PhD Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Advisor- Prof. Erol Tutumluer

  • Damage evaluation in airport pavements (Jan 2015- May 2019)
    • Developed a novel data-driven  analysis tool to predict deformation potentials airport flexible pavements subjected to real-world air traffic utilizing the full sale accelerated pavement testing database from the Federal Aviation Administrations’ (FAA) National Airport Pavement Test Facility (NAPTF) in New Jersey, where full-size aircraft gear/wheel loads were applied with wanders on instrumented pavement test sections.
    • The motivation behind this project was to create a better understanding of the damage mechanisms in the airport pavements in the face of rapidly increasing air traffic. The final outcome is expected to result in helping the designers plan an effective maintenance and rehabilitation strategy, subsequently leading to an economic and sustainable airport pavement management system. Won $10,000 research grant from FAA and Transportation Research Board (TRB)  (2016-  2017) (News-1, News-2)
  • Mechanistic-Empirical pavement rehabilitation methods using nondestructive testing methods (Aug 2012- May 2015)
    • Developed novel mechanistic design concepts based Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) overlay thickness design procedures using nondestructive Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing and finite element modeling to improve Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) current Pavement Management system (News).

MS Research, University of Akron, Akron, OH (Thesis)
Advisor- Dr. Ala R. Abbas

  • Performance evaluation of pavement markings (Aug 2010- June 2012)
    • Evaluated the wet night performance of the various wet pavement markings based on dry and wet retro-reflectivity, dry and wet night visibility, daytime color, and durabilityCompared the wet night performance of the various pavement marking materialsCompared the marking materials based on their cost effectiveness by doing a life cycle cost analysis (LCCA)Determined the feasibility of using various pavement marking materials as a replacement for RPMs in Ohio

Completed Projects

  1. Developed mechanistic design concepts based Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) overlay thickness design procedures through a proper structural evaluation of existing in service pavements using nondestructive Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing in order to improve Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) current Pavement Management (News) (Final Report)
  2. Developed improved pavement rehabilitation procedures based on Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD)  backcalculation (NEXTRANSProject No. 094IY04) (Report)
  3. Evaluated the nighttime visibility performance of 3M AWP and 3M 380WR ES Durable Tape under Dry, Wet, and Rainy Conditions in order to propose recommendations  to increase safety on ODOT‘s highway network (Report)