Texas A&M Transportation Institute» homeland security

Historic Architectural Feature Could Help Thwart Terrorist Attacks

Chris Sasser — Wed, 30 May 2012 16:17:27 +0000

( L-R) TTI Assistant Agency Director Dean Alberson, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System John Sharp, and TTI Engineering Research Associate Dusty Arrington discuss the planned crash test.

A potential new physical security barrier—historically known as a “ha-ha wall”—was first tested this week at the Texas Transportation Institute Proving Grounds in Bryan, Texas. On hand to witness the test were Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp and Texas A&M System Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering M. Katherine Banks. The test, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is a part of the department’s comprehensive effort to protect the public from potential terror threats.

TTI researchers rammed a 15,000-lb medium-duty truck traveling 50 miles per hour into the wall at an 11-degree down angle. It stopped just beyond a meter of the face of the wall, which was deemed a success and worthy of further testing to perfect the design for the marketplace.

The test wall, which was designed by TTI researchers and built by an outside contractor, is the newest physical security barrier to be evaluated by the Institute. Ha-ha walls were a landscaping retaining wall feature built in the 17th and 18th centuries on English country estates, according to the BBC’s website. They typically formed a boundary between the estate’s gardens and grounds and were constructed to be invisible from the house, ensuring a clear view across the estate and providing an effective barrier to livestock.

“We thought that this long-established landscape architecture feature might provide a more attractive alternative to some of the other types of barriers currently used to keep embassies and other public buildings safe from terrorists,” said TTI Engineering Research Associate Dusty Arrington.

“We modified the historical design of the wall and optimized it for the medium-duty impact vehicle,” Arrington said. “Now we will build additional models and test them at different angles and heights to develop the most efficient ha-ha design methodology. The objective is to develop a design that will provide field engineers all of the information they need to design a ha-ha for a given threat vehicle traveling at a given speed and angle.”

“This test is part of our overall program to develop a whole range of security barriers that can be used to protect the perimeters of our embassies and other vulnerable buildings from terror attacks,” said Russell Norris, research and development program manager for the Department of State. “TTI is helping us accomplish our goal to offer a wide variety of options for security barriers to install in different situations.”

TTI, a member of The Texas A&M University System, works closely with public agencies and private-sector companies to design, construct, test and evaluate highway-safety and perimeter-security devices. TTI has performed more than 2,000 full-scale crash tests with vehicles weighing from 1,200 to 80,000 lb. The Institute has 15 patented safety devices installed throughout the world, including crash cushions, breakaway signs, guardrails and barrier systems.

For more information about the Roadside Safety and Physical Security Division, visit their website.

Security Is More Than a State of Mind

Chris Sasser — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:06:56 +0000

“9/11 changed everything.”

Nearly a decade after the deadliest foreign attack on American soil in our nation’s history, that phrase is almost a cliche. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it any less true.

In medieval times, the main gate, or portcullis, was the most important part of a castle’s security. If the gate was breeched, enemy forces would pour in.

“While our technology has become more sophisticated, the basic strategy for defense hasn’t changed,” explains Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) Assistant Agency Director Dean Alberson, who manages TTI‘s Crashworthy Structures Program. “Keeping an enemy from getting close enough to do harm is still the best way to ensure the safety of U.S. citizens, both at home and abroad.”

Protecting Our National Assets

To that end, in August 2010, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security awarded TTI a contract for up to $7 million over a five-year period to design, analyze and test perimeter security devices. TTI began work with the State Department in 2002, conducting dozens of tests intended to increase security for American embassies and other posts around the globe.

Shallow bollards like the one above help keep U.S. facilities and their personnel safe abroad.

The first project under the new contract involves crashing various vehicles into an instrumented pier designed to measure the impact of the collisions. These tests will help researchers design various future devices that will meet U.S. security standards.

The State Department’s 2003 anti-ram barrier standard, which limited barrier penetration to 3 feet, acknowledged the “tight quarters” reality of embassy placements but didn’t address some of the needs of military bases, which are typically surrounded by wide-open spaces. The more space between buildings, the longer the stopping distance needed to prevent enemy vehicles from getting too close. The safety of building occupants is enhanced with every foot of space between the facility and a terrorist’s bomb. The 2003 standard also assumed a 2.5-ton diesel truck as the method for bomb delivery, whereas recent experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries make it clear that practically any vehicle will do for delivering destruction.

Acknowledging this reality, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers demanded a more flexible standard, so ASTM International created a working group, chaired by Alberson, to develop it. The new ASTM F2656-07 Standard Test Method for Vehicle Crash Testing of Perimeter Barriers adds more penetration ratings, incorporates design flexibility to cover a wider range of vehicles, and specifies different impact velocities for some vehicle categories. The State Department officially adopted this standard in October 2008.

