TRANSPORTATION FINALS
provided accommodation for ships and cargo
Traffic Flow (q)- the rate which vehicles pass a given
point in a roadway given in terms of vehicles per unit
time.
Traffic Density (k)- measure of the number of vehicles
occupying a length of roadway
Time mean speed (µk) – arithmetic mean of speeds
observed at some designated point along the roadway.
Space mean speed (µs) – harmonic mean of the speed
observed at some designated point along the roadway.
Space Headway (hs) – the distance between successive
vehicles moving in the same lane measured from head
to head at any distance.
Time Headway (ht) – the time interval between the
passage of successive vehicles moving in the same lane
measured from head to head as they pass a point on
the road.
Queue – a line or sequence of people or vehicle waiting
to be served .
Arrival rate (ʎ) – the rate at which vehicles arrive at the
queue.
Departure rate (µ) – rate at which vehicles leave the
queue point.
Traffic Intensity (ρ) – ratio of average arrival rate to the
average departure rate.
Deterministic (D) – equal time intervals (definite
interval).
Exponential/Markovian (M) – Exponential or varies
D/D/1 – this queue model is the simplest having
deterministic arrivals, deterministic departure, and one
departure channel.
M/D/1 – queuing that has exponentially distributed
arrivals, deterministic departure and one departure
channel.
M/M/1 – has exponentially distributed arrivals,
exponentially distributed departure and one departure
channel.
Harbor – it is a place of security and comfort, a small
bay or other sheltered part of an area of water, usually
well protected against high waves and strong currents,
and deep enough to provide anchorage for ships and
other craft.
- It is also a place where port facilities are
handling facilities.
Port or Seaport – it includes the harbor and the
adjacent town or city suitable for loading goods and
embarking men.
- A location on a shore containing one or more
harbors where ships can dock and transfer
cargo/ people to/from land.
Wharf – is the oldest term in English referring to port
structures. It denotes any structure of timber, masonry,
cement, or other material built along or at an angle to
the navigable waterway, with sufficient depth of water
to accommodate vessels and receive and discharge
cargo or passengers.
- A structure built on the shore of or projecting
into a harbor, stream, etc. so that vessels may
be moored alongside to load or unload or t lie
at rest.
Quays – concrete, stone, or metal platform lying
alongside or projecting into water for loading and
unloading ships.
Pier – is a construction work extending into the harbour
with sufficient depth of water alongside to
accommodate vessels, also used as promenade or
loading place for passengers.
Pier – is a raised structure in a body of water, typically
supported by well – spaced piles or pillars.
Jetty – is a small pier, usually made of timbers for boats,
yachts or fishing boats, but also refers to large ships.
- A jetty is along narrow structure that protects a
coastline from the currents and tides.
- Jetties are usually made of wood, earth, stone,
or concrete. They stretch from the shore into
the water.
Breakwaters – it is a massive port structure made of
masonry or large stone blocks laid in the sea to protect
the harbor from waves and current.
Waves – are visual proof of the transmission of energy
across the oceans.
- Most waves are wind – driven and happens in
the boundary between and within fluids with
different densities .
 Air/ocean interface (ocean waves)
  Air/air interface (atmospheric waves)
 Water/water interface (internal waves)
OTHER TYPES OF WAVES
1. Splash wave (coastal landslides, calving
icebergs)
2. Seismic sea wave or tsunami (sea floor
movement)
3. Tides (gravitational attraction among mood,
sun, and earth)
4. Wake (ships)
Progressive waves – waves that travel without breaking.
TYPES OF PROGRESSIVE WAVE
1. Longitudinal – push/pull waves in direction of
energy transmission (sound)
2. Transverse – back and fourth motion (only in
solids).
3. Orbital – combination of longitudinal and
traverse (around and around motion at
interface of two liquids).
WATER AND WATER DYNAMICS
Wave steepness - ratio of wave height to wave length
H/L, if wave steepness>1/7, wave breaks.
Wave period – time for one wavelength to pass a fixed
point.
Wave frequency – no. of waves crests passing fixed
location per unit of time, inverse od period or 1/T.
Wave base – (roughly at ½ L) at a certain distance from
the wave interface, there is hardly any motion due to
wave activity. The region is said to be below the wave
base.
DEEP – WATER WAVES
 Water depth is greater than wave base (>1/2L)
 No interference with ocean bottom
 Wave speed (celerity) proportional to
wavelength. “ The longer the wave, the farster
it travels”.
SHALLOW – WATER WAVE
 Water depth is <1/20L
 Wave “feels” bottom, because water is
shallower than wave base.
 Celerity proportional to depth of water. “The
deeper the water, the faster the wave travels”.
TRANSITIONAL WAVES
 Water depth is in between 1/20L and 1/2L
where L = wave length
 Characteristics of both deep and shallow –
water waves
 Celerity depends on both water depth and
wavelength
Fetch – distance of uninterrupted winds.
Fully developed sea – maximum wave height,
wavelength for particular fetch, speed, and duration of
winds at equilibrium conditions.
Swell – uniform, symmetrical waves that travel outward
from storm area. It has long, rounded crests and
transports energy at ling distances.
Storm Surges
 Large wave moving with a storm (not just
hurricanes)
 Low pressure above water water level rises
at center
 Preceded by low sea-level in front of storm
Tsunami or seismic sea wave – sudden changes in sea
floor caused by earthquakes, submarine landslides, or
volcanic eruptions.
