PI) were computed for samples collected from initial composite material before proctor compaction and samples collected from optimum compaction level under laboratory conditions ( MDD at OMC) to examine the influence of Uoori particles. The test results for two methods have shown the significant increment of limit results for each composite material due to the fraction of Uoori and escape of clay through 0.425μm sieve. The composite material 60:40 has satisfied the specification limits of sub base material for road construction even the limit variation for LL and PI from 32.20 to 36.90 and 6.59 to 11.11 respectively. The Modified Proctor were performed for composite material to determine the maximum dry density (MDD) with corresponding optimum moisture level (OMC). The results showed that the composite material have satisfied the specification limits. CBR tests were conducted to examine the bearing strength of the composite material under four day soaked condition and test results have shown that the composite material 60:40 satisfied the specification requirement for sub base. The above mentioned tests results for composite material 60:40 indicate acceptable specification limits except the initial test results of sieve analysis. Therefore, sieve analysis was conducted for specified composite material 60:40, where the sample was selected after the proctor compaction at MDD. In addition to that the behavior of the composite material 60:40 was evaluated by analyzing the particle fraction with increment of compaction effort to study the field condition.
item: Conference-Abstract
In depth analysis of Southern Expressway accidents
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Dharmasiri, HIMJTU; Mampearachchi, WK; Pasindu, HR
Southern Expressway is the first access control expressway in Sri Lanka. Currently it traverse from Kottawa to Matara and it was initially opened to public on 27th November 2011 from Kottawa to Pinnaduwa. Road accidents have become a normal and re-occurring phenomenon from the beginning of expressway operation up to date. Accidents bring a great loss of economy and property, and even the human life. This study focuses on analyzing data collected by Expressway Operation Maintenance and Management Division and Expressway Police Division based on expressway accidents from beginning of operation up to end of April 2016 . The objective of this study is to present accident trend between interchanges and comparison of accidents with other expressways based on accidents rate (Accidents per Vehicle Kilometer Travel). SPSS frequency analysis is based on the day, time, location, severity, causes of the accidents and conditions of locations. Accidents prone locations are identified by prepared accident map. Causes for the accidents are analyzed based on the three main factors as human, vehicle & infrastructure/environment. The causes of accidents and their general preventive measures are discussed based on safety audit process through the expressway. This report provides an in-depth analysis of accidents in selected period based on the various factors influencing accidents. Cumulative total of 2270 accidents with 14 fatal accidents have now been reported on the carriageway of Southern Expressway and 10.6% was Injury and 88.8% was property damage only. This is not a good trend for the expressway present as well as future. Most of the accidents have been occurred during the clear weather condition and 36.1% occurred during the rainy weather. 40% of accidents were reported in wet road surface condition. About 16 numbers of accident prone areas have been identified in between Kottawa to Pinnaduwa section. Human factors such as driver behavior, fatigue, negligence etc. are the main cause involving with the large number of accidents. This study helps for the improvement of safety through the Expressway network as well as planning of safety procedures during the future Expressway development. New improvement can be implemented to minimize the accident rate as well as severity.
item: Conference-Abstract
Investigation of accidents in Colombo Katunayake Expressway
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Bandara, WRGM; Pasindu, HR; Pasindu, HR
Expressways are developed to provide high mobility and safety link between major cities in a country. Colombo Katunayake Expressway is 26 km expressway connected from Colombo to Katunayake where the major airport located. The objective of this research to is identifying the major factors for accidents related to road characteristics, user (driver and vehicle), and environment. 100m sections of the expressway for each direction are considered in for the accident data collection. Accident data includes severity including economical loss, weather condition, light condition and road surface condition which were recorded for one and half year period and created the data base. It is identified that majority of accidents 66.4% of total accidents cause due to road user (driver) behavior and vehicle related problems. Severity of accident has increased when there is a combination of above factors (road, user and environment). This would be suggested that the average accident rate is 1.3 per million vehicle kilometer. Only one fatal accident has recorded during the period which is was a motor bike entry and crash with a car and only 4.2% accident has caused serious injuries to road users. Since this is a partially opened expressway there is an issue relates to vehicle road worthiness, during wet weather conditions speed reduction are also identified as one of the major factors related to road user behavior. Therefore we can expect significantly reduce reduction of the accident rate through improving road user awareness and education on safe practices can be expected. Expressways are designed to improve the safety level of road user. Ttherefore it is important to identify the any issues that reduce the safety on expressways to ensure that the high safety standards can be achieved. The significant issue related to road characteristics is a surface water accumulation on the expressway at reverse curves due to the problem of changes of super elevation and cross fall. Therefore need to add the improved design improvement such as groves or use of porous pavement to improve drainage on such sections or by installing variable speed sign on such sections to notify drivers.
