Impact Assessment of Hydro-Meteorological Events on Texas Pavements and Development of Resiliency Strategy
3 pm CT, July 30, 2018
Overview
Changing climate can cause extreme weather events, and variations in hydrologic, storm and temperature patterns. These changes have an adverse impact on the performance of pavement system in Texas. It is of extreme importance to estimate the possible effects of climate change on the performance of the pavements. These estimates will help transportation officials in making decisions to accommodate the climate change into planning and design of pavement systems. The objective of the presentation is to show anticipated change in climate and its impact on the performance of the pavement infrastructure of Texas. The future climate data obtained from North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) databases was used for performing pavement design analysis. Pavement Mechanistic-Empirical (ME) Design software is used for analysis of the pavement performance with historical climate as well as predicted future climate data. Comparing the pavement performance with historical climate and predicted future climate data revealed that the distresses in the pavement structure is increasing with the future climate scenario.
Presenter
Dr. Vivek Tandon is a professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), who is teaching and conducting research in the field of highway infrastructure. He obtained his B.Tech from GPBUA&T (India), M.S. from UTEP, doctorate from the Pennsylvania State University. The main focus of his research is in the area of development and evaluation of innovative sustainable materials for highway infrastructure that generates minimal carbon footprint, which encompasses sustainable modification of existing materials like asphalt, aggregate, asphalt concrete, soils, and PCC, and development of new materials like geopolymer. The minor area of expertise includes evaluating the impact of extreme climate events on transportation infrastructure, and sustainable development approaches for smart cities. Even though the primary funding source of these projects has been TxDOT, he has received funding from sources like FHWA, NCHRP, USDOT, NSF, etc. He also has a patent on System and Method for Field Testing a Tack Coat Layer.