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    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Sustainable Anti-Icing Solutions Reducing Concrete Damage with Organic-based Agents </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2640693</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The goal of the research is to identify sustainable alternatives to traditional chloride-based de-icing solutions by evaluating organic-based anti-icing agents, such as beet, corn juice, etc. These agents are intended to reduce the detrimental impact on concrete infrastructure, minimize corrosion, and maintain effective performance at lower temperatures. This project will provide the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) with an innovative, sustainable approach to winter road maintenance, enhancing road safety while protecting infrastructure longevity. Reduced salt usage will lower maintenance costs over time and improve environmental outcomes, benefiting Missouri's residents and ecosystems. Organic-based anti-icing solutions can be more effective at lower temperatures than traditional salt solutions and may be less corrosive to concrete. The goal for this research project is to find an organic alternative by exploring renewable resources from organic by-products, which are both cost-effective and environmentally friendly.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2025 09:28:34 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2640693</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Quantitative Assessment of Anti-Icing Efficacy on Highway Surfaces Using Light Reflectance</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2620722</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The project aims to quantify road surface condition under adverse weather in North Dakota. First, the current winter maintenance and winter road condition monitoring practices across North Dakota will be reviewed. Historical crash data will be used to identify high-risk roadway segments encountering elevated crash frequencies and/or severities related to adverse road surface conditions. The project aims to quantify the safety performance to estimate and predict crash occurrences related to adverse weather conditions using statistical modeling techniques and network screening analysis. Once the importance of road surface condition on safety is quantify, type of surface condition (ice, snow, slush) on highways using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) will be identified. A physical model for near-infrared reflectance of road surface will be developed to classify the surface condition in a noncontact manner. The models will be developed under controlled conditions and will be evaluated under field condition by determination of the optical properties of water, snow, and ice (and black ice). In the next objective, DRS-based discriminative to measure brine eutectic point and efficacy will be developed by generating samples with different portions of water, salt, and beet juice (primarily used in North Dakota) under different temperature. Through noncontact quantification of deicer efficacy, the project contributes to preservation of transportation infrastructure and safety. The research team will develop deterministic and data-driven models to correlate DRS features under different brine conditions with respect to eutectic points in a controlled environment, and benchmarking and compare the results of DRS brine models with observations. The final task of this objective is to develop a low-cost in-situ optical sensor framework for field deployment using diode lasers, super luminescent LEDs, hyperspectral camera, single-pixel and array photodiodes, and spectral filters. The payload SWaP (size, weight and power) analysis for potential Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) applications. The research team will establish an UAS operation training program for students to get UAS licensed, to shadow UAS-assisted inspections, to analyze UAS data.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 09:43:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2620722</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluating Ballast Performance with Freeze/Thaw Cycles</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2573189</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In seasonally cold regions, railroad tracks are subjected to ice formation under sub-freezing conditions and ice thawing under above-freezing conditions due to significant seasonal temperature fluctuations, posing challenges for the maintenance of ballasted railway tracks and operation safety. Currently, little attention has been given to the impact of ice formation and thawing on the permanent deformation of railroad ballast and incidents due to track stiffness variation have not been reported. This proposed research project will investigate the effect of ice formation and thawing on the permanent deformation of ballast through large-scale triaxial cyclic testing, utilizing a newly developed freezing system to simulate frozen conditions. The results will demonstrate the potential track support variation when ballast is subject to freeze-thaw cycles, under the same loading cycles. The rate of permanent deformation will be related to track settlement and help predict track geometry degradation and optimize track maintenance for enhanced track safety.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2025 20:12:51 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2573189</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of On-Board Liquid Distribution System for Winter Maintenance 
</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2256359</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The pumps currently used by ODOT on snowplow trucks to dispense liquid materials lose the desired output accuracy as the truck varies in speed. As a result, operators are not able to consistently meet ODOT's application guidelines and any data captured is questionable. The issue worsens as operators switch pump settings from prewetting to application. Over time, ODOT has been utilizing substantially more liquids for snow and ice prevention. Having the right equipment that ensures materials are being dispensed accurately and reliably could provide a huge benefit to ODOT's winter operations.

