Project Title	Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Recycled Fiber Reinforced Concrete for Green Bus Pads
University	Morgan State University
Principal Investigator(s)	Kadir Aslan, Mehdi Shokouhian, and Steve Efe
PI Contact Information	kadir.aslan@morgan.edu
Funding Source(s) and Amounts Provided (by each agency or organization)	Federal Funds — $240,000 MSU Match — $240,000
Total Project Cost	$480,000
Start and End Dates	4/30/2020 — 4/30/2022
Brief Description of Research Project	State transit administrations across the Mid-Atlantic states operate independent or connected transit systems within cities or within several states. Our particular interest is developing new methodologies to help the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) in its operation of a comprehensive transit system throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area, one that has a daily and annual ridership of > 380,000 and 110 million people, respectively. The MTA operates 80 bus lines with over 840 buses serving Baltimore’s public transportation needs, along with the Light Rail, Metro subway, and MARC train. Since nearly half the population of Baltimore residents lack access to a car, the MTA is an important part of the regional transit system. Subsequently, maintaining a durable infrastructure to support the bus transit system and mobility of Baltimore residents is critical. One of the most common issues observed in the Baltimore City bus transit system is the crumbling of bus pads, where the buses stop to pick up riders. Bus pads are highly durable areas of the city roadways at bus stops, typically made of concrete, which is used to address the issue of asphalt distortion at bus stops. This issue is more problematic at high-volume stops where idling buses further heat the roadway surface, as well as near-side stops in mixed-traffic lanes where trucks may be adding to wear and tear. Cracks and damage in concrete pavement occur as a result of shrinkage, settlement, uplift, and excessive weight on the slab. Therefore, there is a continuous need to investigate the cause of the cracking of bus pads and develop a more sustainable design and monitoring approach so that bus pads are not replaced as often, reducing costs and disruptions to service. The sustainability of pavement materials is a major issue that started to be strongly felt in view of a global perspective of environmental protection. Wasted materials often may find a new lifecycle if well re-engineered, even in structural applications. In this field short steel fibers obtained from used tires at the end of their life may find promising applications within a concrete matrix. In this study the mechanical properties of Recycled Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (RSFRC) in terms of workability, compressive and tensile strength, toughness and shear behavior will be analyzed and compared with other types of fiber reinforced concrete including Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) and Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC), as well as non-fiber reinforced concrete.