Anchorage Design Solution for Attaching an Approved Traffic Barrier to Multivoid Aluminum Bridge Decks
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 7
Abstract
Bridge decks are the most stressed elements in a highway bridge due to direct loading from vehicular traffic and occasional overloading, combined with stresses induced by environmental effects and the use of deicing salts in cold wintery conditions. The use of structural aluminum alloys offers considerable promise for building modern bridges and for redecking aging and deficient bridges. Traffic barriers are mounted on bridge decks to provide a physical impassable limit to redirect errant vehicles safely onto the roadway. Current design standards require that the traffic barrier and anchorage system be physically tested under full-scale crash conditions to assure satisfactory interaction with impacting vehicles at the desired level of performance. Certain modifications to an already crash-tested and approved barrier may be permitted if it can be demonstrated by comprehensive analyses that they would not adversely affect the designed performance of the safety barrier. The present study seeks to develop and validate an anchorage design for attaching an already approved traffic barrier on bridge decks made from welded multivoid aluminum extrusions. The anchorage design facilitates installation and is able to absorb vehicular impact loads without compromising the structural integrity of the aluminum bridge deck. The study consists of two stages: (1) the capacity design and analysis of the attachment system based on equivalent static forces, and (2) a dynamic simulation of a full crash-test. This is followed by an approved procedure for verification and validation of the barrier-vehicle interaction, by comparing simulation results with observations from the original physical crash test.
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Data Availability Statement
Some data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Ministère de transport, Québec (MTQ). They would also like to acknowledge the support of the Fonds de Recherche du Québec–Nature et Technologie (FRQNT), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Dr. Dhafer Marzougui of the Center for Collision Safety and Analysis (CCSA), George Mason University, USA, and Dr. Chuck Plaxico of Roadsafe LLC in Maine, USA.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 7 • July 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 15, 2020
Accepted: Feb 16, 2021
Published online: Apr 28, 2021
Published in print: Jul 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Sep 28, 2021
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