NCHRP Report 350 Test 3-34 on the ADIEM

ADIEM, the soft concrete end terminal and crash cushion, is in use in twenty states. The 9.1 m (30-ft) design, which is qualified by FHWA under NCHRP Report 230 for collisions up to 96.5 km/h, has been subjected to a broad scope of environmental conditions and many different types of collisions during use across the United States over the past four (4) years.|This report presents additional testing necessary to qualify ADIEM for NCHRP Report 350 Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features, Test Level 3 performance. NCHRP Report 350 test designations 3-30 and 3-34 were run under the previous NCHRP Report 230 testing. Test designations 3-32 and 3-33 are judged to be less severe than test designations 3-30 and 3-31 (page 18 of NCHRP Report 350) and are therefore not performed. The ADIEM will gate when impacted on the nose with the vehicle at 15 degrees. The remainder of the crash tests in the matrix were conducted during an earlier phase and the performance of the ADIEM under those test conditions was reported in an earlier report.|After submission of the previous NCHRP Report 350 testing, FHWA felt that test designation 3-34 should be conducted to assure that the ADIEM would perform acceptably. This report presents the results of NCHRP Report 350 test designation 3-34. The ADIEM performed satisfactorily for NCHRP Report 350 test level 3.