Citation

Whitworth HA, Bendidi R, Marzougui D, Reiss R. Int. J. Crashworthiness 2004; 9(1): 35-43.

Affiliation

College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Sciences, Howard University, Washington, D.C.; Mathematics and Computer Science Department, Voorhees College; FHWA/NHTSA National Crash Analysis Center, The George Washington University

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1533/ijcr.2004.0270

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Crashworthiness of a modified W-beam guardrail design is evaluated in this paper. In this analysis, a detailed finite element model of the guardrail was developed and the crash response simulated when impacted by a pick up truck traveling at 100 km/hr. A finite element model of a Chevrolet C2500 pickup truck was combined with the guardrail model to simulate the crash test. The combined model evaluation focuses on comparison of actual crash test data with the simulation results in terms of roll and yaw angle measurements. Simulation results were found to be in good agreement with the crash test data. Additionally, simulations were also performed to evaluate the effect of certain guardrail design parameters, such as rail mounting height and routed/non-routed blockouts, on the crashworthiness and safety performance of the system.