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ABSTRACT

Cable guardrail systems have been increasing in popularity in recent years due to several perceived benefits over the commonly used W-beam guardrail. A non-proprietary design was desired as an alternative to the many proprietary designs available. A non-proprietary, high-tension, cable end terminal was necessary to accompany the non-proprietary, high-tension, cable guardrail system under development. The objective of this research project was to develop design recommendations for a non-proprietary, high-tension, cable end terminal. An analysis of several cable guardrail end terminals was undertaken to identify any common features that may prove to be beneficial or detrimental to end terminal designs. Next, a study of the non-proprietary, low-tension system was conducted to determine the cause of vehicle instabilities in full-scale testing. Since the high-tension and low-tension, cable end terminal designs are similar, it is likely that any issues with the low-tension design will also be evident in testing of the high-tension design. LS-DYNA modeling of current cable terminal anchor hardware was then accomplished and compared to bogie testing results. The anchor model proved to be sufficiently accurate to preliminary analyze alternative cable anchor designs. A final, optimized, high-tension, cable anchor design was produced along with alternative terminal post recommendations for continuing development of the non-proprietary, high-tension, cable end terminal.

KEYWORDS

Highway Safety, Crash Test, Roadside Appurtenances, Compliance Test, MASH, High-Tension, Cable Guardrail, End Terminal, Cable Anchor Bracket

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