Research Publications (Engineering and Built Environment)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/215

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Assessing the impact of undergraduate research on graduate attributes development : a case study of DUT Civil Engineering Students
(Durban University of Technology, 2022) Ngubane, Zesizwe; Hay, Shanley; Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo
Engineering graduates are expected to demonstrate competence after their engineering programmes in the form of graduate attributes (GAs) prescribed by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). It has, however, been challenging to develop and assess these attributes, especially using conventional assessment or examination methods, just as on the global scale. Nevertheless, studies have demonstrated that undergraduate research enables students to develop independent critical skills, as they do in graduate studies, by identifying a problem that needs to be solved. Undergraduate research has not been widely explored as a tool in developing and accessing GAs in engineering students. This study examined the impact of undergraduate research in engineering student ECSA GAs development and assessment using a case study of civil engineering diploma students. Therefore, using purposeful quantitative sampling methods, first-year and second-year diploma students were interviewed on their experience with newly introduced undergraduate research. Observations of the students' responses indicated that students' understanding, and views of GAs do improve from the first year to the second year due to continuous exposure to research. A conceptual model for assessing and developing GAs among engineering students is proposed in this study. This conceptual framework can assist in the further development of strategies in the implementation of undergraduate research at universities of technology.
Comparative study on the design methods for fly ash-flexible pavement
(University of Zagreb Faculty of Civil Engineering, 2021-05-20) Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo; Abejide, Samuel Olugbenga; Mostafa, Mohamed M. Hassan
Advancement in the design of pavement structures in the recent decade has brought about the use of finite element modelling (FEM) tools. Numerical simulation of flexible pavement through these models are yielding positive results and enhancing pavement design year after year. Various factors contribute to this success; yet, material characterization model in FEM is a major/critical factor. However, in using FEM, there are various material characterization input methods which are; input through laboratory testing; secondly, through correlation and lastly a backward calculation from deflection measurements. Overall, input methods are more realistic and give a better understanding of the mechanical behaviour of the material, nevertheless quite difficult to obtain. Although, the use of fly-ash stabilizer in pavement structure is not new yet its use has not been fully implemented in FEM design. As a result, a comparative study is considered based on input and correlation parameters on fly ash stabilized flexible pavement using Abaqus. Furthermore, the results show that the material input method provides better results and gives some amount of certainty on the design life of the pavement.
Consideration of pavement type service life capacity for sustainable infrastructure development in Nigeria
(2019) Abejide, Samuel Olugbenga; Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo; Mostafa, Mohamed
The opposition over the use of concrete pavement against the conventional flexible pavement in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized; nevertheless, the question of interest should be: is concrete pavement now a way out of Nigeria road network? Certainly, the success of any road pavement design practice is a function of various factors put together. Yet, the pros and cons of concrete pavement should not be seen from the perspective of a political drive but rather seen on the feasibility of achieving a reliable and sustainable pavement during the intended service life. The necessary factors to be considered in the success of pavement design will depend on; the environmental condition, geotechnical properties of the concrete pavement materials, the mix design of the concrete, the construction practice/workmanship, the expected load cycles and social acceptability. Furthermore, the emphasis on concrete pavement should be as a result of positive success already in use and the viability of the use of concrete pavement over flexible pavement will rely on successes and failures in design and construction which will depend on laboratory testing data so as to generate a code of practice manual which is suitable for a particular geographic location; since soil properties and environmental condition lies in its abundant complexity over a given location. This paper focuses on providing a guide to the use of concrete pavement design in Nigeria and how success in transforming Nigerian roads to rigid pavement can be achieved especially in failed road sections within the southern region and other regions prone to excessive rainfall precipitation.
