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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Status: Published
Description
Automated vehicles are becoming more prevalent in the modern world. Using platoons of automated vehicles can have numerous benefits including increasing the safety of drivers as well as streamlining roadway operations. How individual automated vehicles within a platoon react to each other is essential to creating an efficient method of travel. This paper looks at two individual vehicles forming a platoon and tracks the time headway between the two. Several speed profiles are explored for the following vehicle including a triangular and trapezoidal speed profile. It is discovered that a safety violation occurs during platoon formation where the desired time headway between the vehicles is violated. The aim of this research is to explore if this violation can be eliminated or reduced through utilization of different speed profiles.
ContributorsLarson, Kurt Gregory (Author) / Lou, Yingyan (Thesis director) / Chen, Yan (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Recurring incidents between pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles at the intersection of Rural Road and Spence Avenue led to a team of students conducting their own investigation into the current conditions and analyzing a handful of alternatives. An extension of an industry-standard technique was used to build a control case which alternatives would be compared to. Four alternatives were identified, and the two that could be modeled in simulation software were both found to be technically feasible in the preliminary analysis.
ContributorsFellows, Christopher Lee (Author) / Lou, Yingyan (Thesis director) / Zhou, Xuesong (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
America's infrastructure is in dire straits according to the 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Report Card, giving America a D+ average for all infrastructure categories. "The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 ranks the U.S. 16th in quality of overall infrastructure" (Peters State). This paper addresses the need for investment in transportation infrastructure starting today, with a focus on bridges. The rates at which infrastructure is being built and maintained is not sustainable. Lack of funding causes states to practice deferred maintenance of infrastructure which ultimately results in higher overall costs. Timely maintenance and investment in current infrastructure is almost always the more economical approach. Despite conditions in Arizona, the rest of America is struggling with crumbling infrastructure. This paper stems from the Tex Wash Bridge failure on the Interstate-10 between California and Arizona in July 2015. A case study of four potential causes of the Tex Wash Bridge's collapse are discussed, along with several solutions that could have lessened the likelihood of failure. The condition of bridges are cataloged in the National Bridge Inventory managed by the Federal Highway Administration. In all reality, cost is not incurred at the instance of a bridge collapse, rather it is incremental throughout the infrastructure's lifetime. The impact of infrastructure failures are economic, social, and political. In the last decade, 33 short term fixes for project funding of roadways have been passed by Congress, none lasting longer than two years. The federal budget's underinvestment in infrastructure limits state departments of transportation ability to address high risk issues. Transportation is funded via the federal gasoline tax and vehicle license tax, along with state gasoline taxes. Unfortunately, the federal gasoline tax has not been increased since 1993. The Highway Trust Fund has subsequently faced insolvency in recent years. In 2011, America only committed 2.4% of its GDP to it's over 4 million miles of roads concluding that there is no interest to make transportation infrastructure a national priority. Currently, each state needs an average of $1 billion to address deficient bridges, and America needs $3.6 trillion to raise infrastructure ratings in the next five years. These needs can only be addressed at the federal level through long-term transportation legislation. It will require gaining investor confidence in tax spending, looking towards alternate funding such county taxes or toll roads, and capitalizing on the immediate interest generated by catastrophes. Mary Peters, former United States Secretary of Transportation, emphasizes the economic impact of underinvestment to foster political will, as opposed to focusing on America's crumbling infrastructure. Public safety and the economy are tied directly to the condition of America's infrastructure. For improvement on the national level, the disconnect between public understanding, engineering judgement, and political action must be remedied. The process starts by making America's infrastructure a national priority.
ContributorsRichards, Robert Huggins (Author) / Hjelmstad, Keith (Thesis director) / Lawrence, Christopher (Committee member) / Del E. Webb Construction (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
In this thesis a community-based ride sharing mobile application, Ride Devil, will be introduced and created to provide services for communities such as Arizona State University and its students, faculty, and other affiliates to find safe rides around campus because campus population problem exists. This causes increased transportation costs, decreased parking space availability, and more transportation issues. The Ride Devil application itself is based off on the ride-sharing concept of transportation as introduced, above. Students, faculty, and other university affiliates will drive their own vehicles and use the Ride Devil services in order to coordinate pick-ups with members of its community. Not only is this form of transportation more cost effective than competing transportation models, taxis, but it also promotes safety, community, and educational assistance.
ContributorsVan Hook, Ryan Leo (Author) / Lin, Elva (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Transit-oriented developments (TODs) are a promising strategy to increase public transit use and, as a result, reduce personal car travel. By using TOD infill to increase urban population density and encourage transportation mode-shifting, the potential exists to reduce life-cycle per capita energy use and environmental impacts of the interdependent infrastructure systems. This project specifically examined the Gold Line of light rail and Orange Line of bus rapid transit in Los Angeles, CA.
ContributorsNahlik, Matthew John (Author) / Chester, Mikhail (Thesis director) / Pendyala, Ram (Committee member) / Pincetl, Stephanie (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Technology continues to impact human's daily lives and behavior, from how we purchase our groceries to how we get access to news and the means we communicate with others. New technologies are constantly being introduced and are not only influencing the public but also how businesses operate. During this technological era companies are investing more in research and development to learn more about the potential benefits of these technologies. This research, in particular, will address the need for companies' investment and continuous improvement in transportation management systems among complex supply chains to increase adoption rates of TMS technology. Also I will show how Transportation management systems have increased cost savings, customer satisfaction, the optimization of data, and planning. Such research is further supported by personal interviews with Intel, Big lots, Leslie’s Pools, and At Home, whom all have experience with transportation management systems within their business operations.
