REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) #14-07
Plasticity Requirements of the Aggregates as
Subbase, Base, Surface, and Shoulder Courses
POSTED DATE: 4/14/14; CLOSING DATE: 5/30/14
BACKGROUND
Coarse aggregates are commonly used for highway embankment construction. The Division 1004.04 (d) of IDOT Standard Specifications states that all material shall comply with Plasticity Index (PI) requirements. This specification depending upon the application of aggregate has set PI boundaries for gravel and crushed gravel, stone, and slag between 0 to 9 %. Based on this specification the PI requirement can be waived if the ratio of the percent passing No. 200 sieve to that passing No. 40 sieve is 0.6 or less.
Current IDOT specification does not require any Liquid Limit (LL) criteria. AASHTO M 147 requires the fraction passing No. 200 sieve to be less than the two-thirds of the fraction passing the No. 40 sieve. It also requires the fraction passing No. 40 sieve have LL not greater than 25 and PI not greater than 6. It is worth mentioning some states have specified greater LL boundaries and some have either waived the requirement for the ratio of passing No. 200 sieve fraction to the passing No. 40 sieve or specified different sieve numbers than No. 40 to comply with the fraction ratio. IDOT’s Bureau of Materials and Physical Research (BMPR) would like to revisit the specified plasticity requirement with the goal of finding the appropriate basis for setting plasticity criteria for aggregate material.
OBJECTIVE
IDOT Districts, contractors, consultants will benefit from this research. This research will improve the current material specification in identifying the suitable aggregates; therefore, it will improve long-term performance of embankments and highways. Also, it is expected that the findings of this study would save in cost and time by reasonably eliminating the unnecessary tests for aggregate approvals as well as not allowing unsuitable material in embankment construction.
This research will improve the current material specification in identifying the suitable aggregates; therefore, it will improve long-term performance of embankments and highways. The findings of this study would save cost and time by reasonably eliminating the unnecessary tests for aggregate approvals as well as not allowing unsuitable material in embankment construction. The outcome of this project will be an updated specification in Division 1004.04 (d) of the IDOT specification manual.
The objective of this research effort is to develop specific information for IDOT to modify appropriate portions of IDOT specification guidelines with attention to Illinois soils and highway applications.
RESEARCH TASKS AND REQUIRED DELIVERABLES
The research tasks are: 1) Literature review to understand the basis for the AASHTO specification and how other states set the maximum allowable LL and PI and how PI waiving criteria was defined. 2) Conduct lab tests to characterize gradation, Atterberg Limits, and activity properties of the IDOT permitted aggregates (i.e. CA 2 through CA 19). Verify validity of the PI waiving criteria and propose an appropriate substitute. 3) Conduct lab tests to study the effect of fine contents PI and LL on strength and deformation properties of aggregates provided by regional suppliers as well as engineered gradations produced in the lab. Identify the upper bound PI and LL for material passing No. 40 sieve. 4) Develop guidelines for IDOT material specification manual.
The current specification could improperly waive the PI requirements. It will allow using improper materials with high LL, but within the acceptable PI. Poor judgment on PI requirements and use of highly plastic aggregates for construction may result in change of design during construction and cost increase or delays.
Please note that the federal funding used by IDOT and ICT for our contract research program requires that IDOT share technology developed through our contract research program. Any software developed under this study will become the property of ICT, which must grant IDOT and the federal government free use of the software, and must share the software with other states.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL
The proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the guidelines presented in Appendix A. The contact name/email and due date are presented on the first page. All potential Principal Investigators (PIs) should read and understand the responsibilities of ICT Principal Investigators, which are presented in Appendix B.
Technical questions regarding the research project or questions regarding the RFP procedures should be submitted to Dave King, ICT, via email at . Technical questions received by ICT and answers will be posted on the ICT website as they are received.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS FOR REVIEWING PROPOSALS AND AWARDING ICT FUNDS
Please note that the following two conditions will be applied in reviewing all proposals received and in awarding ICT funds:
1) In reviewing and evaluating the proposals received from this solicitation, preference will be given to Illinois universities (both public and private) over others.
2) The award of this project is contingent upon the availability of funds at the time of award.
APPENDIX A:
GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING PROPOSALS FOR THE
ILLINOIS CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION (ICT)
Please use the following format for submitting ICT proposals for consideration. Please limit your total proposal to 15 pages in length (not including the Cover/Summary Page or optional Appendices) and use a font size no smaller than 10. We suggest Arial font with 1.5 spacing between lines.
1. Cover/Summary Page
Use the cover page included in Appendix C.
2. Research Plan
The research plan should describe in a specific and straightforward manner the proposed approach for solving the problem described in the problem statement. The research plan should be subdivided into the following sections:
(a) Introduction, including Research Idea Statement
Provide an introduction to the proposal and a concise overview of the research approach. Outline the objectives of the research project and explain the questions that will be answered by the research.
(b) Research Approach/Work Plan
Include the details of how the investigator will carry out the project and accomplish the project objectives. Itemize the tasks to be completed, explaining each in sufficient detail so the reviewers understand what will be done for each task and what will be produced or completed with each task.
(c) Anticipated Research Results
Specifically state the anticipated research results and deliverables.
(d) Applicability of Results to IDOT Practice
Describe how the anticipated research results can be used to improve IDOT practices.
3. Qualifications and Accomplishments of the Research Team
Identify who will perform the research and provide a brief explanation of each researcher’s qualifications to perform the research. Please provide examples of similar research that the proposed individuals have performed.