Tidal datums – is a refence elevation defined by a
certain tidal stage. They are used as reference in
measuring water levels.
Highest astronomical tide (HAT)
- The elevation of the highest predicted
astronomical tide expected to occur at a specific
tide station.
Mean higher high water (MHHW)
- The average of the higher high water of each
tidal day.
Mean high water (MHW)
- The average of all the high-water heights.
Diurnal tide level (DTL)
- The average of the MHHW and MLLW.
Mean tide level (MTL)
- The average of MHW and MLW.
Mean sea level (MSL)
- The average of the heights observed at an
interval of time usually every 1 hour.
Mean low water (MLW)
- The average of all the low water heights.
Mean lower low water (MLLW)
- The average of the lower low water heights of
each tidal day.
Lowest astronomical tide (LAT)
- The elevation of the lowest astronomical
predicted tide expected to occur.
Great diurnal range (GT)
- The difference in height between the MHHW
and the MLLW.
Mean range of tide (MN)
- The difference in height between the MHW and
MLLW.
Max tide / highest observed tide
- The maximum height reached by a rising tide.
Min tide / lowest observed tide
- The minimum height reached by a falling tide.
AIRPORT ENGINEERING
Airport apron or Apron – is the area of an airport where
aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded , is refueled, or
boarded.
Runway – a defined surface on an airport prepared or
suitable for the landing or take off of airplanes.
RAILROAD ENGINEERING
Sleepers - in the US known as “ties”, short for
“crossties”. The traverse members of trackwork, made
of wood, concrete or sometimes steel, which are used
to secure the rails at the correct gauge.
Track gauge - it is defined as the spacing of the rails and
measured between the inner faces of the load bearing
rails.
Turnout – it is where a single – track splits to become
two tracks and equipped with moving rails to change
the route.
Capacity – it is the maximum sustainable flow rate at
which vehicles or persons reasonably can be expected
to traverse a point or uniform segment of a lane or
roadway during a specified time, and control conditions;
usually expressed as vehicles per hour.
Cycle – a complete sequence of signal phases.
Cycle length / cycle time – time required for one
complete sequence of signal displays (sum of phase
green and inter-green times). For a given movement, it
is the sum of the durations of red, yellow , and green
signal displays, or sum of effective green and re times.
Degree of saturation – the ratio of arrival (demand) flow
rate to capacity during a given flow period. Also known
as the volume to capacity ratio.
Delay – the additional travel time experienced by a
vehicle or pedestrian with reference to a base travel
time.
Density – it is defined as the number of vehicles per unit
distance occupying a section of roadway at a given
instant time and usually measured in vehicles per mile
of per km.
- The number of vehicles per unit distance along
a road segment as measured at an instant in
time.
Flow rate – number of vehicles or pedestrian per unit
time passing a given reference point.
Headway (TIME) – the time elapsed between the front
bumper of one vehicle and the front bumper of the
following vehicle passing a given point.
Level of service – an index of the operational
performance of traffic on a given traffic lane, roadway
or intersection, based on service measured such as
delay, degree of saturation, density and speed during a
given flow period.
Overflow – an interrupted traffic condition when a
number of queued vehicles are not able to depart due
to insufficient capacity during a traffic signal or gap-
acceptance cycle ( also known as cycle failure).
Peak hour factor – it is the hourly volume during the
maximum – volume hour of the day divided by the peak
15 – minute flow rate within the peak hour; a measure
of traffic demand fluctuations within the peak hour.
Peak period - the period that has the highest demand
volume of traffic during the day.
Pedestrian crossing – a traverse strip of a roadway
marked for the use of pedestrians crossing the road at a
place with a sign, and with or without alternating
flashing twin yellow lights.
Phase – part of a signal cycle during which one or more
movements receive right of way subject to resolution of
any vehicle or pedestrian conflicts by priority rules. It is
identified by at least one movement gaining right way
at the start of it and at least one movement losing right
of way at the end of it.
Platoon – a group of vehicles or pedestrians travelling
together because of signal control, geometric conditions
or other factors.
Queue – a line of vehicles or pedestrians waiting to
proceed through an intersection.
Signal phasing – sequential arrangement of separately
controlled groups of vehicle and pedestrian movements
within a signal cycle to allow all vehicle and pedestrian
movements to proceed.
Traffic control signal – a type of road traffic signal
whether manually, electrically, or mechanically,
operated by which traffic is alternatively directed to
stop and proceed in a specified direction.
Traffic volume – the number of vehicles moving in a
specified direction on a given lane or roadway that pass
a given point during specified unit time and is usually
expressed as vehicles per hour or vehicles per day.
- It is defined as the number of vehicles that pass
a specified point on a highway in a specified
period of time.
Average annual daily traffic (AADT) – the average of 24-
hour traffic counts collected every day in the year.
These counts are used to estimate highway user
revenues, compute accident rates, and establish traffic
volume trends.
Average daily traffic (ADT) – the average of 24-jour
traffic counts collected a number of greater than one
but less than a year. These counts are used for planning
of highway activities, measuring current traffic demand
and evaluating existing traffic flow.
Peak hour volume (PHV)- the maximum number of
vehicles that pass a point on a highway during a period
of 60 consecutive minutes. This volume is used for
functional classification of highways, geometric design
standard section, capacity analysis, development of
operational programs, and development of parking
regulations.