Test Level 4 Noise Wall for Attachment to Concrete Traffic Barriers

Abstract

A new transparent noise barrier system was developed for use on rigid bridge railings and other rigid structures. The crashworthy noise barrier system incorporated specially designed, strategically located structural hardware into a noncrashworthy noise barrier system. The noise barrier system was anchored to the back face of a reinforced concrete parapet with vertical steel posts. Transparent sound panels surrounded by a metallic frame were dropped between the spaced posts to create a noise barrier. Three horizontal rails were used to prevent errant vehicles from penetrating into sound panels, snagging on the support posts, or both. The test installation consisted of a 34.56-m-long Paraglas Soundstop TL-4 noise barrier system supported by 18 steel posts. Two full-scale crash tests—one with a single-unit truck and one with a pickup truck—were conducted and reported in accordance with the requirements specified in NCHRP Report No. 350: Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features. The safety performance of the transparent noise barrier system was determined to be acceptable according to Test Level 4 evaluation criteria specified in NCHRP Report No. 350.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bullard

D. L.

Jr. Buth

C. E.

Williams

W. F.

Menges

W. L.

and Schoeneman

S. K.

. NCHRP Report 350 Evaluation of the T501 Bridge Rail with Soundwall. Report No. FHWA/TX-01/408460-F. Final report submitted to Construction Division, Texas Department of Transportation. Submitted by the Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University System, College Station, Jan. 2001.

Ross

H. E.

Sicking

D. L.

Zimmer

R. A.

and Michie

J. D.

. NCHRP Report No. 350: Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features. Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 1993.

Mak

K. K.

Gripne

D. J.

and McDevitt

C. F.

. Single-Slope Concrete Bridge Rail. In Transportation Research Record 1468, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 1994, pp. 25–33.

Polivka

K. A.

Hascall

J. A.

Faller

R. K.

Rohde

J. R.

Holloway

J. C.

Sicking

D. L.

and Kurz

. Design and Evaluation of CYRO's Paraglas Soundstop TL-4 Noise Barrier System. Final Report to CYRO Industries, Inc. Transportation Research Report No. TRP-03-160-05. Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, April 22, 2005.

Vehicle Damage Scale for Traffic Investigators, 2nd ed. Technical Bulletin No. 1. Traffic Accident Data (TAD) Project. National Safety Council, Chicago, Ill., 1971.

Collision Deformation Classification—Recommended Practice J224 March 1980. Handbook Volume 4. Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Warrendale, Pa., 1985.

Approval Letter No. B-136. PARAGLAS SOUNDSTOP TL-4 Noise Barrier System. Office of Safety Design, FHWA, May 18, 2005.