BASIC STUDY TO IMPROVE SPEED AND EFFICIENCY OF VEHICLE/BARRIER SIMULATIONS. VOLUME I: FINAL REPORT

Some of the FHWA vehicle impact simulation computer programs were modified to improve their accuracy and/or efficiency. The CRUNCH, GUARD and BARRIER VII programs as well as three versions of the NARD program were reviewed to identify modeling limitations and numerical procedures employed by each program. Other, commercially available, software was also reviewed. Based on the reviews, numerous recommendations were made to incorporate changes to the FHWA programs to increase their accuracy/efficiency. A subset of the recommended improvements were implemented in three of the programs: GUARD 3.0, NARD 1.0 and PCNARD. This effort included development of a separate preprocessor program for GUARD and NARD. The modifications resulted in the attainment of various levels of success ranging from very little to a very significant increase in accuracy/efficiency, depending on the modification. Other activities included a state-of-the-art review of soil/post interaction and development of general guidelines for the selection of integration time-step size. This is Volume I of a two-volume set. The other volume is FHWA-RD-91-036, Volume II: Appendices.

• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/74762
• Corporate Authors:

  Chiapetta, Welch & Associates, Limited

  9748 Roberts Road
  Palos Hills, IL  United States  60465

  Federal Highway Administration

  Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, 6300 Georgetown Pike
  McLean, VA  United States  22101
• Authors:
  • Chiapetta, R L
• Publication Date: 1990-12

Media Info

• Pagination: 50 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accuracy; Barriers (Roads); Computer programs; Crash tests; Crashes; Economic efficiency; Improvements; Posts; Recommendations; Simulation; Soil structure interaction; State of the art studies; Testing
• Uncontrolled Terms: Barriers; Efficiency
• Subject Areas: Design; Economics; Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00622394
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-RD-91-035, Rept No. 4019FR, 3A5F4082
• Contract Numbers: DTFH61-86-C-00025
• Files: NTL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: May 31 1992 12:00AM