Final report of ITS Center
project: ITS infrastructure maintenance management
A Research Project Report
For the National ITS Implementation Research Center
A U.S. DOT University Transportation Center
ITS INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT
Principal Investigators:
Jun Yao
Dr. Hualiang (Harry) Teng
Dr.
Lester Hoel
ITS Infrastructure Maintenance Management
By:
Jun Yao
Dr. Hualiang (Harry) Teng
Dr. Lester Hoel
A Research Project Report for the ITS Implementation
Center
Jun Yao
University of Virginia
Dr. Hualiang (Harry) Teng
Department of Civil Engineering
Email: hht4n@virginia.edu
Dr. Lester A. Hoel
Department of Civil Engineering
Email: lah@virginia.edu
Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Virginia produces outstanding transportation professionals, innovative research results and provides important public service. The Center for Transportation Studies is committed to academic excellence, multi-disciplinary research and to developing state-of-the-art facilities. Through a partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Research Council (VTRC), CTS faculty hold joint appointments, VTRC research scientists teach specialized courses, and graduate student work is supported through a Graduate Research Assistantship Program. CTS receives substantial financial support from two federal University Transportation Center Grants: the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center (MAUTC), and through the National ITS Implementation Research Center (ITS Center). Other related research activities of the faculty include funding through FHWA, NSF, US Department of Transportation, VDOT, other governmental agencies and private companies.
Disclaimer: The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof.
Abstract
Maintaining Inductive Loop Detection (ILD) systems in good conditions allows the systems to perform the functions they are designed for. The objective of this study is to identify the factors that influence the life times of loop detection systems and evaluate several fundamental maintenance policies.
To identify the factors that influence the life time of the ILD, survival theory-based deterioration models were developed using the maintenance data collected in a previous study. Special features of the maintenance data (unidentifiable lifetime, censoring data, and panel data) were taken into account in using the models. It was identified that heavy vehicle traffic volume is the major contributor to the diminishing life times of loops in an ILD. No factors can be identified for piezos that are co-installed usually at the same detection stations with vehicle classification capability.
A microscopic simulation model was developed to evaluate three popularly adopted maintenance policies. To address the effect of preventive maintenance on the performance of ILD, two assumed ILDs with different system compositions were evaluated. It was found that an ILD without piezos for vehicle classification does not need to be provided with regular preventive maintenance, while the one with piezos installed can be better off with preventive maintenance.