Horizontal Alignment Security Design Theory and Application of Superhighways

Yu-Long Pei, Yong-Ming He, Bin Ran, Jia Kang and Yu-Ting Song
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Yu-Long Pei: School of Transportation, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Yong-Ming He: School of Transportation, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Bin Ran: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 57305, USA
Jia Kang: School of Transportation, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Yu-Ting Song: School of Transportation, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: In China, the maximum design speed of highways is 120 km/h, which first appeared in the Highway Engineering Technical Standard (Trial) in 1951. However, vehicle performance, road design, and construction technology have been greatly improved over the past 68 years. To adapt to the development demands of highway design speeds above 120 km/h in the future, it is urgent to study superhighway alignment design theory. Therefore, the horizontal alignment security design theory of superhighways was developed in this paper. First, the definition, classification, and construction mode of a superhighway and suitable vehicles of different grades are presented. Then, the lengths of straight lines were limited to reduce driving fatigue. Next, the minimum radii of circular curves were calculated based on driver characteristics and stress analysis of operating vehicles. Finally, the minimum lengths of transition curves were calculated based on the centrifugal acceleration of the operating vehicles, the travel time, and the passenger visual characteristics. The calculation and analysis results show that the superhighway linear features conform to the vehicle operating characteristics, and can ensure the safety of driving.

Keywords: superhighway; security design; horizontal alignment; circular curve; design speed (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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