Evaluating the current state of pedestrian facilities in peri-urban and urban areas : a case study of Pietermaritzburg City
(Bentham Science Publishers Ltd., 2024-04-26) Maseko, Wealthy Tsembile; Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo; Bashingi, Ndakhona; Honiball, James
Background Pedestrian infrastructure is pivotal for advancing the movement of nonmotorized road users and plays a transformative role in transitioning toward sustainable transportation, especially in rural territories influenced by urban dynamics and interconnected by daily commuter flows. Both walking and cycling stand out as paramount sustainable transport means, offering substantial health and environmental benefits, including reduced noise and air pollution. Multiple factors, such as convenience, safety, accessibility, service cost, flexibility, and the quality of pedestrian pathways, shape individuals' propensity to walk. Notably, in peri-urban contexts, the cost of service becomes a significant determinant, as a notable proportion of the population earns minimal wages or faces unemployment. Objective This study sought to examine the current state of pedestrian walkways within Pietermaritzburg and surrounding areas, through which the accessibility, availability, and quality of these facilities were assessed. The study has suggested possible solutions to address the challenges faced by pedestrians. Methods By conducting semi-structured interviews and leveraging ArcGIS mapping utilities, this research has delineated the existing scenario and offered an initial redesign tailored to pedestrian requirements. Results The data have starkly revealed pervasive inadequacies in the existing pedestrian infrastructure. The functionality and safety of current amenities have been manifestly undermined by these shortcomings. The continuing use of these dilapidated facilities may pose alarming threats not only to pedestrians, but also to other road users.
Inclusivity of ICT based solutions to public transportation problems : challenges and opportunities for Bloemfontein
(The Road Association of Serbia Via-vita, 2023-09-22) Bashingi, Ndakhona; Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo; Kumar Das, Dillip; Mostafa Hassan Mostafa, Mohammed
Promoting information and communication technologies as mobility and transportation accessibility solutions in efforts to achieve sustainable transportation excludes socioeconomic vulnerability. ICT-related efforts do not meet the mobility and accessibility needs of every single group in society, resulting in socioeconomic exclusion for specific groups of people. Social exclusion disadvantages vulnerable social groups in society's mobility, while limited mobility reduces access to activities for disadvantaged groups; travel for job hunting, education, work, and health facilities further increases these groups' physical isolation. The need to travel for activities, services, and basic goods for human consumption such as food, water, and medication must be addressed by developing inclusive transportation systems. Through tele-activities, e-payments, security and surveillance, among other components adaptable to travel and mobility, technological solutions have been at the forefront of prescriptions to transportation problems. However, they remain inaccessible to some of society. The study investigates whether inclusive, sustainable public transportation can be fully realized in developing countries by utilizing technology-based travel behavior solutions. It also investigates the effectiveness of ICT solutions to travel, mobility, and accessibility issues in a South African city with a relatively traditional public transportation system. The study considers socioeconomic travel processes as well as travel behavior constructs to inclusivity in order to weigh the prospects of equitable provision of ICT-enabled public transportation services in the developing world. This study discovered that travelers have smartphone access; however, the purposes of smartphones are not directly related to travel and transportation. Furthermore, public transportation service providers do not have an online presence. Overall, for ICT-enabled public transportation to thrive in developing countries, accessible technologies such as calls and SMS that do not require internet access must be considered.
Intelligent transportation system as an effective remedy to improve the public transportation in South Africa
(2018) Abejide, O. Samuel; Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo; Mostafa Hassan, Mohamed
South African transportation is generally observed as uncoordinated with hitches and pitfalls. The ease of public transportation movement is highly dangerous with unguaranteed safety and comfort. Despite the funds budgeted for public transport restructuring and management in South Africa running into billions, the situation is still left exasperated. However, the solution to the transport system is rather a long-term infrastructure plan in which improvement can be achieved in a piece meal manner. This study provides a solution to the challenges faced in public transportation by improving the public transport system via application of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to improve safety and reduce congestion resulting to a sustainable and efficient transportation system. Quantitative analysis was carried out on public transportation vehicle owners, drivers, public transportation users and non-users within Free State to assess the current state of public transportation that could potentially be solved by ITS and the challenges likely to be faced. The use of questionnaires was used to assist in identifying elements needed for successful integration of ITS into South African Public Transportation.
