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Materials Research at TRB
The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. This page highlights recently released TRB reports, meeting announcements, requests for proposals, and other announcements related to materials. In addition, it includes links to selected materialsresearch-related activities taking place at the federal and state levels, and within the academic and international transportation communities. Finally, this page also highlights and provides links to TRB programs and activities, which are the source of most of TRB’s materials-related research products. |
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What's New
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TRB Materials-Related Programs and Activities
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 2018 TRB Annual Meeting: Plan Now to ExhibitAugust 16, 2017 Act now to secure your exhibit space at the 2018 TRB Annual Meeting, January 7-11, 2018, in Washington, D.C. All indications are that attendance at the meeting will be the largest ever. Don't miss this opportunity to demonstrate your organization's support for transportation research and innovation, and to showcase your products and services to more than 13,000 transportation professionals. Mor... |
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 TR News May-June 2017: Valuing a Mature Highway System: In Search of the Holy GrailAugust 15, 2017 A featured article in the May-June 2017 issue of the TR News examines how to develop appropriate evaluation frameworks that account for the integration of new technologies into the infrastructure in order to accurately value the current highway system. The TR News is TRB's bimonthly magazine featuring timely articles on innovative and state-of-the-art research and practice in all modes of trans... |
Improved Laboratory Characterisation of the Deformation Properties of Granular MaterialsAugust 11, 2017 Austroads has released a report that examines the capacity of the extra-large wheel-tracking laboratory test method to predict the in-service performance of granular materials. The laboratory tests included large-scale wheel tracking, repeat load triaxial, and shear strength. The report is available for no fee after logging onto the site. |
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Impact of Low Asphalt Binder for Coarse HMA MixesAugust 6, 2017 The Minnesota Department of Transportation has released a report that evaluates low asphalt binder content mixes to determine the potential for poor cracking performance and high permeability. Premature cracking and inferior durability in asphalt mixtures with lower asphalt binder contents is a concern in Minnesota due to the cold climate conditions. |
 Relationship Between Chemical Makeup of Binders and Engineering PerformanceAugust 4, 2017 TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 511: Relationship Between Chemical Makeup of Binders and Engineering Performance documents the current practices of departments of transportation (DOTs) in the selection of the chemical composition of a binder used in pavement applications. The study provides information about the selection of binders and postproduction addit... |
 TRB Webinar: Control of Concrete Cracking in BridgesAugust 3, 2017 TRB will conduct a webinar on Thursday, August 17, 2017 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM ET that features research from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)’s Synthesis 500 : Control of Concrete Cracking in Bridges. This webinar will examine the methods used to control concrete cracking in bridge superstructures and substructures and on the influence of cracking on long-term durabi... |
High Modulus High Fatigue Resistance Asphalt (EME2) Technology TransferJuly 31, 2017 Austroads has released a report that describes the mix design specification framework for Enrobés à Module Elevé Class 2 (EME2) mixes in Australia. EME2 technology may reduce asphalt thicknesses for heavy duty pavements, and lower construction and maintenance costs. The report is available for no fee after logging onto the site. |
MnDOT Thin Whitetopping Selection ProceduresJuly 30, 2017 The Minnesota Department of Transportation has released a report that provides an integrated selection procedure for evaluating whether an existing hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavement is an appropriate candidate for a bonded concrete overlay of asphalt (BCOA). This project also included an analysis of material testing numerous HMA cores to determine if the performance of existing BCOAs could be corr... |
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Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Problems
TRB's Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Problems searches out and synthesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) report series, Synthesis of Highway Practice.
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Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program
TRB's Highway Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program is designed to provide an opportunity to investigate new and unproven concepts or to evaluate novel applications of technologies that have been tried, tested or used for highway systems practice.
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Cooperative Research Programs
TRB's Cooperative Research Programs Division manages several cooperative research programs that frequently produces reports that have relevence to issues outside of the program's core focus areas.
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Technical Activities Standing Committees
TRB's Technical Activities Division provides a forum for transportation professionals in all modes and functions to identify research needs and to share information on research and issues of interest. The Division's staff of specialists in each mode and discipline work with a network of volunteers to carry out activities on behalf of TRB sponsors and the transportation community, including the TRB Annual Meeting, conferences and workshops, publications, visits to each state, and responses to inquiries. This network includes members and friends of over 200 standing committees, supplemented by designated TRB representatives in each state, over 150 universities, and 35 transit agencies. |
Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2)
Congress established the SHRP 2 in 2006 to find strategic solutions to three national transportation challenges: improving highway safety, reducing congestion, and improving methods for renewing roads and bridges. Research was focused in four areas, which are described below. The program carried out 145 research projects and produced 130 products as well as 132 research reports. |
Research in Progress in this Subject Area
TRB's Research in Progress (RiP) Database now contains more than 11,900 current or recently completed transportation research projects. Most of the RiP records are projects funded by federal and state departments of transportation. University transportation research is also included. The RiP Database also serves as a clearinghouse of University Transportation Centers ongoing research. |
Research Needs in this Subject Area
An important function of TRB is to stimulate research that addresses concerns, issues, or problems facing the transportation community. In support of this function, TRB Technical Activities standing committees identify, develop, and disseminate research need statements (RNS) for use by practitioners, researchers, and others.
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Research Completed in this Subject Area
TRB's TRID is integrated database that combines the records from TRB's Transportation Research Information Services ( TRIS) Database and the OECD's Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation ( ITRD) Database. TRID provides access to over 900,000 records of transportation research worldwide. |
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