ContributorsSoto, Maria Guadalupe (Author) / Keane, Katy (Thesis director) / Blackmer, Cindie (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Approximately 1% of the total working population within the United States bikes as their primary mode of commute. Due to recent increased in bicycle facilities as well as a focus on alternative modes of transport, understanding the motivations and type of people who bike to work is important in order to encourage new users.
In this project, a literature review was completed as well as data analysis of the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) in order to find specific populations to target. Using these target populations, it is suggested that advertising and workplace encouragement occur to persuade more people to bike to work. Through data analysis it was found that the most impactful variables were the region of the country, gender, population density, and commute distance. Bicycle commuters statistically had fewer vehicles in their households and drove less miles annually.
There were five main target groups found through this analysis; people who bike for other reasons besides work and live in a city with more than 4,000 people per square mile, young professionals between 19-39, women in regions with separated bicycle facilities, those with low vehicle availability, and environmentally conscious individuals. Working to target these groups through advertising campaigns to encourage new users, as well as increasing and improving bicycle facilities, will help create more new bicyclists.
In this project, a literature review was completed as well as data analysis of the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) in order to find specific populations to target. Using these target populations, it is suggested that advertising and workplace encouragement occur to persuade more people to bike to work. Through data analysis it was found that the most impactful variables were the region of the country, gender, population density, and commute distance. Bicycle commuters statistically had fewer vehicles in their households and drove less miles annually.
There were five main target groups found through this analysis; people who bike for other reasons besides work and live in a city with more than 4,000 people per square mile, young professionals between 19-39, women in regions with separated bicycle facilities, those with low vehicle availability, and environmentally conscious individuals. Working to target these groups through advertising campaigns to encourage new users, as well as increasing and improving bicycle facilities, will help create more new bicyclists.
ContributorsImbus, Eileen Elizabeth (Author) / Khoeini, Sara (Thesis director) / Pendyala, Ram (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The following case study covers Avnet, Inc., a global technology distributor and supply chain service company with a headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona and customers in over 125 countries within North America, Asia and Europe. The case includes a strategic overview of Avnet’s unique 100-year history and transformed business model, while also highlighting the company’s current business strategies. The hallmark of Avnet’s growth and success has been through over one hundred mergers and acquisitions which make up Avnet’s 2020 company ecosystem. The strategies presented in this case focus specifically on the automotive initiative, a strong growth area within the semiconductor industry, which consists of a two-part global transportation strategy for Avnet. The strategy accommodates both Strategic Supply Chain customers as well as Strategic Design Change customers, two main transportation customer types. The case then further explores the transformation of Avnet’s automotive strategy team from a regional to global focus. This research is accomplished through a literature review of market research from various sources on semiconductor market trends and best industry practices. The research also investigates the impacts on demand creation for Avnet through customer relationships. In addition to research and analysis, other information included in the case is derived from direct collaboration with Avnet employees on the cross-functional global team and employee interviews. The research and recommendations in this paper are presented with the goal of providing proof of concept on the global automotive initiative for Avnet and will be shared with the strategy team following completion of the case study.
ContributorsStabile, Kristina Marie (Author) / Rabinovich, Dr. Elliot (Thesis director) / Holmes, Nancy (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis discusses how American Airlines and its’ wholly owned regional partner Piedmont Airlines could improve schedule options by optimizing its existing operations enabling Piedmont to operate more flights with the same number of airplanes. This thesis uses data exclusively from Piedmont Airlines’ September 2019 Schedule, and focuses on operational improvements through minimizing downtime for aircraft both at hubs and outstations.
In the hubs, it was found that there was significant room for optimization to ensure that the aircraft are truly being used to their full potential versus long ramp wait times between flights. When looking at outstations, planes typically only spent the minimum required amount of time on the ground. The exception is if the plane was going to Remain Overnight (RON), however this also meant it was the last flight of the day, and it arrived in the evening or later. The thesis specifically looks at the flows for the week of September 14-20, 2019.
In the hubs, it was found that there was significant room for optimization to ensure that the aircraft are truly being used to their full potential versus long ramp wait times between flights. When looking at outstations, planes typically only spent the minimum required amount of time on the ground. The exception is if the plane was going to Remain Overnight (RON), however this also meant it was the last flight of the day, and it arrived in the evening or later. The thesis specifically looks at the flows for the week of September 14-20, 2019.
ContributorsKass, Adam Mitchell (Author) / Kellso, James (Thesis director) / Wall, Robert (Committee member) / Bookbinder, Evan (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Gathering the necessary information required to tackle traffic congestion problems is generally time consuming and challenging but is an important part of city planners’ work. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methodology used when analyzing potential solutions for the Arizona State Route 89A and Highway 179 roundabout in Sedona, Arizona; which is currently experiencing significant congestion. The oversaturated condition is typically applied to signalized intersections but its application to roundabouts requires further exploration for future management of similar transportation systems. The accompanying Quick Estimation and Simulation model (QESM) spreadsheet was calibrated using an iterative process to optimize its level of adaptability to various scenarios. This microsimulation modeling program can be used to predict the outcome of possible roadway improvements aimed at decreasing traffic congestion. The information provided in this paper helps users understand traffic system problems, as a primary to visual simulation programs.
ContributorsBrunetti, Isabel (Co-author) / Tran, Adam (Co-author) / Zhou, Xuesong (Thesis director) / Carreon, Adam (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05