The Bureau of Research, Innovation and Information Transfer (BRIIT) is active in many national transportation efforts, including the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Dr. Giri Venkiteela, Research Scientist, BRIIT, is the Vice Chair of Region 1 of AASHTO’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC) that serves the Special Committee on Research & Innovation (R&I).
In late July 2024, he attended the RAC’s National Meeting in Columbus, Ohio and accepted two awards on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Every year, the High Value Research Task Force of AASHTO RAC holds a national competition to find four “high value” research projects from each of the four AASHTO regions in the country. In 2024, two research projects sponsored and managed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation were recognized nationally with awards.
The first project, Advanced Reinforced Concrete Materials for Transportation Infrastructure, was recognized as one of top 16 projects in the country and was managed by Dr. Venkiteela. The Principal Investigator for the study was Dr. Matthew Bandelt from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and championed by NJDOT’s Bureau of Materials.
Transportation infrastructure systems must resist conditioning from the natural environment and physical demands from service loading to meet the needs of users across the state. Reinforced concrete, which is widely used in bridge decks, pavements, super- and substructures, and other systems, deteriorates under environmental conditioning due to electro-chemical processes that cause expansive mechanics stresses at various length scales (e.g., reinforcement corrosion, freeze-thaw, etc.), leading to costly and timely durability and maintenance challenges.
The project report, which provides a background on the state-of-the-art of advanced reinforced concrete materials that are being investigated to improve reinforced concrete transportation infrastructure. A series of experimental and numerical research activities were then carried out to assess the mechanical properties and long-term durability of these systems. Results show benefits across a range of metrics and have the potential to substantially improve the in-service behavior of reinforced concrete transportation infrastructure.
The second project, Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques, was recognized in the Maintenance, Management, and Prevention supplemental categories and was also managed by Dr. Venkiteela. Separate research reports were prepared for asphalt (Volume I) and concrete structures (Volume II). The Principal Investigator for the study was Dr. Hao Wang from Rutgers-Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation.
Pothole repair is one of the most important and frequent maintenance activities for highway agencies. Significant amounts of costs and resources are spent in pothole repair for material, labor, equipment, and traffic control. Cost-effective pothole repair methods can reduce or eliminate the possibility of re-patching and save future repair costs. The good condition of pothole repair with less cracking will also prevent reflective cracking when asphalt overlay is placed. Preheating the excavated pothole prior to repair has been found to improve the interface bonding between existing pavements and hot filling material, which can help enhance the overall performance of asphalt patches.
The long lifespan of a durable patch will reduce travel delay due to work zone and safety risk of highway users and workers. They will better preserve the condition of highway infrastructure and provide better service to the traveling public. The feasible usage of recycled materials can reduce the production of new material, which can contribute towards a more sustainable approach of roadway repair with economic and environmental benefits.
Additional information about the research teams for each research project and links to Final Reports, Technical Briefs, and select presentations given at the NJDOT Research Showcase or at Lunchtime Tech Talk can be found in the resources section below.
Resources
Bandelt, Matthew J., Matthew P. Adams, Hao Wang, Husam Najm, Andrew Bechtel, Seyed Masoud Shirkorshidi, and Jin Fan. Advanced Reinforced Concrete Materials for Transportation Infrastructure. No. FHWA NJ-2023-003. New Jersey. Department of Transportation. Bureau of Research, 2023. Final Report. Retrieved here.
Bandelt, Matthew J., Matthew P. Adams, Hao Wang, Husam Najm, Andrew Bechtel, Seyed Masoud Shirkorshidi, and Jin Fan. Advanced Reinforced Concrete Materials for Transportation Infrastructure. No. FHWA NJ-2023-003. New Jersey. Department of Transportation. Bureau of Research, 2023. Technical Brief. Retrieved here.
Lunchtime Tech Talk! Webinar: Advanced Reinforced Concrete Materials for Transportation Infrastructure. Webinar. Presentations by Matthew Bandelt and Matthew Adams. Retrieved here.
Wang, Hao, and Xiao Chen. “Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques Volume I: Asphalt Pavement.” (2024). Final Report. Retrieved here.
Wang, Hao, and Xiao Chen. Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques Volume I: Asphalt Pavement. (2024). Technical Brief. Retrieved here.
Najm, Husam, Bala Balaguru, Hao Wang, Hardik Yagnik, and Alissa Persad. “Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques Volume II: Concrete Structures.” (2024). Final Report. Retrieved here.
Najm, Husam, Bala Balaguru, Hao Wang, Hardik Yagnik, and Alissa Persad. “Innovative Pothole Repair Materials and Techniques Volume II: Concrete Structures.” (2024). Technical Brief. Retrieved here.
Asphalt Pavement Pothole Repair with Recycled Material and Preheating. Presentation at NJDOT Research Showcase by Xiao Chen and Hao Wang, Retrieved here (Presentation) and here (Recording).