The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) clarifies appropriate height measures for W-beam guardrails. Identification of existing locations where rail height is lower than recommended by FHWA is common. A research study was conducted to investigate the crashworthiness of raising blockouts on posts to restore barrier height and provide clarification on implementation of such methodology. The researchers evaluated the crashworthiness of raising blockouts by conducting a full-scale Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Crash Test 3-11 of a 28-in. W-beam guardrail system with composite blockouts raised 4 in. on posts. The 28-in. W-beam guardrail system with raised composite blockouts contained and redirected the 2270P vehicle, and it performed acceptably for MASH Test 3-11. The results of this study include guidance on the procedure for raising blockout mounting height on steel posts to achieve recommended rail height for a W-beam guardrail.
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PolivkaK. A.SickingD. L.RohdeJ. R.FallerR. K.HollowayJ. C.Crash Testing of Michigan’s Type B (W-Beam) Guardrail System—Phase II. Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 2000.
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Silvestri DobrovolnyC.MengesW. L.KuhnD. L.Pendulum Testing on Composite Blockouts Raised on Steel Posts. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, 2017.
19.
Silvestri DobrovolnyC.SchulzN.MohanakrishnanA.Evaluation of the Crashworthiness Alternative of Raising Wood Blockouts on Wood Post. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, 2015.
20.
Silvestri DobrovolnyC.SchulzN.BlighR. P.LindseyC.Modeling and Simulations of Vehicular Impacts on W-Beam Rail with Raised Blockouts. 14th International LS-DYNA Users Conference, Detroit, MI, 2016.
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HallquistJ. O.LS-DYNA Keyword User’s Manual, Version 971. Livermore Software Technology Corporation, Livermore, CA, 2014.
22.
Silvestri DobrovolnyC.MengesW. L.KuhnD. L.MASH Test 3-11 of 28-Inch W-Beam Guardrail System With 8-Inch Composite Blockouts Raised 4 Inches on Steel Posts. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, 2017.
23.
BlighP. B.Abu-OdehA. Y.MengesW. L.MASH Test 3-10 on the 31-Inch W-Beam Guardrail With Standard Offset Blocks. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX, 2011.