The goal of this research is to identify or design a liquid material pump that can consistently and accurately dispense a snowplow's on-board liquid anti-icing material at various speeds. This research will expand on the findings from an active ROC task that is gathering information on the state-of-practice for these types of pumps by installing recommended pump(s) on ODOT equipment, evaluating their performance during winter and providing recommendations. Successful results can help ODOT reduce waste, increase efficiencies and make the winter roads safer for the traveling public.          ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 11:28:06 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2256359</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Ice Loading on Piers for Minnesota’s Bridges</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2209758</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The purpose of this research is to evaluate, refine, and determine appropriate parameters for ice loadings on bridge piers in Minnesota. Design ice loading methodologies in 
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) bridge design manuals are well established nationally by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) LRFD; however, MnDOT specifies conservative ice parameters, including ice crushing strength and thickness, uniformly across the state. More cost-effective bridge designs may be possible considering appropriate ice loading thickness and ice crushing strength for different regions within Minnesota, especially given the variation across the state in current and future climate scenarios.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 11 Jul 2023 12:30:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2209758</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Performance of Ultra-Thin Bonded Wearing Course During Winter Events</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071993</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Ultra-Thin Bonded Wearing Course (UTBWC) pavement surfacing was introduced in some states back in mid 1990s under the brand name, “NovaChip”. It was developed as a preventative maintenance option to extend pavement life by placing a thin open/gap-graded hot mix asphalt (HMA) lift over a polymer-modified asphalt emulsion. The open/gap-graded aggregate also provides superior safety benefits under wet pavement conditions. Despite successful use in northern climates such as Vermont and Minnesota, anecdotal feedback indicates severe icing occurs on some UTBWC surfaces in Maryland during winter storms, and that current salting practices may be insufficient. Similar concerns have been identified by other states, and thus safety benefits under snow and ice conditions recently have been in question. However, other UTBWC locations seem to have no issues. Thus, research is needed to determine how prevalent the problem is in Maryland, to assess the performance difference of UTBWC surfaces compared to adjacent non-UTBWC surfaces, and whether any issue is dependent on precipitation type, rate of fall or volume, and how volume of salt or other treatment affects performance.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2022 10:53:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2071993</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Upcycling agro wastes as additives for sustainable roadway anti-icing operations</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1922337</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Building on the success of a Washington State University (WSU) patent technology, this project will further upcycle agro wastes from the State of Washington and turn them into novel anti-icing liquids for the market, tailored to meet the varying requirements in anti-icing performance, cost-effectiveness, and minimized footprint. The products will reduce the amount of chloride salt by at least 20% while achieving better overall performance than beet juice/salt brine blends (and salt brine). Second, they will feature greatly reduced oxygen demand and aquatic toxicity (key differentiator). Project tasks include: further development in the lab; WSU parking lot tests; and city street testing of the developed anti-icing liquids.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2022 19:35:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1922337</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Low Temperature Performance of a Friction Pendulum Bearing Inundated with Ice</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1669407</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Friction pendulum system (FPS) bridge bearings manufactured by Earthquake Protection Systems (EPS) at several locations around the country are known to fill with and retain water in the inner cavity of the bearing. FPS bearings are delivered and installed with cover seals around the outer bearing (attached to the top and bottom plate) that prevent exposure of the sliding surfaces. However, from inspection of in-service bearings, several DOTs have reported observations of breached seals and standing water on the sliding surface. The influence of water contamination on the sliding surface friction properties appears to be absent in prior literature, but anecdotal observations have suggested that water contamination may decrease the bearing friction coefficient.
In Alaska, an even bigger concern is the fact that water trapped in the bearings will freeze during the winter months. The presence of ice in the cavity of the isolator could obstruct the movement of the bearing during an earthquake. This would result in increased base shear demand, which is potentially damaging to the bridge superstructure and foundation. Thus, the consequences of water and ice contamination in the bearings must be evaluated to determine how well the bearings will function, and whether uncertainties in the bearing response can be accounted for in the design process. If consequences of water or ice contamination are severe, mitigation options should be explored that can either prevent the bearings from taking on water or help the bearings to quickly dry out.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:25:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1669407</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SPR-4321: Evaluation of Our Current and Other Available Anti-Icing/De-Icing Products Under Controlled environmental Conditions to Test Effectiveness</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1531729</link>
      <description><![CDATA[INDOT removes ice and snow from more than 28,000 lane miles of highways to protect public safety. This project will synthesize information from the literature and other agencies to evaluate effectiveness and environmental impacts of available anti-icing and de-icing products. The expected project deliverables include a summary report and recommendations on the most cost-effective anti-icing and de-icing products to support INDOT’s efforts to improve highway safety.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 10 Aug 2018 10:45:31 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1531729</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Heated Pavements: Phase Change Materials</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1503750</link>
      <description><![CDATA[It was shown in previous work (Task 1C) that phase change materials (PCMs) can be used in concrete pavement to alter anti-icing practices, being successfully and economically used to delay or prevent ice formation. The incorporation of PCMs in lightweight aggregate (LWA) is a promising approach to mitigate ice formation in concrete pavements; however, only medium size laboratory tests were conducted in Task 1C. This research will place full-size concrete slabs at an Indiana airport. In addition, slabs will be produced in Oregon to further evaluate existing models for the interpretation of data from the field sites. The work will focus on documenting full-scale construction practices, measuring properties of field manufactured concrete using LWA with PCM, monitoring temperature in the pavement slabs and at the paving sites, and ice formation at the paving locations over the course of the project.  The work will also extend laboratory durability testing as well as extending the modeling to indicate airport locations where the use of PCM (passive heating) has the greatest economic viability and potential success. This is the next logical step in extending this work to the field.
