Introducing a New Curve with Symmetrical Parabolic Curvature for Horizontal Alignment
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 146, Issue 6
Abstract
Simple circular curves have been proposed by the road specifications to be implemented in horizontal alignment. In these curves, the centrifugal force is applied suddenly to the vehicles at the beginning of the curve and remains constant at its maximum value until the end of the curve. The current research intends to introduce a new curve for horizontal alignment. This curve is a simplified form of the general transition curve and since it has a Symmetrical Parabolic Curvature, it is called the SPC curve. This curve applies the centrifugal force to the vehicles in a gradual manner. By using the SPC curve, the edge profile matches the curvature and the superelevation would be applied more efficiently to the roadway. Compared to the simple circular curve, the SPC curve has a lower horizontal side offset and applies a smoother vertical tire force to the outer edge of the pavement. The shorter total length of the alignment comprising the SPC curve leads to decreased road construction and maintenance costs. Also, the mechanical simulation shows that vehicles negotiating the SPC curve seem to be less prone to rollover.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully thank Professor Alfredo García of Universitat Politècnica de València for his help in introducing some appropriate materials for the literature review.
References
AASHTO. 2018. A policy on geometric design of highways and streets. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
Alavi, Z., and A. Hamidi. 2020. “Evaluation of a revision on the runoff length to meet the criterion for maximum allowable length of transition curves.” In Proc., 12th National Congress on Civil Engineering (NCCE). Tabriz, Iran: Sahand Univ. of Technology.
Bosurgi, G., and A. D’Andrea. 2012. “A polynomial parametric curve (PPC-curve) for the design of horizontal geometry of highways.” Comput-Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng. 27 (4): 304–a312. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8667.2011.00750.x.
Courant, R. 2011. Vol. 2 of Differential and integral calculus. Hoboken, NY: Wiley.
Easa, S. M., and E. Dabbour. 2003. “Design radius requirements for simple horizontal curves on three-dimensional alignments.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 30 (6): 1022–1033. https://doi.org/10.1139/l03-022.
Easa, S. M., and A. Mehmood. 2008. “Optimizing design of highway horizontal alignments: New substantive safety approach.” Comput.-Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng. 23 (7): 560–573. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8667.2008.00560.x.
El Halim, A. A., and S. M. Easa. 2008. “Implementing new vehicle stability-based minimum radius guidelines for simple and reverse horizontal curves: Is it cost effective?” In Efficient transportation and pavement systems: Characterization, mechanisms, simulation, and modeling, 313. London: CRC Press.
Iran Highway Geometric Design Code. 2012. Vice Presidency for strategic planning and supervision. Tehran, Iran: Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Iranian Legal Medicine Organization. 2005–2017. “The comparative statistics of fatalities and injuries of vehicle crashes in Iran from 1384 SH to 1395 SH.” Accessed May 1, 2019. http://www.lmo.ir/.
Iranian Traffic Police. 2018. “62nd meeting of coordinating specific traffic plans committee.” Accessed April 20, 2019. http://rahvar120.ir.
Kobryń, A. 2011. “Polynomial solutions of transition curves.” J. Surv. Eng. 137 (3): 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000044.
Kobryń, A. 2014. “New solutions for general transition curves.” J. Surv. Eng. 140 (1): 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000113.
Kobryń, A. 2016. “Universal solutions of transition curves.” J. Surv. Eng. 142 (4): 04016010. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000179.
Kobryń, A. 2017. Vol. 14 of Transition curves for highway geometric design. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Lamm, R., B. Psarianos, and T. Mailaender. 1999. Highway design and traffic safety engineering handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Llopis-Castelló, D., A. M. Pérez-Zuriaga, F. J. Camacho-Torregrosa, and A. García. 2018. “Impact of horizontal geometric design of two-lane rural roads on vehicle emissions.” Transp. Res. Part D: Transp. Environ. 59 (Mar): 46–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2017.12.020.
Mavromatis, S., B. Psrianos, and C. Spentzas. 1999. “Influence of the vehicle acceleration on the road minimum horizontal curve radius.” In Proc., 32nd Int. Symp. on Automotive Technology and Automation (ISATA), 93–101. Croydon, England: Automotive Automation.
Sabouri, M., and A. Hamidi. Forthcoming. “Introducing a revised model for determination of rollover threshold speed of buses.” Int. J. Heavy Veh. Syst. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJHVS.2020.10025361.
Sánchez-Reyes, J., and J. M. Chacón. 2018. “Nonparametric Bézier representation of polynomial transition curves.” J. Surv. Eng. 144 (2): 04018001. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000251.
Tasci, L., and N. Kuloglu. 2011. “Investigation of a new transition curve/Naujos pereinamosios kreives tyrimas/Jaunas parejas liknes izpete/Uue siirdekovera uuring.” Baltic J. Road Bridge Eng. 6 (1): 23.
WHO (World Health Organization). 2018. Violence, injury prevention, & World Health Organization. Geneva: WHO.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 21, 2019
Accepted: Nov 8, 2019
Published online: Apr 13, 2020
Published in print: Jun 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Sep 13, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.