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Volume 22, No. 40Journal 40, December 2020-January 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.15517/t114ed05

Published November 17, 2025

Scientific Papers

  1. Darío Ovidio Vargas Aguilar, Jonathan Agüero Valverde (Author)

    Statistical analysis of road crashes at the district level for the greater metropolitan area

    Due to the constant increase in the number of road crashes that occur in the country, it was sought to determine the socio-economic characteristics of the population and the variables of land use related to the frequency of road crashes at the district level in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM). This will make possible to include road safety criteria in urban planning policies.

    Statistical models of crash estimation were developed, using the negative binomial distribution based on the land use of the GAM. The socio-economic variables of the population and variables associated with the road network were included. The representative variables in each of the types of crashes analyzed were determined, such as the total population, and the estimation of expected crashes was performed for each of the districts under study. Additionally, the districts with the highest frequency were determined, where the Alajuela district stands out, which proved to be the most problematic. The districts of Heredia, Uruca, Hospital, San Nicolás, Río Segundo, among others, also resulted in significant excesses of crashes.

  2. Jaime Allen, Eliécer Arias Barrantes, Catalina Vargas Sobrado, Allan Ureña Bermúdez (Author)

    Truck factors for flexible pavement design in Costa Rica: Historical analysis for the 2007-2017 period

    The truck factor is one of the main components in the estimation of the load demand that pavements will have. For this reason, having reliable truck factors is of utmost importance during the design stage. In the present study, the databases on truck factors calculated between 2007 and 2017 were compiled and analysed by LanammeUCR. More than 15 million heavy vehicles were analysed, distributed on different routes in the country. Given the need to have updated truck factors that take into account the national reality, both during the period without weight control and during the period with, truck factors are generated that are associated with a specific level of reliability and that consider the proportion of vehicles that contribute to their estimate.

Literature Review

  1. Adriana García , Karina Kikut Cruz (Author)

    Atomic force microscopy as a tool in asphalt research

    The Atomic Force Microscope is used to obtain superficial images with high resolution. As well, to acquire information about the mechanical properties of a material. This tool has several operation modes, such as static, dynamic, tapping and contact, among others. It is worth to mention that cantilever has several geometries, then choosing the right one is a crucial step in any investigation that uses AFM. The focus of this article is to give a broad outlook of the AFM, from its operation modes to its applications in asphalt studies. Upon this article, the AFM is highly used in asphalts to analyse the microscopic properties and to understand how these properties impact its macroscopic performance.

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