While the previous work with PCC examined the potential for using porous aggregate with PCM, work completed thus far in Task 1E determined that porous aggregate containing PCM cannot be used to incorporate PCM in asphalt mixtures. The PCM interacts with asphalt binder, to the detriment of the system. The research team therefore had to seek alternative methods for incorporating PCM in asphalt pavements. The most promising method is encapsulation of the PCM by some sort of shell material that can withstand the temperatures of asphalt mixture production and placement. When the original Task 1E proposal was written and approved, the extensive work required to develop a viable method for incorporating PCM in asphalt pavement was not anticipated. As the research proceeded additional work beyond the original scope of the project was required. This research proposal includes additional monies and time to complete Task 1E.
To complete Task 1E, a series of laboratory specimens will be prepared that demonstrate how PCM can be used in asphalt pavement or in a layered asphalt pavement system. Data obtained will be used to assess the heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and liquidus temperature of the PCM in the asphalt. Additionally, a series of large-scale specimens will be produced and exposed to a range of temperatures and humidities. The work will also evaluate conditions (i.e., rate of heat decrease or precipitation rate) where PCM may not be sufficient to reduce ice formation. Lastly, the final report from Task 1E will be completed and contain the research findings and recommendations for implementation.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 02 Mar 2018 13:32:06 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1503750</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Determining Airfield Pavement Deicer and Anti-Icer Contributions to Airport Stormwater</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1478081</link>
      <description><![CDATA[ACRP Project 02-61 identified and ranked research needs related to airport stormwater management. One of the conclusions of this review was that the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit compliance requirements increasingly include pavement deicer constituents in stormwater discharges. As controls on aircraft deicing runoff have become more widespread and effective, focus on the relative contribution and influence of pavement deicing runoff has increased. Yet airports face significant challenges when attempting to parse out the relative contribution of airfield deicers, because the sources contributing to oxygen demand (i.e., biochemical oxygen demand [BOD] and chemical oxygen demand [COD]) cannot be easily measured. Airports therefore need a method to determine the contribution of pavement deicers and anti-icers to the total oxygen demand in stormwater.
The objective of this research is to develop a method to estimate the contributions of airfield pavement deicers and anti-icers to overall oxygen demand (BOD and COD) in stormwater discharges.
The method should:
(1) Account for sources, fate and transport of airfield pavement deicers and anti-icers;
(2) Identify and quantify airfield pavement deicers and anti-icers contained in discharged waters;
(3) Account for contributions from other non-airfield pavement-related deicers and anti-icing activities;
(4) Be adaptable to background water chemistry, various geographies, airport configurations, soils, topography, climate, weather, and hydrology;
(5) Be scalable to levels of resource availability (e.g., data, time, money, personnel, expertise); and
(6) Produce output expressed as a percentage of overall BOD and COD attributable to airfield pavement deicers and anti-icers with levels of confidence, and identify uncertainties.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2017 12:26:45 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1478081</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Implementing Conductive Concrete with Renewable Energy to Develop Anti-Icing Airfield Runways</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1360996</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of this research project is to develop an anti-ice runway slab by implementing a photovoltaic energy system with conductive concrete.  A test slab will be constructed at the University of Arkansas' Engineering Research Center to substantiate the methodology.  The test slab with be monitored for ambient and internal temperature throughout the 2010-2011 winter season.  In addition, a preliminary numerical model will be generated to determine an anti-ice slab's photovoltaic energy system requirements as a function of airfield location.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2015 01:01:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1360996</guid>
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