SIMULATION OF VEHICLE IMPACT WITH TEXAS CONCRETE MEDIAN BARRIER: TEST COMPARISONS AND PARAMETER STUDY

THE HIGHWAY-VEHICLE-OBJECT SIMULATION MODEL, A COMPUTER PROGRAM DEVELOPED AT CORNELL AERONAUTICAL LABORATORY, HAS BEEN MODIFIED TO SIMULATE A VEHICLE IMPACTING THE TEXAS CONCRETE MEDIAN BARRIER AT SPEEDS FROM 50 TO 80 MPH AND ANGLES FROM 5 TO 25 DEG. THE BARRIER WAS IMPACTED BY A 4.000-LB SEDAN FOR ANGLES OF 7, 15, AND 25 DEG AT 60 MPH. THE RESULTS OF THOSE FULL-SCALE TESTS WERE CLOSELY APPROXIMATED BY THE MODIFIED SIMULATION MODEL. COMPARISONS OF SIMULATION AND TEST RESULTS ARE PRESENTED IN COMPUTER-GENERATED DRAWINGS OF THE VEHICLE DURING IMPACT, FRAMES FROM THE HIGH-SPEED FILM, AND PLOTS RELATING PREDICTED AND MEASURED ACCELEROMETER READINGS. AFTER THE SIMULATION OF THE FULL-SCALE TESTS, A PARAMETER STUDY ON IMPACT CONDITIONS WAS CONDUCTED. THE MODEL SIMULATED A 4,780-LB VEHICLE IMPACTING THE BARRIER AT SPEEDS OF 50, 70, AND 80 MPH AT ANGLES OF 5, 10, AND 15 DEG FOR EACH OF THOSE SPEEDS. FOR SPEEDS LESS THAN 70 MPH, THE RESULTS WERE IN LINE WITH FINDINGS OF OTHER RESEARCHERS. FOR SPEEDS OF 70 MPH AND GREATER AND IMPACT ANGLES OF 15 DEG GREATER, AUTOMOBILE ROLL-OVER CAN BE EXPECTED. THE RESULTS OF ALL SIMULATED IMPACTS WITH THE BARRIER ARE PRESENTED GRAPHICALLY WITH REGARD TO A SEVERITY INDEX, WHICH QUANTIFIES THE SEVERITY OF EACH CRASH BASED ON VEHICLE ACCELERATIONS. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1973/460/460-007.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by Committee on Traffic Safety Barriers and Sign, Signal and Lighting Supports. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Young, Ronald D
  • Post, Edward R
  • Ross Jr, Hayes E
• Conference:
  • 52nd Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1973-1-22 to 1973-1-26
• Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 61-72
• Monograph Title: Traffic safety barriers and lighting supports
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 460
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceleration (Mechanics); Alternatives analysis; Computer programs; Concrete structures; Crash tests; Index tests; Injury severity; Median barriers; Simulation; Speed; Vehicles
• Uncontrolled Terms: Parameters; Severity
• Old TRIS Terms: Index properties
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222355
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 31 1974 12:00AM