Full-Scale 18,000 lb. Vehicle Crash Test on the Iowa Retrofit Concrete Barrier Rail
REPORT NUMBER
TRP-03-019-90
AUTHORS
Brian Pfeifer, Jim Holloway, Ronald Faller, Edward Post
PUBLICATION DATE
1990-01-01
ABSTRACT
Two full-scale vehicle crash tests were conducted on the Iowa Retrofit Concrete
Barrier Rail. Test I4-1 was conducted with a 17,814 lb. test vehicle at 15.6 degrees and 44.8
mph. Test I4-2 was conducted with the same vehicle, after the damage was repaired, at 15.1
degrees and 49.9 mph. The point of impact for both tests was located 22.5 ft. from the
upstream end of the retrofit barrier.
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 endwall section on each end of the
standard retrofit section. Two construction joints were located 35 ft. inward from both ends
of the installation.
The tests were evaluated according to the safety criteria in the AASHTO guide
specifications, performance level 2. The safety performance of the Iowa Retrofit Concrete
Barrier Rail was determined to be satisfactory.
KEYWORDS
Highway Safety, Roadside Safety, Crash Test, Concrete Barrier Rail, AASHTO, PL-2, Longitudinal Barrier