Advanced Geometric Design - MEC

Course category: B - Basic; C - Core Engineering; E - Specialization; P - Complementary.

T - Lectures; TP - Theory and practice; PL - Lab Work; S - Seminar; OT - Tutorial Guidance.

• Learning outcomes of the curricular unit:

  Acquisition by students of the knowledge needed for development of conception and dimensioning related to junctions and interchanges (including the lanes for acceleration and deceleration).
  This curricular unit will enable students to acquire skills needed to develop the design of junctions and interchanges, compatible with the characteristics of roads that interconnect. Also, it will allow the student to understand the need to ensure a proper coordination of all the specific projects that contribute for the global project in these areas.

• Syllabus:

  Types of intersections (without traffic channeling, with traffic chanelling, roundabouts).
  Geometric characteristics of intersections (visibility, main road and secondary road).
  Geometry of the splitter island.
  Geometry of intersections.
  Types of interchanges (specific calculation and design).
  Geometric characteristics of interchanges (visibility, gradients, superelevation and overwidening, transition curves, entrances and exits, number of lanes, auxiliary lanes, reducing the number of lanes, crossing section, access control).
  Lanes for acceleration and deceleration (specific calculation).

• Demonstration of the syllabus coherence with the curricular unit's objectives

  As part of the undergraduate degree students had two courses dedicated to the overall transportation infrastructures, in which, between the knowledge they have receveived, they obtained competences under geometric design of road infrastructures with local importance (municipal roads and streets).
  As part of the masters degree they had the course of Road Infrastructures in order to increase their knowledge and skills in this area, covering some more advanced aspects of the calculation (introduction of transition curves in planimetry). Advanced Geometric Design aims to supplement the knowledge gained, giving students the opportunity to address specific situations of high technical precision of calculation, as is the case of certain areas like intersections and interchanges. So, the syllabus was organized to be achieved the course objectives.

• Teaching methodologies (including evaluation):

  The lectures are alternated with the theoretical and practical lessons, with the purpose of sequential use of knowledge obtained. Students can only perform this course through continuous assessment, because it involves the development of a mandatory work of geometric design associated to a specific area of a road junction or interchange.
  The design should cover all written and drawings typically incorporate the execution project, being subject to discussion and final evaluation.
  It is planned a field trip to allow students to view the real implementation of the transmitted knowledge.

• Demonstration of the coherence between the teaching methodologies and the learning outcomes

  Having the objective to ensure students acquire the skills needed to develop the design of Intersections and interchanges, compatible with the characteristics of the infrastructures they connect, and that students can become aware of the need to ensure adequate coordination of all the specific projects that make up the global project of the road in these areas, it was considered appropriate continue the work presented in the course unit of Road Infrastructures through the execution design of a specific area (divergence zone of a branch connection, for example), with high difficulty calculation. This methodology is intended to place students in real situations that require a greater level of detail for a correct construction, alerting them to the complexity of such projects and the need for proper coordination of all the other parts the road project.
  In this way, the required knowledge is transmitted and also the projects are adequate to the skills included in the course learning objectives.

• Main Bibliography

  A Clotóide como elemento de traçado (tradução do original alemão);

  1. Curricular unit notes and slides;
  2. Norma de Intersecções, in force (JAE, 1993);
  3. Norma de Nós de Ligação, in force (JAE, 1993);
  4. Normas de Traçado, in force (JAE, 1994);
  5. A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (AASHTO, 1990);
  6. Normas de Traçado, in revision (InIR, Nov 2010);
  7. Recent publications of SETRA (Service d’Etudes Techniques des Routes et Autoroutes).