Speaking of security concerns around the world, the United Kingdom’s Center for the Protection of National Infrastructure has contracted with TTI to help translate between U.K. and U.S. standards. The British version of ASTM F2656-07 is called BSI PAS 68, but its requirements don’t match up exactly with its American counterpart.

“TTI‘s job is to help harmonize the testing for these two standards,” says Alberson. “Making them more compatible will improve structural defense by limiting the opportunity for confusion or miscommunication among those trying to use them.”

Securing Our Borders

TTI researchers have completed two projects with the National Center for Border Security and Immigration, funded through the Department of Homeland Security’s Center of Research Excellence Program, to assess and improve security at the U.S.-Mexico border. One project analyzed technology and processes at land ports of entry (POEs), and the second one analyzed how technology can be used to improve security at land POEs. Technology, layout and process need to be coordinated, so the second phase of the project identified improvements that could be implemented to further increase security at POEs.

“It’s a tricky thing to balance security with the need to keep things moving,” explains TTI Research Scientist Juan Villa, currently managing TTI‘s Mexico City office. “There are trade-offs to be evaluated, including safety, efficiency and economic considerations, not to mention right to privacy.”

Hazardous Materials Tracking

Transport of hazardous materials has both security and freight safety concerns. Terrorists, for example, might try to conduct a catastrophic attack using a planned release of hazardous materials. Transportation accidents can also expose people and the environment to these materials.

TTI will soon be working with Texas Southern University to validate new tools for measuring and tracking hazmat movements on Houston’s industrial corridors. The Institute has also worked with the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Texas counties to evaluate hazmat movements. TTI and Texas A&M University’s Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center researchers have co-authored a hazmat commodity flow study guidebook to be published by the Transportation Research Board in 2011.

TTI Research Specialist Debbie Jasek and Associate Research Scientist David Bierling explain that these studies are different from a lot of traditional traffic evaluations. “TTI works with community officials and volunteers to figure out where, when and how hazmat is transported. We can also help evaluate their chemical transport risks,” says Bierling.

COMMENTARY on Security

D’Vetrio Baugh
Section Chief
Research and Development Program
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security

At the U.S. Department of State (DOS), we are the face of the United States to the rest of the world. Our embassies and consulates represent a hand of friendship to other nations. Some return that friendly handshake; some don’t.

Securing our diplomats abroad is one of the toughest challenges we face. Not only is it a practical matter of ensuring their safety; it’s also a political matter of establishing an open, welcoming presence in a foreign land.

Striking that balance between protecting our facilities (and the officials within them) and presenting a welcoming face can be difficult at times. Do we need a 10-foot reinforced concrete fence to keep a potential car bomber away from our facility? If the answer is “yes,” how can we maintain that secure perimeter while still showing that we really are there to help?

The engineers at the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI‘s) Proving Ground are the perfect partners to help us find that balance. For six decades, TTI has excelled at keeping people safe, which is why the State Department has chosen to contract with them for the next five years. TTI‘s expertise in testing roadside devices helps us evaluate DOS designs for bollards and other anti-ram devices that keep our citizens and foreign friends safe wherever we have an official presence abroad.

TTI‘s connection to Texas A&M University is also important. Hands-on training with the Institute gives new transportation engineers graduating from Texas A&M the real-world experience they need, and that, in turn, gives us an edge in establishing safe facilities. Young minds create innovative ideas, which invigorate our approach to security. That, perhaps, is the single most important advantage TTI and DOS have as we team up to protect U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world.

Gate keeping in the 21st century: New Anti-Ram Standard Enhances Safety, Security

Debbie Murillo — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:23:09 +0000

In the Middle Ages, gate keepers had it relatively easy. Castles were considered the pinnacle of defensive warfare technology. Then gunpowder was invented, and holes blasted in stone walls caused medieval strategists to reevaluate their old way of thinking.

A similar change has occurred following terrorist attacks of the last 15 years, where the preferred weapon of terrorists worldwide has become the car bomb.

“Anti-ram barriers are typically used around government buildings, infrastructure facilities, military installations or any other location where terrorist activity is a threat,” explains Dean Alberson, program manager and assistant director at the Texas Transportation Institute. “These barriers keep vehicles away from buildings to minimize damage should a car bomb explode.”

In 1985, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) created an anti-ram standard for protecting its embassies. The standard was designed to stop a medium-duty, single-unit truck and accounted for three levels of blast penetration.

Consular facilities are often squeezed into high-traffic urban areas on small lots. So as the new millennium approached, embassy bombings, like those in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, demonstrated the need for a new standard. In 2003, DOS revised its standard to meet this new threat.

The 2003 standard limited penetration concerns to 3 feet and reconstituted the standard from a gasoline to a diesel truck. Other agencies — like the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE) — found the new standard useful…but incomplete.

DOD, for example, kept the original penetration ratings from the 1985 standard, which acknowledged the potential for bombings outside a 3-foot range. (Military bases are typically surrounded by wide open spaces, which create a much greater stopping distance for enemy vehicles.)

