Abstract
Runaway accidents caused by vehicle braking have been extensively studied from the perspective of passenger safety. The traditional escape ramp alleviates such conditions to some extent, which places higher demands on human protection and more complex application scenarios (slope and long-distance site requirements). This paper proposes a new type of escape ramp arresting system (ERAS) and developed a novel type of variable cable force damper. The combination of the damper and the arresting net in the ERAS could more effectively restrict the speed of the runaway vehicle and ensure the safety of the occupants, while being able to adapt to more practical scenarios (flat slopes and short-distance site requirements). Six sets of real low- and high-speed intercept tests with different models were conducted to obtain some key data, such as the acceleration of the vehicle’s center of gravity, the impact velocity of occupants, and the sequence diagram of the vehicle during the impact. The vehicle impact force at low speed and the crash safety performance were effectively evaluated. The results indicated ERAS was applicable to runaway vehicles including sedans and large buses (), but further optimization was needed for overweight trucks. In addition, the paper provides valuable experimental data for the future study of real vehicle crash tests and the calibration of the finite-element model.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
AASHTO. 2001. A policy on geometric design of highways and streets. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
AASHTO. 2011a. A policy on geometric design of highways and streets. 6th ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
AASHTO. 2011b. LRFD seismic bridge dsign. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
Chen, L., S. El-Tawil, and Y. Xiao. 2016. “Reduced models for simulating collisions between trucks and bridge piers.” J. Bridge Eng. 21 (6): 04016020. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000810.
Chen, L., H. Wu, Q. Fang, and R. Li. 2021. “Full-scale experimental study of a reinforced concrete bridge pier under truck collision.” J. Bridge Eng. 26 (8): 05021008. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0001749.
Demartino, C., J. G. Wu, and Y. Xiao. 2017. “Response of shear-deficient reinforced circular RC columns under lateral impact loading.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 109 (Nov): 196–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2017.06.011.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). 1979. Interim guidelines for design of emergency escape ramps. Washington, DC: FHWA.
FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Office of Research and Analysis). 2007. The large truck crash causation study—Analysis brief. FMCSA-RRA-07-017. Washington, DC: FMCSA.
Li, L. Y., H. Chen, S. W. Li, D. C. Xie, and Q. Wang. 2021. “Design and experimental study on adaptive dynamic energy absorption damper for special-shaped steel structures.” J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. 38 (12): 147–151.
Liu, G. S. 2020. “Modeling and simulation of runaway vehicles on truck escape ramps.” [In Chinese.] Master’s thesis, Univ. of Guangxi.
Ma, L., F. Y. Xie, R. W. Zhang, Y. X. Zhou, Z. H. Li, H. X. Yu, R. Q. Yue, and J. Yuan. 2009. “Experiment and research on net-rope escape ramp of Meng-Xin expressway.” Highway 4 (Mar): 46–52.
Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China. 2013. Standard for safety performance evaluation of highway barriers. [In Chinese.] JTG B05-01. Beijing: Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China.
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). 2023. “Takata air bag recall.” Accessed October 15, 2023. https://www.nhtsa.gov/.
Qin, P. P., X. L. Hou, S. K. Zhang, S. F. Zhang, and J. M. Huang. 2021. “Simulation research on the protection performance of fall protection net at the end of truck escape ramp.” Sci. Prog. 104 (3): 00368504211039615. https://doi.org/10.1177/00368504211039615.
Ross, H., D. L. Sicking, R. A. Zimmer, and J. D. Michie. 1993. Recommended procedures for the safety performance evaluation of highway features. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
SAE (Safety Test Instrumentation Standards Committee). 1995. “Instrumentation for impact test, Part 1, Electronic Instrumentation.” SAE J211-1. Washington, DC: SAE.
Xu, X. C., H. C. Zhang, X. P. Zhao, X. B. Du, D. S. Lian, and Z. M. Liu. 2023. “Development of a runaway vehicle protective barrier system using simulation and full-scale crash testing.” Sustainability 15 (3): 1925. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031925.
Yan, S. M., L. Fang, L. Ma, and K. Jing. 2015. “Net energy absorption system for a truck escape ramp.” J. Vib. Shock 34 (17): 30–37. https://doi.org/10.13465/j.cnki.jvs.2015.17.006.
Yang, J., G. J. Xu, C. S. Cai, and A. Kareem. 2019. “Crash performance evaluation of a new movable median guardrail on highways.” Eng Struct. 182 (Mar): 459–472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2018.12.090.
Zhao, L., Z. X. Yu, P. Y. Liu, J. W. He, S. L. Chan, and S. C. Zhao. 2020. “Numerical simulation of responses of flexible rockfall barriers under impact loading at different positions.” J. Constr. Steel Res. 167 (Apr): 105953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2020.105953.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 150 • Issue 3 • March 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 21, 2022
Accepted: Aug 11, 2023
Published online: Dec 20, 2023
Published in print: Mar 1, 2024
Discussion open until: May 20, 2024
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.