item: Conference-Abstract
Logit choice model for a passenger boat service in the Wellawatte Canal
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Sutharman, P; De Silva, GLDI; Pasindu, HR
Colombo is been transformed in to a modern city with the proposed Megapolis development in the Western Region. However, the quality and service of the public transport system is lacking which has prompted the use of private vehicles by the users to make their daily travel needs, which has resulted in heavy congestions during the peak times making the mobility to a standstill. Introduction of new transport modes have been the focus and one of the initiatives is to use the inland waterways as transport modes. A selected section has been the Wellawatte Canal that connects Wellawatte with Battaramulla making a essentially critical east west link within the city. The objective of the paper is to develop a choice model to empirically understand the perception towards the boat service by the passengers. It explores how much time and money people are willing to spend for this particular journey with respect to different mode choices available for them. A stated preference survey was conducted to collect data from the potential users of the system and ALOGIT software was used to develop a logit choice model. Each individual was provided with 4 public and 3 private transportation options to select the preferable choice of travel. The paper aims to discuss the individual‟s perception towards parking fees, fuel cost, access times, ride times and the fare for each mode which will provide a guideline to promote public transport among the transport users.
item: Conference-Abstract
Micro simulation for airport curbside and roadside operations BIA
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Udayanga, PAS; Pasindu, HR; Pasindu, HR
This focuses on analysis of existing level of service (LOS) of the airport curb side and roadway operations at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and how micro simulation can be used as a tool for LOS improvements. Considerable amount of research has been devoted to modelling airport terminal operations and performance evaluation. Curb side performance has been proved to be a significant component in the overall LOS of an airport. Curb side and roadway operations were further categorized in to micro level components of (1) departure and arrival porch queue; (2) departure and arrival roadways; (3) access roadway; (4) weaving segment; (5) circulation roadway. Sensitivity of the variables was considered to identify the critical parameters. Simulation of the each component in single model enabled to analyse the impact on overall performance by the each component. The operating characteristics of airport terminal curb side differ significantly from those of most other roadways due to several reasons such as vehicle dwell time and driver behaviour etc. Six different vehicular movements can be indentified at the weaving segment and traffic flow of departure and arrival roadways continuously disturbed by the pedestrian crossings in peak hours. Simulation of aforementioned locations provided useful information for analysis with future demand. Analysis of vehicular traffic, travel mode choice, curb side roadway vehicle queues, vehicle dwelling times and passenger occupancy level will provide useful information for developing plans for operational improvements as well as for planning future expansions. Using the available data, and the data provided by the model, demand and the capacity of these facilities were evaluated to estimate the existing LOS. Multivariate regression is used to obtain mathematical relationships of user characteristics which correspond to the dwell time. The analysis was done adopting an analytical approach instead of the traditional simplified method given in International Air Transport Association (IATA) manual as a design guideline. Measures were identified to improve the operational efficiency of these facilities and proposed improvements are proposed to ensure good operational efficiency for the forecast future demand. QAT-ACR (Quick Analysis Tool for Airport Curb side and Roadways) can be used to validate the model using available data.
item: Conference-Abstract
Minimize nearby structure damage issues in road construction
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Chandana, NHS; Mampearachchi, WK; Pasindu, HR
The purpose of this research is to minimize the nearby structure damage issues in road construction. Vibration caused various types of structural damages and it may finally affect the project progress. Although, there are systems to control these issues, it is reported that available systems are not reliable, effective and systematic. Even though, there are many research studies about quantitative vibration studies, nobody presented systematic holistic solution for these problems. Objective of this research is to minimize the nearby structure damage issues in road construction and improve sustainability of road construction projects. Firstly, existing vibration and structure damage monitoring systems of Sri Lanka and other countries were studied. Secondly data regarding existing system from experience site and Highway engineers were collected. Finally vibration when do major vibration generation road construction activities which used heavy vibrator rollers were monitored. Damages due to vibration depends on structure type, vibration value and affected time period. Those factors are taken into account to establish a systematic method. This method and guideline will provide fair solution to both parties who affected with vibration consequences and construction. For the survey, it is used hilly terrain area road section with similar subgrade condition. On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that vibration limits are exceeded its damage limits in nearby structure and current boundary limits are not in optimum range and it should change with structure condition and baring capacity . According to questionnaire survey 84 % engineers think existing system should improve to meet sustainable road development and 85% engineers think vibration monitoring system is required for construction activities. This research generated three major outcomes which are very valuable to road construction sector. Those are vibration contour map for various type of compaction activities. Secondly, guideline for contractors and affected parties and data of deciding vibration affected boundary for specific road construction project.
