STATIC TEST OF AN INDIANA STANDARD GUARDRAIL

THE MAJORITY OF GUARDRAIL CURRENTLY BEING INSTALLED IS OF THE STEEL W-BEAM TYPE, MOUNTED ON STEEL POSTS. THE RAIL ELEMENT ITSELF HAS AN ULTIMATE TENSILE STRENGTH OF APPROXIMATELY 80,000 POUNDS. THE INSTALLATION DESIGN CRITERIA ASSUMES THAT THE BURIED END ASSEMBLY ALSO DEVELOPS A RESISTING FORCE OF 80,000 POUNDS. IT IS ALSO INDICATED BY DESIGN CALCULATIONS THAT ANY LENGTH OF HORIZONTAL RAIL HAVING SEVEN VERTICAL POSTS ALSO SERVES AS ADEQUATE ANCHORAGE TO DEVELOP THE SAME 80,000 POUND STRENGTH OF THE RAIL ITSELF. THIS FIELD TEST WAS PERFORMED TO INVESTIGATE THE VALIDITY OF THESE ASSUMPTIONS. A SUFFICIENT LENGTH OF GUARDRAIL WAS INSTALLED TO PROVIDE A BURIED END ASSEMBLY AND SIX FULL RAIL PANELS ON LINE, WITH SPACE BETWEEN TO INSTALL A DEVICE WITH WHICH TO APPLY A STATIC LOAD IN LINE WITH THE RAIL. THE MAXIMUM ANCHORAGE DEVELOPED DURING THIS TEST WAS 43,000 POUNDS BY THE STRAIGHT SECTION AND 49,000 POUNDS BY THE BURIED END SECTION. FAILURE WAS PRIMARILY DUE TO COMPACTION AND SHEARING OF THE SOIL AROUND THE POSTS, ALLOWING THEM TO TIP TOWARD THE PULLING DEVICE. THERE WAS NO STRUCTURAL FAILURE OF THE RAIL ELEMENTS OR CONNECTIONS. /FHWA/

• Corporate Authors:

  Indiana State Highway Commission

  Research and Training Center
  Indianapolis, IN  United States  46204

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Anchorages; Design; Guardrails; Posts; Static loads; Static tests; Steel; Tensile strength
• Uncontrolled Terms: Design criteria
• Subject Areas: Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00215951
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Apr 1 1971 12:00AM