01123133

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2120-07

http://scholar.google.com...king&publication_year=2009

Design of high-performance concrete barriers for heavy vehicles has advanced little in recent years. Barrier improvements were needed in terms of design aesthetics, safety performance, and economy. Advancement was deemed necessary for improved barrier geometry design to reduce vehicle instability and the potential for occupant head slap on the barrier, improved understanding of impact loads for heavy vehicles and use of these loads to optimize barriers, and improved barrier aesthetics. This paper describes the development of two NCHRP Report 350 Test Level 5 (TL-5) barriers that address these needed advancements. First, a TL-5 open concrete bridge rail was designed with a focus on determining accurate impact loads and providing a barrier geometry with improved safety and aesthetics. Next, a TL-5 concrete median barrier was developed through rigorous analysis of barrier shape options to determine the safest and most economic shape. Structural design of the barrier was also optimized to minimize cost while meeting the design loads for heavy vehicles. The open concrete bridge rail and the concrete median barrier were successfully full-scale crash-tested according to the TL-5 safety requirements set forth in NCHRP Report 350. These designs represent a major advancement in the safety and economy of high-performance concrete barriers.

01147423

09-3051

English

pp 60-73

2009

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309126373

Print

Figures; Photos; References (27) ; Tables (3)

Aesthetics; Bridge railings; Crash tests; Design; Economic factors; Heavy vehicles; High performance concrete; Median barriers

NCHRP Report 350

Concrete barriers; Safety performance

Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 30 2009 7:26PM

• Balancing Urban Driveway Design Demands Based on Stopping Sight Distance
• Control of Highway Stormwater During Event and Interevent Retention in Best Management Practices
• Guidelines for Implementation of Cable Median Barrier
• Improved Sight Distance Model for Sag Vertical Curves with Overpasses
• Inertial Effects During Impact Testing
• Methodology to Predict Driver Vision Impairment Situations Caused by Sun Glare
• Midwest Guardrail System with Round Timber Posts
• Optimal Preliminary Highway Alignment, with Slope Disaster Risk Management, in the Himalayan Regions
• Trees, Lighting, and Safety in Context-Sensitive Solutions
• Understanding Speed Concepts: Key Definitions and Case Study Examples
• Urban Roadside Safety: Cluster-Crash Evaluation