Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Mash 2016 Test Level 3 And Test Level 4 Evaluation Of Roadside Safety Barrier With Pedestrian Features, Miguel Angel Hinojosa Palacios

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) desires to use a vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian combination bridge railing system along pedestrian and bicycle bridge paths. The system was evaluated per MASH 2016.

In full-scale crash test no. MNPD-3, the system was evaluated according to MASH test designation no. 3-11. The 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 crew cab pickup truck impacted the system 71¼ in. upstream from the centerline of post no. 4 with a speed of 63.4 mph at an angle of 25.3 degrees. The combination railing system was found to meet the AASHTO MASH 2016 TL-3 impact safety criteria.

MnDOT uses …

Conceptual Development Of An Impact-Attenuation System For Intersecting Roadways, Joseph G. Putjenter

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Longitudinal barriers are commonly used to shield hazards, including stiff bridge rail ends and slopes. In some locations, a secondary roadway intersects the primary roadway within the guardrail’s length-of-need (LON). Some intersections have as little as 15 ft (4.6 m) between the intersection and beginning of the bridge railing, which require short-radius guardrail systems. No short-radius systems have been tested and approved to current impact safety standards for shielding hazards with these conditions.

Site conditions provided by the Nebraska Department of Roads were used to determine the constraints for a new safety treatment for intersecting roadways and include intersection radii, …

Identification Of A Maximum Guardrail Height For The Midwest Guardrail System Using Computer Simulation, Ramen D. Julin

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

W-beam guardrails are by far the most common restraint system used along both local and major roadways. Traditionally, these restraint systems have been full-scale crash tested with a rail height ranging between 27 in. and 32 in. However, the maximum rail height which allows for safe performance of guardrails, especially in impacts involving small vehicles, has never been identified.

The main concern associated with an increase of the rail height is that small vehicles, because of their low profile, may have a tendency to lift the rail and penetrate the barrier. The objective of this project was to determine the …