Evaluation of the Midwest Guardrail System stiffness transition with curb
نویسندگان
چکیده
A W-beam to thrie beam stiffness transition with a 102-mm (4in.) tall concrete curb was developed to connect 787-mm (31-in.) tall W-beam guardrail, commonly known as the Midwest Guardrail System (MGS), to a previously developed thrie beam approach guardrail transition system. This upstream stiffness transition was configured with standard steel posts that are commonly used by several state departments of transportation. The toe of a 102-mm (4-in.) tall sloped concrete curb was placed flush with the backside face of the guardrail and extended the length of the transition region. Three full-scale crash tests were conducted according to the Test Level 3 (TL-3) safety standards provided in AASHTO’s Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). The first test, MASH Test No. 3-20, was deemed a failure due to guardrail rupture. The stiffness transition was modified to include an additional nested W-beam rail segment upstream from the Wbeam to thrie beam transition element. MASH Test No. 3-20 was repeated on the modified system, and the 1100C small car was successfully contained and redirected. During MASH Test No. 3-21, a 2270P pickup truck was successfully contained and redirected. Following the crash testing program, the system was deemed acceptable according to the TL-3 safety performance criteria specified in MASH.
منابع مشابه
Impact analysis of a vertical flared back bridge rail-to-guardrail transition structure using simulation
Bridge rail-to-guardrail transitions are designed to shield unprotected ends of bridge rails, which are fixed-obstacle hazards. These structures should provide an effective transition between longitudinal barriers with different lateral stiffness and contain and redirect impacting vehicles without any contact with the rigid sections of the system. Recently, a full-scale crash test was performed...
متن کاملEvaluation of Rail Height Effects of the Safety Performance of W-Beam Barriers
The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of rail height on the safety performance of G4(1S) w-beam guardrail systems. The study involved three steps. In the first step, a detailed finite element model of the G4(1S) guardrail system was created. The model incorporated the details of the rail, connections, the post, the blockout, and the soil in which the post was embedded. To val...
متن کاملStudy on different solutions to reduce the dynamic impacts in transition zones for high-speed rail
One of the most important factors influencing the track maintenance is the transitions between parts of the track with different vertical stiffness. The dynamic...
متن کاملOpportunities for reduction of fatalities in vehicle-guardrail collisions.
In the United States in 2005, there were 1,189 fatal crashes and 35,000 injurious crashes into guardrails. Current efforts to reduce fatalities occurring in guardrail collisions have focused on frontal oblique collisions of cars and light trucks into guardrail. These crashes however represent a diminishing target population for fatality reduction. This paper examines the current opportunities f...
متن کاملCalculation and Analysis of Groove Elastic Support’s Radial Stiffness (RESEARCH NOTE)
In this paper, an analytical formula to calculate the radial stiffness of groove elastic support is presented. The influence of structure parameters on radial stiffness and homogeneity of radial stiffness is investigated as well. The accuracy and calculating speed of the analysis formula are compared to that of finite element method (FEM). Findings are as following: The calculating speed of ana...
متن کامل