ASSESSMENT OF GUARDRAIL-STRENGTHENING TECHNIQUES
Guardrail-strengthening techniques were assessed by full-scale crash testing according to Service Level 2 conditions of NCHRP Report 230 and by BARRIER VII computer simulation. The Kansas Department of Transportation's standard W-beam with steel posts guardrail was strengthened by nesting the W-beam and by reducing the post spacing. Computer simulations with BARRIER VII were used to assess the various strengthening techniques for guardrails with standard and extended post lengths installed in clay and sand. The soil-post stiffness parameters used in the program were obtained by conducting 21 post impact tests with a 1388-kg bogie striking a post at 33 km/hr. The guardrails constructed with W6 x 8.5 steel posts and 15.2 x 20.3-cm timber posts behaved similarly under all test conditions. The density of the clay has a profound effect on the lateral dynamic deflections. Nesting the W-beam to strengthen the guardrail provides very little benefit, whereas reducing the post spacing by half provides the greatest benefit.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309062241
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Supplemental Notes:
- This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1528, Current Research on Roadside Safety Features.
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Corporate Authors:
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Authors:
- Rosson, B T
- Bierman, M G
- Rohde, J R
- Publication Date: 1996
Language
- English
Media Info
- Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
- Pagination: p. 69-77
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Serial:
- Transportation Research Record
- Issue Number: 1528
- Publisher: Transportation Research Board
- ISSN: 0361-1981
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Clay; Crash tests; Crashes; Deflection; Guardrails; Posts; Sand; Simulation; Soils by density; Spacing; Steel; Stiffness; Strength of materials; Structural design; Structural strengthening; Testing; Timber
- Identifier Terms: National Cooperative Highway Research Program; NCHRP Report 230
- Uncontrolled Terms: Soil density
- Old TRIS Terms: Dynamic deflections; Post length; Post spacing; Test results; W beam nesting
- Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00727317
- Record Type: Publication
- ISBN: 0309062241
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Oct 18 1996 12:00AM