item: Conference-Abstract
Motorcycle helmet usage in a town in Sri Lanka: an observational study
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Gunathilaka, OHDC; Amarasingha, N; Pasindu, HR
Most of the motorcycles fail to offer the necessary protection for the riders in the case of a crash resulting increased crash severity. Numerous reasons have been already identified for motorcycle crashes by previous researchers and several countermeasures have been proposed to provide protection for motorcycle riders. Among them, the correct safety helmet usage has been widely discussed. A safety helmet is capable to reduce the severity but not to prevent a crash. The objective of this study was to identify the helmet usage pattern in a Sri Lankan town. An observational survey on helmet wearing characteristic and riding behavior was conducted in five locations at Ambalangoda town, in March, 2016 by covering A-Class, B-Class, C-Class- and D-Class roadways. The data on number of occupants, helmet usage patterns of the riders, pillion riders, and other occupants were collected along with their age (whether adult or child), and gender on a structured data sheet. A multiple counter was used to effectively count the helmet usage patterns and videos which were recorded at the intersections during the peak hours. Peak hours in this town are from 06:00 to 08:00; from 11:45 to 13:45, and from 16:30 to 18:30. Within peak hours data were collected in each location and spent five days for surveys to cover all five locations. The data on gender, age, helmet usage, roadway classes, and number of passengers were cross tabulated and percentages were calculated. The observation surveys indicated that overall helmet usage was as high as 90.5%. However, out of the 7,332 users, only 2,298 (31.3%) users properly worn helmets. It is noted that the helmet usage rate was low among children, which is of particular concern. These results can be used to identify the measures to increase the helmet usage rate in Sri Lanka and some ideas were presented.
item: Conference-Abstract
Suitability of light rail transit (LRT) and monorail for Western Province, Sri Lanka
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa., 2016-08) Abewickrema, AWN; De Silva, GLDI; Pasindu, HR
Within Colombo CBD area, the existing passenger demand in almost all the roads and in the existing public bus transport service has been surpassed. Therefore, the traffic congestion is at its peak, where average travel speeds have come down to around 10-15 km/h in city roads. The necessity of sphere heading a long term solution is at an alarming stage. A new Rapid Transit System will be introduced in the CBD of Western Region. It will introduce new transit modes and will provide easy access to the major attractions in the system. It will ensure a higher quality service for everyone in terms of cost, time and safety introducing a new mode will help the rider to choose most appropriate mode of transport based on his trip purpose and hence will increase the modal shift towards the public transportation reducing the traffic congestion significantly. All the major points in the CBD will be connected by the new system. Faced with the escalating demand for public transportation in Colombo Metropolitan Area, transportation authorities are challenged to select a technology that will satisfy the often conflicting demands of high capacity and reliable service, urban fit, minimized environmental impact and budget restrictions. Main cause for the selection of LRT (Light Rail Transit) preferably referred as “Light Metro” over monorail and was its popularity corresponding to its versatility. Light Rail can run on all possible types of alignment (elevated, at-grade, tunneled), depending on the particular situation in a given area of a given city, such as: cost, density, station spacing, ridership, etc. Moreover, the same line can be running on one type of alignment in one area of the city and on another type of alignment in another area of the same city depending on the possibility. Since the proposed Rapid Transit system spreads through suburbs such as Battaramulla, Kottawa, Malabe, Kaduwela and Kadawatha, considerable portion can be accommodated at-ground level while blended facilities such as deports and stations can be located at ground level irrespective to line been at-grade or elevated will significantly truncate associated cost. It incurs lower operations costs as unlike for instance LRT does not pose switching issues. Although monorail is unable to expand as a network with crossings LRT could be expanded. Plus there are more providers across the world so - have the system at a very competitive rate with the best technology. The modern LRT system technology permits slender contemporary structural supports ensuring the aesthetic beauty of the urban context. LRT technology proliferated everywhere in the world beginning in the late nineteenth century to the present day, while monorail systems remain few and far between, says a great deal about the relative versatility, suitability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. The number of cities in the world where monorails actually perform a general, practical urban transit function can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand and even there, –it is usually a single-purpose- and point-to-point operation. The key to more public transit, a better urban quality of life and less environmental damage from roads is to get something built and running ASAP. In the vast majority of cases, definitely will be Light Rail, because –that is what fits best in lower-density, automobile-oriented cities relative to all the identified demands a new "fixed guideway" system must meet.