Ardeshir Faghri - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ardeshir Faghri

GIS temporal application to spatial breakdown evolution

Traffic engineering and control, Feb 1, 2008

Traffic breakdown is identified when there is a rapid drop in the speed level and a simultaneous ... more Traffic breakdown is identified when there is a rapid drop in the speed level and a simultaneous steep rise in the traffic density during the phase transition toward unstable flow conditions. The spatial breakdown evolution is dynamically represented over time by a GIS application. This time-based representation has been conducted by symbolisation of the three proposed traffic flow regimes, uncongested flow, dense congested stable (DCS) flow, and breakdown (unstable) flow, and the transition period between DCS flow and breakdown flow. Four states and six logically ordered conditions have been selected in order to visualise the spatial breakdown evolution on a congested freeway section over time. This GIS application can assist the traffic control centres to present temporal fixed-time and real-time traffic data at consecutive sensors in a format that is comprehensible to the public.

Open Journal of Safety Science and Technology, 2021

The increasing number of traffic conflicts between farm vehicles (FVs) and other motorists on pub... more The increasing number of traffic conflicts between farm vehicles (FVs) and other motorists on public roads has raised safety concerns for Delaware transportation authorities. Farm Vehicle Crashes (FVCs) are less frequent than passenger car, truck, and motorcycle crashes and therefore, have not received proper attention in the past. This study provides a descriptive statistical analysis of FVCs in Delaware between May 2005 and August 2020 to present a better understanding of the characteristics of these crashes. The crash data was extracted from the DelDOT crash database and the State Police Annual Reports. The statistical analysis was performed using MATLAB and crash mapping was performed using ArcGIS Pro. The results show that an average of 14 FVCs occurred each year in this period; however, the annual number of FVCs has been constantly increasing since 2016. The percentage of fatal crashes among FVCs was found to be 3.7 times the state's average for all crashes. Sussex county accounted for nearly half of these crashes. About two-thirds of FVCs took place within the rural boundaries and the rest in urban zip codes. Two peaks were observed throughout the year, one from April to July and another from August to October. The majority of the FVCs occurred during daylight, in clear weather and on a dry surface; however, crashes during dark (not-lighted) conditions were nearly 2.5 times more likely to result in injury than in daylight. Major collectors were associated with the highest risk of FVCs among all function classes. Rollovers and head-on collisions were few in numbers but had the highest percentage of personal injuries. Rear-end collisions, the most common collision type, were found to be overrepresented among crashes under dark (not-lighted) conditions. In conclusion, this study shows that the severity of FVCs is higher than the average for all crashes. Further, the high percentage of rear-end FVCs under dark conditions implies the importance of improving the visibility, lighting, and marking of FVs.

Journal of Transportation Technologies, 2021

To address the growing problem of congestion, delays, and overall traffic issues, DelDOT (Delawar... more To address the growing problem of congestion, delays, and overall traffic issues, DelDOT (Delaware Department of Transportation) established the Transportation Management Center (TMC) in 1997. DelDOT-TMC also coordinates and manages DelDOT's response to any incident that impacts the multimodal transportation system within the state of Delaware. Among other things, DelDOT-TMC collects traffic, roadway weather, and hydrological data using over a thousand monitoring devices installed throughout the state of Delaware. After data has been obtained, DelDOT-TMC analyzes and disseminates real-time travel information to the public through DelDOT's website (online interactive maps), smartphone application, traffic advisory radio, and social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blog, and Flickr; however, the utilization and usability of this information by the public are, for the most part, unknown. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the global responsibilities of DelDOT-TMC and assess the process that DelDOT-TMC uses to gather, process, analyze, and distribute traffic and roadway weather data to the public. The study employs a survey to assess the utilization of DelDOT-TMC's products, i.e., DelDOT Mobile App, WTMC 1380 AM travel advisory radio, DelDOT's public website, DelDOT's social media, as well as the usability of the DelDOT mobile app to check DART (Delaware Authority for Regional Transportation) First State transit service schedules.

A Comparative-Evaluation of Speed Humps and Deviations

Transportation Quarterly, Jul 1, 1993

Microcomputers in Transportation. Trip Generation Analysis by Artificial Neural Networks

This paper describes a new approach for conducting trip generation analysis based on the concepts... more This paper describes a new approach for conducting trip generation analysis based on the concepts of artificial neural networks. An introduction is given to the concepts of artificial neural networks, and two neural network paradigms ADALINE and Backpropagation, are built and applied to a real-world database of 150 different sites in the Washington-Baltimore region. A linear regression analysis was applied to the database, and prediction results that were obtained and the two neural networks were compared. Comments are made on the performance of the two neural network paradigms. The study concludes that neural networks are suitable for trip generation prediction problems, and can be used as an alternative to the regression analysis approach.

