Pendulum Impact Testing of Metallic, Non-metallic, and Hybrid Sign Posts
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2016-09-01
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TRIS Online Accession Number:01613812
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Edition:Final Report
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Abstract:Current FDOT design standards for large roadside sign structures employ steel posts and steel connection components that are intended to survive hurricane wind loading, but break away under direct vehicular imp act loading—the latter behavior to limit risk to vehicle occupants who could be injured by abrupt vehicle deceleration. Alternative structural materials, such as fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP), have the potential to offer advantages over steel when used in breakaway roadside sign structures. Because FRP is significantly lighter than steel, use of breakaway FRP sign posts could reduce occupant impact risk measures, such as occupant impact velocity (OIV), thereby improving roadside safety. In this study, hybrid breakaway structural systems that combined FRP posts with steel connection components were conceptually developed, structurally designed, fabricated, and subjected to impact testing and static flexural testing. Two fundamentally different design approaches were investigated. In the first, steel cutting components were used to form a ‘shear collar’ that sliced through the FRP post during direct vehicular impact loading. In the second, the FRP post was joined to a steel ‘moment-resisting, shear-frangible’ breakaway connection. Impact testing of both systems was carried out using the FDOT pendulum impact test facility. To facilitate impact testing in a manner that was compliant with the requirements of AASHTO MASH, a new 1100C surrogate test vehicle — which mimics the behavior of an 1,100-kg production passenger car — was designed, fabricated, and experimentally tested/validated as part of this study. Results from pendulum impact testing and static flexural testing of hybrid FRP/steel sign structure systems revealed several, as-yet unsolved obstacles to successful integration of FRP and steel.
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