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Photo for visual interest. This image is made up of four photos. They show the chronology of a large flatbed truck impacting two yellow protection barriers (posts). In the top left photo, the truck has not yet impacted the barriers. In the top right photo, the truck impacts the barriers and begins to deform. In the bottom left photo, the truck takes serious damage. In the bottom right photo, the truck is stopped and is in piece.

The Safety and Structural Systems Division conducted crash tests to assess the performance of anti-terrorist protection barriers installed outside United States embassies.

Security

Safety, security, and mobility travel together when it comes to transportation, and TTI research covers them all. Many of the safety standards and equipment developed and tested at TTI can just as effectively block terrorist vehicles as they can stop errant cars at a local shopping center.

Homeland security is a major research focus, with interdisciplinary projects that undertake activities such as testing fortifications that withstand attacks, improving border operations, identifying emerging applicable technology, and examining policy and processes. Safety research adds the dimensions of human factors, equipment performance, hazardous materials and environmental issues, and specialized traffic operations. TTI mobility research contributes findings on related concerns such as evacuation preparation, emergency response, and transit systems.

TTI hosts multiple centers that conduct security research, including the Center for Ports & Waterways, Center for Transportation Safety, University Transportation Center for Mobility, and Southwest University Transportation Center. In addition, TTI participates in partnerships and projects spanning the spectrum of safety and security research, such as:

Related Research Units

Cooperative Relationships/Sponsors

  • U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • Sandia National Labs
  • TSWG - Technical Support Working Group
  • U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Protective Design Center, Omaha, Nebraska
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Fence Lab Project

Related Subtopics

TTI conducts research in a number of specific transportation-related areas. Click the following link to see a list of the subtopics related to this area.

For More Information

Dean Alberson
7091 Riverside Campus, Room 100
TTI/Crashworthy Structures Program
Texas A&M University System
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3135
ph. (979) 458-3874
d-alberson@tamu.edu