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Performance and Geotechnical Properties of the Aggregates Used for the Turkish Trans-European Motorway Truck Escape Ramps

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Abstract

Turkey built its first highway truck escape ramp (TER) on the Turkish Trans-European Motorway (TEM) in 2012 and three more on the same highway in the following 2 years. The geotechnical properties of the aggregates used in these escape ramps were investigated, and the results were evaluated with respect to the compiled suggested criteria, since there are no internationally recognized and/or standardized criteria yet. Also, using 204 entries, performance of the aggregates, in turn, the ramps were analyzed with respect to entry speed versus both stopping distance and rolling resistance, and rolling resistance versus stopping distance along with total weight versus both rolling resistance and stopping distance, and also, available performance models in the literature were tested. The results show that the aggregates are made up of rounded-subrounded grains with no organic content and classified as GP, the bulk unit weight is 2.36 g/cm3, slake durability index is 99.46%, water absorption is 1.55%, Los Angeles abrasion lost is 20.40%, freeze-thaw lost is 7.4%, and alkali-silica reactivity is harmless. There is a good correlation between the entry speeds, stopping distances (or the required or design TER lengths), and rolling resistances, a weak relationship between the total weights and rolling resistances, but no meaningful correlation between the stopping distances and total weights. The higher the entry speeds, the higher the stopping distances, therefore, the required TER lengths, and the higher the rolling resistances, the shorter the stopping distances. The design lengths and, therefore, the aggregates of the ramps have performed well with some exceptions.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

AASHTO:

American Administration for State Highway Officials

ADOT:

Arizona Department of Transportation

ASTM:

American Society of Testing Materials

BS:

British Standards

Cc :

Coefficient of curvature

Cu :

Uniformity coefficient

CP:

Colorado Procedure

DIN:

European Standards

DL:

Design length

DS:

Design speed

Id2 :

Slake durability index

KGET:

Kern Golden Empire Television

KGM:

General Directorate of Highways (Turkish acronym)

LYTAG:

Lightweight aggregate

MOHS:

Friedrich Mohs Mineral Hardness Scale

MTO:

Ministry of Transportation, Ontario

MIT:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

OPSS:

Ontario Provincial Standard and Specification

PennDOT:

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Rc:

Reduction in alkalinity

Sc:

Dissolved silica

S :

Sphericity

TEM:

Turkish Trans-European Motorway

TER:

Truck escape ramp

USBR:

United States Bureau of Reclamation

USCS:

Unified soil classification system

WSDOT:

Washington State Department of Transportation

XRF:

X-ray fluorescence

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Acknowledgements

Some of the geotechnical properties tests in this study were performed to partially fulfill the requirements for the first author’s M.S. degree in civil engineering at Toros University. She thanks the Committee Chairman, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Çakıroğlu, and the members of the Thesis Committee, Prof. Dr. Aziz Ertunç, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Volkan Emre Uz for their constructive advice and guidance. The tests and some analysis were carried out in the soil and rock mechanics laboratories of the Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering Departments at the Toros and Çukurova Universities in Mersin and Adana, Turkey, and the 5th Regional Directorate of Mersin Highways. I thank Dr. Emre Pınarcı, Mustafa Belen and Abdulkadir Ürünveren for their assistance in performing the tests. The authors thank both the anonymous reviewer and the Editor for their critical and valuable comments which improved the manuscript considerably.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Toros University, 33140, Mersin, Turkey

    Hatice Merve Annagür

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Çukurova University, 01330, Adana, Turkey

    Mustafa Yasin Çetin

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  1. Hatice Merve Annagür
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Both authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Hatice Merve Annagür and Mustafa Yasin Çetin. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Hatice Merve Annagür, and both authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hatice Merve Annagür.

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Annagür, H.M., Çetin, M.Y. Performance and Geotechnical Properties of the Aggregates Used for the Turkish Trans-European Motorway Truck Escape Ramps. Transp. Infrastruct. Geotech. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40515-023-00333-y

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