Test Level 2 Evaluation of the RENCO Ren-Gard 815 Truck Mounted Attenuator (400001-REN 1&2)

RENCO, Inc. contracted with Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) to evaluate the RENCO Ren-Gard 815 truck mounted attenuator (TMA) to test level 2 (YL-2) of National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350. The Ren-Gard 815 TMA was designed to protect the support vehicle (usually a dump truck) from errant vehicles weighing up to 2000 kg impacting the TMA from the rear at 70 km/h. Structural adequacy of the TMA, risks to occupants of both the impacting and the support vehicle, and the roll-ahead distance of the support vehicle are the relevant factors in evaluating the safety performance of the TMA. Two full-scale crash test were performed on the Ren-Gard 815 TMA:

• NCHRP Report 350 test designation 2-50: An 820-kg passenger car impacting the TMA at a nominal speed and angle of 70 km/h and 0 degree with the centerline of the impacting vehicle aligned with the centerline of the TMA and the support vehicle parked against a rigid wall.
• NCHRP Report 350 test designation 2-51: A 2000-kg pickup truck impacting the TMA at a nominal speed and angle of 70 km/h and 0 degree with the centerline of the impacting vehicle aligned with the centerline of the TMA and the support vehicle freestanding, parked in second gear with the brake on.

This report presents the details and results of these tests on the RENCO Ren-Gard 815 TMA. The RENCO Ren-Gard 815 TMA met all criteria specified in NCHRP Report 350 for test level two truck mounted attenuators.