This article presents statistical data on traffic accidents in 2008 in Lithuania, focusing on the role of road guardrails. The authors note that 9.4% of all traffic accidents involve an obstacle, such as a road guardrail, a lamppost, a tree, a gate, etc. The various types of road guardrails installed on the shoulders and dividing strips of urban and suburban roads are then described, including reinforced concrete guardrails, cable guardrails and metal guardrails. Metal guardrails, consisting of Σ-shape metal posts and a protective W-shape horizontal beam, are the most common type. The authors then describe the deformation processes of the elements of metal guardrails, presenting a mathematical model of metal road guardrail deformation. The model uses one-dimensional first-order finite elements, taking into account only elastic deformations, as well as the effect of soil on the buried post section of the guardrail. This model can be used to determine the deflections of the metal guardrail caused by the impact of a vehicle moving at varying speed were determined. As might be expected, the higher the speed of a moving vehicle at the moment of its collision with a guardrail, the heavier the deflections of the guardrail elements. The authors conclude that the obtained values of deflections of guardrail elements (a protective W-shape horizontal beam and a Σ-shape post) presented in this paper do not exceed the admissible values (of beam deflections).
Beljatynskij, Andrey
Prentkovskiene, Rasa
Dyakov, Ivan
Dabuleviciene, Laima
TRT Terms: Crash tests; Crashes; Deflection; Deformation; Finite element method; Guardrails; Highway safety; Impact; Mathematical models; Metals; Posts; Simulation; Speed
Subject Areas: Highways; Materials; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;