THE COLLISION OF THE HEAVY GOODS VEHICLES AGAINST THE ROAD SAFETY BARRIERS ON HORIZONTAL CURVES

Although run off the road accidents frequently occur on horizontal curves, the performances of the safety barriers are evaluated by full scale crash tests which are performed on rectilinear safety barriers and no one study aimed at evaluating the safety barriers behavior on curves has been done. In this paper, the results of a study aimed at evaluating the dynamics and the outcomes of the collision of heavy goods vehicles against road safety barriers on horizontal curves are reported. The study was carried out by a numerical approach, which involves simulating collisions with safety barriers through non-linear dynamic finite element analysis. The study highlighted the factors responsible for the different behaviors of safety barriers on horizontal curves, including the change in restraint system stiffness and the different yaw motion and vehicle's velocity change needed to redirect the vehicle in the carriageway. The previous factors strongly affect the barrier containment capacity. As far as the maximum transversal barrier displacement is concerned, it decreases on the outside of the curves, whereas it increases on the inside. The greater barrier displacement on the inside of the curves causes an increase in the passing over the barrier risk. As far as the vehicle rollover risk is concerned it strongly increases on the outside of the curves, where the run off the road accidents are significantly greater.

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• Corporate Authors:

  PTRC Education and Research Services Limited

  Glenthorne House, Hammersmith Grove
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• Authors:
  • Montella, A
  • Pernetti, M
• Conference:
  • Traffic Safety on Two Continents
  • Location: Malmo, Sweden
  • Date: 1999-9-20 to 1999-9-22
• Publication Date: 2000

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 137-154
• Serial:
  • Publication of: Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute
  • Publisher: Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)
  • ISSN: 0347-6030

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Barriers (Roads); Crash tests; Crashes; Dislocation (Geology); Finite element method; Heavy duty vehicles; Highway curves; Passive restraint systems; Ran off road crashes; Roads; Rollover crashes; Safety; Simulation; Stiffness; Vehicles; Velocity; Yaw
• Uncontrolled Terms: Barrier containment capacity
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00795564
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: VTI konferens 13A, Part 4
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Jul 31 2000 12:00AM