Application of Geographic Information Systems to Rail-Highway Grade Crossing Safety

Transportation Research Record, 1995

Intelligent transportation systems

AccessScience, Jul 10, 2015

American Society of Mechanical Engineers eBooks, 1994

Current Urban Studies, 2022

The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the literature regarding the current sta... more The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the literature regarding the current state of knowledge and practice regarding social equity and environment in the realm of urban transportation. Consisting of two sections, section 1-Transportation and the Disadvantaged explains how age, disability, economic inequity, gender identity, population density, and race affect one's ability to have access and use the transportation system. The second section-Transportation and Environmental Health covers how smog and air pollution, greenhouse gases, noise and vibration, as well as safety and security in transportation affect the disadvantaged groups explained in section 1. It is concluded that the planners, designers, engineers and policy makers need to take the needs and concerns of all citizens into consideration before a project is started.

Journal of Transportation Security, Nov 24, 2013

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has established a list of items that are prohibi... more The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has established a list of items that are prohibited to be taken onboard an airplane. As a consequence passenger lines occasionally exceed into terminal halls, sometimes onto airports' curbside. Today, the additional wait time and the inconvenience of searches experienced at security screening checkpoints are a matter of continuous concern. The purpose of the present study was to assess operational efficiency of the passenger processing system with a sole emphasis on the screening of passengers and their carry-on baggage. This study sought to define an acceptable wait time threshold, as well as provide general recommendations with respect to screening approach, screening procedures, and screening equipment. In addition, a sensitivity analyses was conducted by means of a general microscopic simulation model to test the impact of screeners' performance and the effect of prescreening. The measures of effectiveness used in both analyses consist of average wait time, average service time, average queue length, and average throughput rate. It was concluded that significant improvements occur as the portion of passenger that is positively profiled increases, hence levering the pressure on secondary screening. Reduction in queue length, and thus wait time; occurred even at relatively high percentages of random selected passengers.

Problem-Oriented and Project-Based Learning as an Innovative Approach for Teaching Highway Capacity Concepts

Transportation Research Board 94th Annual MeetingTransportation Research Board, 2015

There is an increasing need to measure and evaluate the quality of each mode, using indicators su... more There is an increasing need to measure and evaluate the quality of each mode, using indicators such as volume, capacity, density, and level of service established in the Highway Capacity Manual. Although the traditional transportation engineering education still inherits a didactic “chalk and talk” tradition of teacher-centered direct instruction based on textbooks, lectures, reading and individual written assignments formats, a growing consensus in the literature on how to improve the quality of learning suggests that adaptions to problem-based learning methods could firstly improve learning experiences, problem solving, skill acquisition and reasonable level of skill transfer from a student perspective, and secondly develop better professional competence and preparation in these needed highway capacity analysis skills. However, problem-based learning is an innovative and challenging pedagogical method to engineering education -- innovative due to the lack of literature regarding learner-centered teaching approaches in transportation engineering education, especially for teaching highway capacity concept to undergraduate students; and challenging because engineering education consists of concepts that are usually hierarchically organized, any missing essential concepts might increase the stress-levels of students, diminish motivation and indeed result in a failure to learn. This paper describes the educational basis of problem-oriented and project-based learning (POPBL) approaches that have been developed as an integral part of a 4-year undergraduate engineering degree program in the University of Delaware and incorporated into the transportation curriculum, using real world cases to teach students how to think like expert practitioners. The use of the POPBL as an effective and efficient approach for teaching highway capacity concepts in the University of Delaware's transportation curriculum is firmly based on the existing literature theory of learning experiences. A seven-phase POPBL conceptual framework and the experiences of employing POPBL are presented to demonstrate how it operates in transportation engineering education.

Research of Viable Attributes and Potential to Integrate Curbside Intercity Buses

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual MeetingTransportation Research Board, Jan 8, 2017

Transportation Research Record, 2014

Cycling is well acknowledged as one of the most energy-efficient and healthy modes of transport; ... more Cycling is well acknowledged as one of the most energy-efficient and healthy modes of transport; walking follows closely. Many approaches and models have been devoted to finding ways to increase the proportion of bicycle trips. However, significant uncertainty exists about the level and effectiveness of added cycling facilities. Few studies have conducted a detailed cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of added cycling facilities. To fill this knowledge gap, a comprehensive method is proposed for estimating the most important benefit components and expenses associated with the installation of bicycle facilities and gaining a better understanding of the strategies used to identify their effect. The general CBA framework that is developed could be used as a traffic planning tool for relieving congestion and improving bicycle networks. The tool can generate preliminary cost estimates quickly at an early planning stage. The focus is primarily on cycling, but the findings may be easily applied to other active modes of transport such as walking and scooter use. A case study in the state of Delaware demonstrates how the proposed approaches can be used to assess the impacts of road investment projects.

Assessing airport snow and ice removal and its economic implications for sustainable airport management

Journal of Airport Management, Mar 1, 2014

For airports that regularly encounter storms with snow and ice in an average year, removal of thi... more For airports that regularly encounter storms with snow and ice in an average year, removal of this snow and ice is essential for maintaining safe operations. The purpose of this paper is to assist airports in determining whether they are appropriately managing their snow and ice removal resources and applying engineering best practices. Two airports in Europe and two airports in the USA that have approximately the same amount of annual snowfall and handle the same mix and volume array of aircraft have been identified for analysis of their snow and ice removal practices. Analysis was done for numerous parameters: cost per passenger, cost per metric tonne of cargo and cost per hour for which the pieces of equipment were in use. The analysis identifies which airports allocated their resources most efficiently and provides a basis for recommendations to the airports. The research contributes to academia by providing methodology and analysis of ways in which snow and ice storms influence airports, as well as contributing factors.

Neural Network Applications in Transportation Engineering

Application of Fault Tree Analysis to Route Guidance System

Civil Engineering Systems, Dec 1, 1994

Abstract The reliability and availability of a dynamic route guidance system (RGS) using a fault ... more Abstract The reliability and availability of a dynamic route guidance system (RGS) using a fault tree is analyzed and a mathematical model of its failute is presented. The proper functioning of the system is dependent on many components including navigation system, surveillance system, communication system, hardware and software. Failure on the part of these elements may affect the reliability of the system. This study presents the application of fault tree analysis to model failure mechanisms of the system. Qualitative and quantitative analyses are performed on the fault tree. The analysis includes the determination of cut sets, system unavailability, system reliability, and importance of subsystem components. Graphs are presented for illustrating the availability and reliability of the subsystems of RGS. The reliability and availability of RGS can be determined from these graphs.

Current Urban Studies, 2023

The 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Document, published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric ... more The 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Document, published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reports sea level along the US coastline is projected to rise, on average, 10-12 inches (0.25-0.30 meters) in the next 30 years (2020-2050) (NOAA, 2022). This will create coastal flooding by causing tide and storm surge heights to increase and reach further inland. By 2050, "moderate" (typically damaging) flooding is expected to occur, on average, more than 10 times as often as it does today, and can be intensified by local factors. About 2 feet (0.6 meters) of sea level rise along the US coastline is increasingly likely between 2020 and 2100 because of emissions to date. Failing to curb future emissions could cause an additional 1.5-5 feet (0.5-1.5 meters) of rise for a total of 3.5-7 feet (1.1-2.1 meters) by the end of this century. At the same time, cities are experiencing rapid urbanization and population growth with increasing levels of private motorized vehicle ownership and use, a major source of emissions. Non-motorized transport is considered one of the important mitigation strategies to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and make urbanized communities sustainable. This paper examines the impacts of sea level rise on non-motorized transportation facilities along the coastlines of the State of Delaware using Geographic Information System (GIS) supported by the latest data and models. Results show there is significant damage in the number of facilities if sea level rises between 2 and 6 feet. As sea level rise projection gets higher, the number of facilities with major inundation increases. So the question becomes with trails and bikeways disappearing along the coastlines, is there enough space to bring these sites to the cities that are further inland, noting that vehicle use is at an all-time high, and, there are grass roots movements everywhere asking decision-makers, engineers and planners for more nonmotorized transport facilities? This paper also examines the challenging policy, engineering and planning implications of creating non-motorized transport sites and capacities in cities with shrinking available land and space for such facilities. How to cite this paper: Faghri, A. (2023).

International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, May 31, 2017

Energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable public transportation systems are within the sol... more Energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable public transportation systems are within the solution space provided by alternative fuel vehicles. Given the large revenue service potential of alternative fuel buses within the urban space, they are good candidates for emissions reductions when they are employed as part of a comprehensive urban transit planning process. The determination of the most appropriate alternative fuel bus asset for a given application is not necessarily that straightforward. The typical bus fleet is developed over a broad time horizon with each asset being acquired to meet a certain agency need or to close a perceived gap in the delivery of public transportation service. Therefore, as new assets are considered, it is critical for the fleet manager to consider as many factors of the fleet infrastructure to better ensure the positive impact that the newly acquired asset will have on fleet performance relative to the overall service goals and objectives of the fleet. This study investigates a broad range of alternative fuel bus technologies and the associated factors that will inform the decision-making process. Further, this work utilizes the inventory and understanding of the range of technology factors and leverages the perspective knowledge of industry experts on each of these factors to develop an expert systems decisionmaking philosophy to aid in the adoption of industry standards, best practices, consistency and sustainability in fleet asset management over time.

Applications of Artificial Neural Networks to Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems

Transportation Research Record, 1994

Transportation Research Record, 1996