“Other concerns cropped up as well,” says Alberson. “The 2003 standard assumed a terrorist would use a 2.5-ton diesel truck to carry out an attack. But recent realities in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries make it clear that practically any vehicle will do.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wanted a more flexible standard, so ASTM created a team in fall 2003 to address their need. Led by Alberson, the team developed ASTM F2656-07, Standard Test Method for Vehicle Crash Testing of Perimeter Barriers, that reintroduces more penetration ratings, adds design flexibility to cover a wide range of vehicles and specifies different impact velocities for some vehicle categories.

To meet the standard, vendor barriers must be tested by an accredited laboratory like TTI‘s Proving Ground Research Facility. The facility then issues a mandatory report on how the equipment performed. DOS adopted ASTM F2656-07 in October 2008 and activated it Feb. 1, 2009.

“The leadership role that TTI had in the development of this consensus test standard will ultimately help ensure the protection of American lives at home and abroad,” acknowledges Ed Conrath, a senior principal with Protection Engineering Consultants. Conrath oversaw ASTM F2656-07 development.

Proving Ground Receives Accreditation

The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) has approved the accreditation of TTI‘s Proving Ground Research Facility following an extensive assessment earlier this year. Specifically, the accreditation is “for technical competence in the field of mechanical testing.”

“The A2LA accreditation is a great thing for us,” says Assistant Agency Director Gene Buth, who heads up TTI‘s Materials, Safety and Structures Group. “Even though we enjoy a great reputation, the accreditation tells potential clients that we run a credible facility dedicated to quality.”

As part of the process for the quality management standard, Buth and others put together a 450-page document about Proving Ground functions and performed numerous elements of testing procedures while measurement devices were inspected.

In a new requirement, laboratories must be accredited in order to work with federal sponsors. Previously, the Proving Ground Research Facility was listed as an acceptable laboratory by the Federal Highway Administration.

A wall in the water: TTI researchers work to standardize water barriers

Chris Sasser — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:22:29 +0000

On the morning of Oct. 12, 2000, a small boat loaded with explosives approached the port side of the United States (U.S.) Navy destroyer USS Cole, which was harbored in Aden, Yemen, for a routine fuel stop. An explosion ripped a large gash in the side of the ship, killing 17 sailors and 2 perpetrators. The suicide bombing, carried out by al-Qaeda operatives, demonstrated how terrorist elements organize and execute sophisticated attacks against U.S. targets.

Floating water barriers are gaining acceptance for their ability to provide positive protection to a facility and its personnel. These portable barriers form a protective perimeter around a ship or landside object for the purpose of keeping boats from entering the protective area. However, the performance of these barriers varies from manufacturer to manufacturer as much as the performance requirements vary among user agencies and facilities.

Responding to a request from ASTM International, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) is partnering with other industry agencies to develop uniform standards for physically testing and evaluating the dynamic performance of waterfront barriers.

“Currently we are working to publish a set of standards, because there are about half a dozen companies producing boat barriers or channelizing devices used waterside, and there’s no standard by which to evaluate and test them all,” says TTI Division Head and Research Engineer Lance Bullard. “A standard is important because when a company is evaluating their site and trying to decide what type of barrier to purchase, they can use the standard to compare the performance of different barriers and make an informed decision about what will meet their need.”

The standard will (1) address the performance of full-scale dynamic impact tests by testing laboratories and (2) establish evaluation and performance criteria for various types of waterside barriers. The purpose of the standard is to establish (1) a definitive test methodology for establishing the crash performance of a boat barrier and (2) specify data collection and evaluation criteria for those tests that are performed. The result will be the development of a uniform standard for the performance evaluation and testing of waterfront boat barrier perimeter security devices.

“There are other waterside assets that boat barriers can be used for such as liquid natural gas terminals, cruise ship terminals and ports that receive various types of containers,” says Bullard. “It is our hope that the standards the research team develops will help to make these areas as safe as possible by allowing specifying agencies to make the correct barrier choice.”

Boat barriers like the ones shown above are essential protection for many water-accessible terrorist targets because these barriers provide both deterrence and physical protection against unauthorized surface vessel intrusion. The ASTM Boat Barrier Standard will bring universal guidelines benefitting both users and producers of boat barriers.

Texas A&M Transportation Institute» homeland security

Historic Architectural Feature Could Help Thwart Terrorist Attacks

Security Is More Than a State of Mind

“9/11 changed everything.”

Protecting Our National Assets

Securing Our Borders

Hazardous Materials Tracking

COMMENTARY on Security

This Issue

Working Across Transportation Solutions

On this page:

For more information:

Gate keeping in the 21st century: New Anti-Ram Standard Enhances Safety, Security

Proving Ground Receives Accreditation

This Issue

Setting the Standard

On this page:

For more information:

A wall in the water: TTI researchers work to standardize water barriers

This Issue

Setting the Standard

On this page:

For more information: