Full-Scale Vehicle Crash Tests on the Iowa Retrofit Concrete Barrier Rail, 1989

(1989) Full-Scale Vehicle Crash Tests on the Iowa Retrofit Concrete Barrier Rail, 1989. Transportation, Department of

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Abstract

Three full-scale vehicle crash tests were conducted on the Iowa Retrofit Concrete Barrier Rail. Test 12-1 was conducted with a 1,849 lb. vehicle at 20 deg. and 56.8 mph. Test 12-2 was conducted with a 5,386 lb. vehicle at 20 deg. and 62.3 mph. Test 12-3 was conducted with an 1,849 lb. vehicle at 20 deg. and 62.5 mph. The total length of the installation was 100 ft . It consisted of 86 ft of standard retrofit concrete barrier rail section and 7 ft. of concrete end wall section on each end of the standard retrofit section. Two construction joints were located 35 ft. inward from both ends of the installation. The bride rail consisted of three major components: the existing concrete curb, the rectangular (retrofit) concrete wall section, and the concrete end walls. The overall height of the barrier was 32-in. above the roadway surface. The 86 ft. long, retrofit concrete barrier rail was doweled into the existing concrete curb and setback 3-in. from the curb face. The location of the vehicle impacts were set at 18-in. from both of the construction joints. The tests were evaluated according to the safety criteria in NCHRP 230 and also in the AASHTO guide specifications. The safety performance of the Iowa Retrofit Concrete Barrier Rail was determined to be satisfactory.