4. Other Commitments of the Research Team
Briefly outline the other commitments of the proposed principal and co-principal investigators to demonstrate that both will be able to fulfill the commitments of the proposal.
5. Equipment and Facilities
Describe the facilities and equipment available to undertake the research proposal.
6. Time Requirements
Describe the time that will be required to complete the research proposal, including final report preparation, ICT’s editing, review of the report by the Technical Review Panel (TRP), and final review/publishing of the report. Include a timeline for each task. Please plan on submitting the draft final report to ICT for initial editing at least three months before the end date for the project.
7. Itemized Budget
Provide an itemized budget for the entire project, including the cost of personnel, consultants, subcontracts, equipment, materials, travel, overhead/indirect costs and cost share (match). Please itemize equipment and travel requests, especially any requested out-of-state travel or planned attendance at conferences. The project budget must clearly show the portion of the total cost that is requested from IDOT/ICT and the 25% matching funds/cost share required from the proposing agency. The indirect cost rate used for the ICT funding cannot exceed 20% of the total direct costs. If you anticipate having a sub-award for extra support from outside your agency, please be aware that the sub-award cannot exceed 50% of the total project budget without prior approval.
8. Cooperative Features (if appropriate)
If assistance or cooperation is required from other agencies, public or private, to complete this proposed research, describe the plans for securing this assistance.
9. Appendices (if appropriate)
You may include such things as statements regarding previous work on the problem or related problems, abstracts of related projects, a bibliography or list of references, or materials describing the submitting organization.
APPENDIX B:
RESPONSIBILITIES OF ILLINOIS CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION (ICT) PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
1. Prepare and submit a project proposal/work plan and multi-year line-item budget, consistent with the “ICT Research Idea”/problem statement or RFP (if applicable) for the newly-approved research project.
2. Meet with the Technical Review Panel (TRP) and revise the project proposal/ work plan and multi-year budget, as agreed with the TRP.
3. Assist the TRP chair in preparing an Implementation Planning Worksheet and work throughout the project to identify the expected benefits of the research, e.g., construction savings, operation and maintenance savings, increased lifecycle, safety, etc.
4. Enter the project description, approved work plan (tasks), PI personal information, etc., on the ICT website. Update project information quarterly.
5. Carry out the project as agreed with the TRP, or notify the TRP if any problem develops regarding the project.
6. Provide online quarterly progress reports to the TRP chair for review and approval.
7. Attend regular (typically quarterly or semi-annually) meetings of the TRP to provide project updates and answer TRP members’ questions about the project.
8. Complete brief semi-annual Administrative Performance Evaluations of the TRP. (You may download this form from the ICT website – http://ict.illinois.edu/.)
9. Provide the TRP a synopsis of the project’s implementation potential as well as implementation strategies. In conjunction with the TRP, developImplementation activities/ tools such as draft specifications, policy guidelines, software, andtraining on new test/ practice/ equipment/ software and develop an implementation cost estimate, if applicable.
10. Near the completion of the research project, draft a final research report in accordance with the ICT report format. (The timeline for the work plan must allow adequate time to prepare the report, typically three months.)
11. At least three months before the end date for the project, submit the draft final report to ICT for preliminary editing (prior to submission to the TRP).
12. After ICT returns the edited draft final report, submit the report to the TRP chair for review and work with the TRP chair to finalize the content of the report.
13. Re-submit the “final” report to ICT for final editing and publication. ICT will post the final edited report to the ICT website and will arrange to publish the final report.
14. Prior to finalizing and posting the final research report on the ICT website, any publication or release of interim reports, results, etc., must be submitted to IDOT for review and comment at least 21 days prior to the planned release or presentation. After 21 days, publication or public disclosure of non-confidential and non-patentable results in professional refereed or peer-reviewed journals or papers to be presented at professional meetings may proceed without interference. The publication or release of non-scholarly work products, any information that is deemed confidential by IDOT, or information which includes patentable results may not be published/ released without IDOT’s approval.
15. When the scheduled time for presenting project information previously reviewed by IDOT does not permit formal review of a complete publication or presentation, notify IDOT of the scheduled presentation on the study and provide an abstract, presentation title, or agenda for the presentation. Such presentations shall include a statement that the paper/presentation has not been reviewed by IDOT.
16. Include the IDOT/ICT acknowledgement statement and disclaimer statement (available on the ICT website) in all publications and presentations regarding research sponsored partially or fully by ICT.
17. Comply with the terms of the current ICT Intergovernmental Agreement with IDOT approved June 2011. This agreement can be found on this ICT website, “ICT Forms and Guidelines” page at http://ict.illinois.edu/guidelines.aspx, in the “Operational Guidelines” section.
18. Comply with the current ICT Operational Guidelines. The current guidelines can be found on this ICT website, “ICT Forms and Guidelines” page at http://ict.illinois.edu/guidelines.aspx, in the “Operational Guidelines” section.
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APPENDIX C:
PROPOSAL COVER SHEET FOR
SOLICITATION #14-07
Plasticity Requirements of the Aggregates as
Subbase, Base, Surface, and Shoulder Courses
DUE MAY 30, 2014
TO
Submitted by:(Include Name and Address of Organization)
Proposed Investigator(s):
Corresponding Investigator Name:
Corresponding Investigator Phone:
Corresponding Investigator
Fax:
Corresponding Investigator Email:
Submission Date: