Author(s):
D.L. Bullard, A. Abu-Odeh, W.L. Menges, R. Haug
Publication Date
March 2002
Abstract
The objective of this study was to simulate, crash test and evaluate the Oregon steel-backed timber guardrail or a minor variant of the rail design in accordance with NCHRP Report 350 to performance test level 3 (TL-3). The impact conditions for the simulations and crash test were in accordance with NCHRP Report 350 test designation 3-11. Prior to performing a full-scale crash test with the 2000P vehicle, finite element analysis (FEA) simulation using LS-DYNA was performed with 2000P vehicle to evaluate the performance of the original design of the Oregon steel-backed timber guardrail and an alternative design. During the simulation analysis, crash performance of the original design was found to be unsatisfactory. Therefore, the guardrail was modified by placing a blockout on the upper rail element. This Oregon steel-backed timber guardrail variant did not meet the evaluation criteria set forth in NCHRP Report 350 for test designation 3-11.
Report Number:
400091-WDT6-1
Link(s):
Document/Product
http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/TTI-2002-ID26119.pdf
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