Fadi Alhomaidat - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Fadi Alhomaidat

International Review of Civil Engineering (IRECE)

Energies

Due to the chronic shortage of energy-related analytical data and disintegration of building ener... more Due to the chronic shortage of energy-related analytical data and disintegration of building energy regulations, numerous existing residential buildings in Petra (Jordan) and many cities worldwide suffer from poor building energy design. This paper aims at investigating the potential of applying energy-saving standards in order to improve the whole-building energy consumption of low-rise residential buildings in mild and dry climate zones. Representative buildings were selected based on a field survey. Proposed strategies focused on applicable solutions such as envelope components, and energy-related systems were set. The models were created using Autodesk Revit, and then the results were generated by the EnergyPlus engine. The findings showed that the application of building energy standards greatly impacts the overall energy end-use, where up to 30% reduction can be achieved by applying the Jordanian code, and up to 45% by applying the American standard. This work provides guidanc...

International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion

The Open Transportation Journal

Background and Objective: This study aims to improve the capacity and level of service at the six... more Background and Objective: This study aims to improve the capacity and level of service at the sixth circle in Jordan by using traffic signals and a roundabout metering approach. Methods: VISSIM software and C++ program were used to improve the capacity and level of service. The site area (Sixth circle) was located near Crown Plaza and the Jordan Gate Towers project, which causes congestion due to heavy traffic flow. Therefore, this paper assesses the traffic in the sixth circle and presents the possible solutions to reduce the daily traffic flow for the users of this circle. Results: Four signals were placed at the roundabout in the second scenario, which was connected to each other with different cycle lengths. 90-second cycle length gives D value of the level of service. The third scenario was placed adaptive signals on the roundabout, which connects traffic signals with ground detectors placed at a certain distance before the signal and based on the queue length of the flow cars ...

Transport and Telecommunication Journal, 2021

This study provides with a safety assessment of the pedestrian’s crash data in one of the largest... more This study provides with a safety assessment of the pedestrian’s crash data in one of the largest cities of the state of Michigan, Grand Rapids. Crash data reviewed included a 9-year period between years 2010 and 2018. Crash clusters with largest number of accidents were selected to perform analysis based on the normalization of crash with population (using Census Bureau information). Geographic Information System (GIS) software was used to gather this data using a 250-feet buffer around the clusters. Also, GIS was used to identify the infrastructure design and locations nearby the studied area (e.g. schools and hospitals) to understand the crash environments. Observation of the associated factors with pedestrian crashes were studied at the location of interest. An analysis of all safety efforts was completed and a list of recommendations and possible implementation strategies (e.g. pedestrian countermeasures). Finally, it was found that four types of pedestrian crashes were most re...

Journal of Transportation Technologies, 2015

Data of traffic flow, speed and density are required for planning, designing, and modelling of tr... more Data of traffic flow, speed and density are required for planning, designing, and modelling of traffic stream for all parts of the road system. Specialized equipments such as stationary counts are used to record volume and speed; but they are expensive, difficult to set up, and require periodic maintenance. The moving observer method was proposed in 1954 by Wardrop and Charlesworth to estimate these variables inexpensively. Basically, the observer counts the number of vehicles overtaken, the number of vehicles passed, and the number of vehicles encountered while traveling in the opposite direction. The trip time is reported for both travel directions. Additionally, the length of road segment is measured. These variables are then used in estimating speeds and volumes. In a westbound direction from Interstate Highway 30 (I-30) in the DFW area, this study examined the accuracy and feasibility of this method by comparing it with stationary observer method as the standard method for such counts. The statistical tests were used to test the accuracy. Results show that this method provides accurate volume and speed estimates when compared to the stationary method for the road segment with three lanes per direction, especially when several runs are taken.

Infrastructures

The incorporation of nanotechnology has led to significant strides in the concrete industry, ushe... more The incorporation of nanotechnology has led to significant strides in the concrete industry, ushering in innovative construction methodologies. Various nanomaterials, including nano-silica (NS), have undergone comprehensive scrutiny as potential partial substitutes for cement in concrete formulations. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the impacts of NS on several mechanical properties of concrete, encompassing compressive, split tensile, and flexural strengths. Additionally, the review delves into the influence of NS on the concrete’s durability, including microstructural characterization and the eradication of structural micropores. NS has demonstrated the capacity to bolster both strength and durability while concurrently diminishing structural micropores. Moreover, this review explores the contemporary status of NS application in cement concrete and presents avenues for prospective research. The assessment of engineering attributes becomes imperative for co...

Archives of Transport

Over the last decade, there has been a growing number of individuals using cycling for transport.... more Over the last decade, there has been a growing number of individuals using cycling for transport. However, a fraction of workers in the United States of America (USA) are riding bicycles for commuting due to different risk and need factors. Cycling still has serious obstacles to be utilized as alternative transportation. Therefore, there is a need to have a better understanding of the perceived risk/need factors among cyclists. This survey study clarifies the awareness among cyclists of different categories of Risk/Need Factors (RNF) and it contributes to a better understanding of the differences in perceived risks/needs within age groups, genders, and skill levels. An online survey was conducted that included three main categories of Risk/Need Factors (RNF) related to cycling: infrastructure-related, traffic-related, and facility-related. Mean Score Analysis and Ordered Probit Model were used to examine the differences in risk/need perception among cyclists of different ages, gende...

This paper presents a descriptive analysis of travel behavior over ten years using household surv... more This paper presents a descriptive analysis of travel behavior over ten years using household survey data collected by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) in 2005 and 2015, respectively. The data used in this work were 12,000 and 6,500 sample sizes for 2005 and 2015, respectively. Generally, results indicated that a 12% reduction for all trip rates occurred during the study period. On the other hand, trip rates for multiple age ranges, including the elderly, increased from 2005 to 2015. Also, the average travel distance for all modes increased during the study period, and transit was mainly used for long travel distances. Also, several spatiotemporal changes in human travel behavior were analyzed using different travel indicators, namely: travel time, trip purpose, travel mode, and travel distance. The analysis results show the change in travel behavior across different counties in the SEMCOG area during the study period. The study indicates that the travel time ch...

KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering

Australian Journal of Structural Engineering

Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives

This study seeks to improve the methodology for determining the relationship between cycling dyna... more This study seeks to improve the methodology for determining the relationship between cycling dynamic performance and roadway environment characteristics across different bicyclists' skill levels. To achieve the goal of this study, an Instrumented Probe Bicycle (IPB) equipped with various sensors was built. A naturalistic field experiment, including intersections, roundabout, alignment changes, and different road surface conditions, was conducted. Two self-reported questionnaires were used in order to obtain each participant's skill level as well as perception on the level of cycling comfortability. The Cycling Comfortability Index (CCI) was derived from the probabilistic outcome of an Ordered Probit Model, which describes the relationship between bicycle dynamics and level of comfortability. Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), a technique widely used to measure the risk of a fault event occurrence in a system, was employed to integrate mobility and comfortability. The estimation results showed that the probability of a fault event occurrence is related to the bicyclist's experience level, incline of the roadway, and quality of the road surface. It was also found that cycling comfort level is significantly affected by the average yaxis acceleration and the mean absolute deviation of the z-axis velocity. The results of this study have practical implications for improving bicyclist perceptions on comfortability and for increasing safety for cyclists.

This article is part of the Proceedings of the 6th Annual International Cycling Safety Conference... more This article is part of the Proceedings of the 6th Annual International Cycling Safety Conference held in Davis, California, USA on September 20th through 23rd in the year 2017.<br><br>Paper ID: 59

IATSS Research, 2020

Speed limit is one of the essential factors associated with roadway safety. Spillover effect is t... more Speed limit is one of the essential factors associated with roadway safety. Spillover effect is the tendency of drivers to drive at a higher speed on relatively lower-speed non-freeway roadways after exiting higher-speed freeways. Speed studies were conducted on urban arterial roads with speed limits of 45 mph-all adjacent to freeways with speed limits of 55 mph and 70 mph. A comparison of speed differences between motorists who exited the freeway and those who were already driving on the arterial road was performed. Results showed that the mean speed and 85th percentile of passenger cars on arterials adjacent to 55 mph freeway were 47.3 and 51.1 mph, respectively, while the mean speed and 85th percentile of passenger cars on arterial adjacent to a higher speed 70 mph freeway were 49.5 and 53.4 mph, respectively. Differences in the mean speeds between vehicles exiting from freeways and vehicles already driving on the arterial road were observed at all four sites evaluated. This paper provides researchers, policymakers, and engineers with a better understanding of the effects of speed spillover on adjacent roads when determining whether to increase the speed limit on freeways.

Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2020

Urban arterial roads carry the most traffic on urban road networks and experience the highest per... more Urban arterial roads carry the most traffic on urban road networks and experience the highest percentage of crashes in urban areas. Safety on urban arterials that are adjacent to a higher speed freeway may be impacted by speed spillover or adaptation. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of raising freeway speed limits on the frequency of crashes on urban arterial roads adjacent to freeways (spillover effects). Crash data within Michigan were collected on 1393 urban arterial road segments before and after freeway speed limits were altered. Before-and-after data was collected simultaneously on 1470 comparison segments of urban arterial where speed limits did not change to control for the regression-to-the-mean bias. The mixed effects negative binomial (MENB) regression model was developed to analyze crash frequency on urban arterials. The results indicate that raising speed limits of freeways by as little as five miles per hour had a likelihood of increasing crash frequency on adjacent arterial roads by as much as 13.9 percent. To investigate if the safety impact of speed spillover changes with the distance from the freeway, influence areas (0-1 mile, 1-2 mile, and 2-3 mile) were used. The findings of this study provide insights into the effects of speed spillover on crash occurrences, and it demonstrates that increasing freeway speed limit has a negative influence on driver compliance with the speed limit on adjacent arterial roads. Correspondingly, the influence of freeway speed on drivers' speeding behavior on adjacent urban arterials fades away with the distance from the freeway.

Case Studies on Transport Policy