Citation

Mak KK, Bligh RP, Falkenberg P. Transp. Res. Rec. 1994; 1468: 75-83.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Potential problems associated with the impact performance of guardrail to bridge rail transition designs currently used by the Tennessee Department of Transportation were identified through use of computer simulation. To alleviate these deficiencies, three alternative designs were developed for use as a retrofit to their existing transition installations and for new installations. In the first retrofit alternative, the first three 6-ft (1.83-m)-long W6 x 15 posts adjacent to the concrete parapet are replaced with 8-ft (2.44-m)-long W8 x 21 posts. The second design involves the addition of two 6-ft (1.83-m)-long W6 x 15 posts between the first three existing W6 x 15 posts to effectively reduce the post spacing to 1 ft 6.75 in. (0.48 m). The third retrofit design involves the addition of a lower C6 x 8.2 channel rub rail to the existing transition system. All three modified designs were crash tested and found to perform satisfactorily in accordance with the recommended guidelines presented in NCHRP Report 230. Since the impact performances of the three systems were essentially the same, the choice of which design to use as a retrofit in the field becomes a consideration of cost and site-specific requirements. Details of these three alternative transition designs and the results of the full-scale crash tests are presented.

Record URL:
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1994/1468/1468-010.pdf

Language: en

Keywords

Installation; Highway engineering; Bridges; Performance; Retrofitting; Computer simulation; Computer software; Highway systems; Guard rails; Impact testing; Railings; Structural design