Investigation and MASH Full-Scale Crash Testing of the Practice of Raising Blockouts on W-Beam Rail Systems Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) clarifies appropriate height measures for W-beam guardrails. Identification of existing locations where rail height is lower than recommended by FHWA is common. A research study was conducted to investigate the crashworthiness of raising blockouts on posts to restore barrier height and provide clarification on implementation of such methodology. The researchers evaluated the crashworthiness of raising blockouts by conducting a full-scale Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Crash Test 3-11 of a 28-in. W-beam guardrail system with composite blockouts raised 4in. on posts. The 28-in. W-beam guardrail system with raised composite blockouts contained and redirected the 2270P vehicle, and it performed acceptably for MASH Test 3-11. The results of this study include guidance on the procedure for raising blockout mounting height on steel posts to achieve recommended rail height for a W-beam guardrail.

published proceedings

  • TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD

author list (cited authors)

  • Dobrovolny, C. S., Bligh, R., Kiani, M., & Hangul, A.

citation count

  • 1

complete list of authors

  • Dobrovolny, Chiara Silvestri||Bligh, Roger||Kiani, Maysam||Hangul, Ali

publication date

  • April 2022