Design and Evaluation of Transition for TxDOT MASH Test Level 4 (TL-4) Guardrail System

Details

• Creators:
  Sheikh, Nauman M. ; Bligh, Roger P. ; Schroeder, William J. L. ; Kuhn, Darrell L.
• Corporate Creators:
  Texas A&M Transportation Institute Proving Ground
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas Department of Transportation. Research and Technology Implementation Office ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Beam Bridges Crash Tests Design Evaluation Finite Element Method Guardrails Longitudinal Barriers Longitudinal Control Manuals MASH Performance Simulation Steel Steel Post TL-3 TL-4 Transition Point W-beam

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/TX-23/0-7120-R1 ; 441203-01
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  August 2021–November 2022
• Corporate Publisher:
  Texas A&M Transportation Institute Proving Ground
• Abstract:
  Researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) designed and tested a Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 3 (TL-3) compliant guardrail transition system (hereafter referred to as Transition) that enables transitioning and terminating the ends of the Texas Department of Transportation MASH TL-4 guardrail system with MASH-compliant guardrail end terminals. The researchers designed the Transition using finite element simulation analysis, details of which are presented in this report. The researchers performed vehicle impact simulations to improve the initial design concept of the Transition and developed the final design for full-scale crash testing. The researchers then constructed a test installation prototype and performed two full-scale crash tests that are also reported herein. The purpose of the tests was to assess the performance of the Transition according to the safety-performance evaluation guidelines included in the second edition of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials MASH (1). The crash tests were performed in accordance with MASH TL-3 criteria, which require two crash tests:1. MASH Test 3-20: An 1100C vehicle weighing 2,420 lb. impacting the longitudinal barrier transition while traveling at 62 mi/h and 25 degrees.2. MASH Test 3-21: A 2270P vehicle weighing 5,000 lb. impacting the longitudinal barrier transition while traveling at 62 mi/h and 25 degrees. This report provides details of the Transition, the crash tests and results, and the performance assessment of the Transition for MASH TL-3 evaluation criteria for longitudinal barriers. The Transition met the MASH TL-3 performance criteria for longitudinal barriers.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:239ce0686c475dd452ef5d6bbffb1b7898fe7d0b84c97adc28e01bdf117e75aa2335db49d6f91249c8ea0d4b160c88a1f155b17ba4a5fd2de022e36f04c42c2f
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/89375/dot_89375_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 24.24 MB ]