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Title:

ENERGY-ABSORBING BARRIER BEAMS SUSPENDED FROM LINEAR SUPPORTS (ABRIDGMENT)

Accession Number:

00210044

Record Type:

Component

Abstract:

THE POSSIBILITIES OF IMPROFING TOTAL GUARDRAIL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE BY FURTHER EXPLOITATION OF BEAM PROPERTIES WAS RESEARCHED. A MORE GRADUAL APPLICATION OF DECELERATION FROCES AND THE EFFICIENT USE OF BEAM WERE INVESTIGATED. THE FORMER IS ACCOMPLISHED BY HYPOTHESIZING A STANDOFF SUSPENSION SEPARATING BEAM FROM POST. RESEARCH EFFORT HAS BEEN DIRECTED TOWARD DEVICES THAT OFFER PROMISE AS ENERGY-ABSORBING STANDOFF SUSPENDIONS FOR GUARDRAIL BEAMS. IT WILL HAVE AN OVERALL LINEAR LOAD-DEFLECTION RELATION RATHER THAN THE USUAL RIGID-PLASTIC ONE ASSOCIATED WITH POSTS HAVING NO SUSPENSION. AN EFFICIENT BEAM WILL UTILIZE ELASTIC-PLASTIC FLEXURE TO ABSORB ENERGY AND STIFFNESS TO SPREAD THE WORK OUT OVER THE SUPPORT SYSTEM. THE APPROPRIATE SIZE FOR THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE CONFIGURATION DEPENDS ON PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AND COMPONENT COSTS THAT ARE INCORPORATED IN A MATHEMATICAL MODEL. DETAILS ARE GIVEN OF A SYNTHETIC MODEL WHICH IDENTICALLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENT THAT ENERGY ABSORBED IS THE AMOUNT THAT IS NECESSARY TO EFFECT VEHICLE REDIRECTION, AND THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE MAXIMUM LATERAL DECELERATION LEVEL IS 5 G. THE MODEL GIVES THE BEAM SIZE AND SUSPENSION REQUIREMENTS. BEAM DEFLECTIONS ARE MINIMALLY CONSISTENT WITH THE PRECEDING PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. INPUT DATA RELATING TO IMPACT CONDITIONS, MATERIAL OR COMPONENT CAPACITIES, AND COMPONENT COSTS ARE OUTLINED. THE TEST RESULTS OBTAINED ARE TABULATED, COMPARED AND DISCUSSED. BASED ON THE STUDY, THE OBSERVATION IS MADE THAT HIGHER PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR INCREASED SPEED WITH REDUCED DECELERATION LEVELS WILL NECESSITATE BARRIER SYSTEMS CAPABLE OF LARGE BEAM DEFLECTIONS. BEAM INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER TYPES OF SUSPENSION POST MODELS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED WHERE THE BEAM DIMENSIONS ARE ADJUSTED SO THAT ALL VARIANTS SATISFY THE SAME PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS.

Supplemental Notes:

Sponsored by Committee on Traffic Safety Barriers and Sign, Signal and Lighting Supports. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Monograph Accession #:

01410373

Authors:

Brewer, W V

Pagination:

pp 82-84

Publication Date:

1973

Serial:

Highway Research Record

Issue Number: 460
Publisher: Highway Research Board

Conference:

52nd Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board

Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
Date: 1973-1-22 to 1973-1-26

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

References (8) ; Tables (1)

Uncontrolled Terms:

Barriers

Old TRIS Terms:

Subject Areas:

Bridges and other structures; Highways

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jul 31 1974 12:00AM

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