Machine learning for road traffic accident improvement and environmental resource management in the transportation sector
(MDPI AG, 2023-02) Megnidio-Tchoukouegno, Mireille; Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo
Despite the measures put in place in different countries, road traffic fatalities are still considered one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Thus, the reduction of traffic fatalities or accidents is one of the contributing factors to attaining sustainability goals. Different factors such as the geometric structure of the road, a non-signalized road network, the mechanical failure of vehicles, inexperienced drivers, a lack of communication skills, distraction and the visual or cognitive impairment of road users have led to this increase in traffic accidents. These factors can be categorized under four headings that are: human, road, vehicle factors and environmental road conditions. The advent of machine learning algorithms is of great importance in analysing the data, extracting hidden patterns, predicting the severity level of accidents and summarizing the information in a useful format. In this study, three machine learning algorithms for classification, such as Decision Tree, LightGBM and XGBoost, were used to model the accuracy of road traffic accidents in the UK for the year 2020 using their default and hyper-tuning parameters. The results show that the high performance of the Decision Tree algorithm with default parameters can predict traffic accident severity and provide reference to the critical variables that need to be monitored to reduce accidents on the roads. This study suggests that preventative strategies such as regular vehicle technical inspection, traffic policy strengthening and the redesign of vehicle protective equipment be implemented to reduce the severity of road accidents caused by vehicle characteristics.
Reaction behaviour of drivers to marked and unmarked road : Ghana perspective
(The Road Association of Serbia Via-vita, 2021-03-22) Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo; Feikie, Xoliswa; Dzogbewu, Thywill Cephas; Mostafa, Mohamed
Africa is the leading continent globally in the rate of road traffic fatalities, yet it is the least motorized compared to the other five continents. This predicament is said to be one of the leading cause of death among youth and generally, rated as one of the ten causes of death in the world. Exclusively, Ghana’s rate of traffic fatalities is growing despite the efforts invested in reducing it. Nevertheless, more focus needs to be invested in the traffic control systems such as traffic signals, signs or road markings. As this system tends to considerably reduce the number of conflicts and minimize road user’s errors. Furthermore, this system creates drivers’ expectations of the conditions which they will meet ahead and the driving tasks required. If misleading information is provided, or none is available, hazardous situations can result. Overall, this traffic system is inadequate or lacking in most developing countries as there are no proper maintenance strategies in place. Thus, this study investigates and evaluates the reaction of drivers to the marked and unmarked roads. Using random quantitative sampling methods, Ghanaian drivers were interviewed on their experiences when driving on the marked and unmarked road. Overall, this study will highlight the necessity of road markings in reducing traffic fatality rate and the psychological effect of the unavailability of road marking on drivers’ expectation and consequently, the effect on their behaviour in most developing countries.
A study on indirect tensile strength for the determination of resilient modulus of warm mix asphalt
(Elsevier BV, 2023) Kamdem, Ronald Fabrice Pouokam; Adedeji, Jacob Adedayo; Mostafa, Mohamed M. Hassan
The advent of Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) incorporating Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) as a long-term solution to partially or totally participate in remediating the problem of global warming and the regression of environmental resources has been expanding and gaining interest throughout the world. The WMA-RAP technology created as an improved WMA technology has shown to possess mechanical properties closely similar to Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). Though searching for environmentally sustainable asphalt technologies have become vital, the quest to construct economically sustainable highways cannot be neglected. The dynamic modulus tests (DMT) is among the most accurate yet expensive laboratory tests performed to determine the resilient modulus of asphalt mixes. Therefore, this paper aims to determine the resilient modulus of asphalt mixes (WMA-RAP and HMA) through both the indirect tensile strength (ITS) and the correlation formula method (CFM) and compares them against the dynamic modulus tests method (DMTM). Furthermore, this study utilises the resilient modulus found through CFM and DMTM to predict and compare the mechanical performances of asphalt pavement systems. Finite Element Modelling (FEM) and Linear Elastic Analysis (LEA) were used to modelling and analysing the mechanical behaviour of pavement systems. Both the WMA15% RAP and WMA30% RAP samples were mixed with 50/70 grade bitumen modified with Sasobit additive. The HMA samples on the other hand were mixed with non-modified 50/70 grade bitumen. Findings show that the resilient moduli of HMA and WMA-RAP mixes obtained through CFM is 77% close to the DMTM. In addition, the HMA and the WMA-RAP pavements with CFM and DMTM resilient moduli also show very close mechanical performance. This signifies that the CFM can be used as a reliable and cost effective alternative method to determine the resilient modulus of asphalt mixes.