Design and Evaluation of a Low-Tension Cable Guardrail End Terminal System; Final rept., 2000-2008

摘要

Cable guardrail systems are utilized due to the ease of construction, low vehicle damage, low occupant risk, and low initial installation cost. However, a cable guardrail system must be terminated in an acceptable manner that does not pose a significant risk to errant motorists. A cable guardrail system, developed by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYDOT), was successfully crash tested to the recommendations provided in National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report No. 350, 'Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features', but the terminal incorporated a large cable anchor system and a flared end that limited the use of the cable guardrail system adjacent to slopes. In order to reduce the size of the cable anchorage system and increase the versatility of a low-tension cable guardrail system, a tangent cable terminal, similar to the design developed by the NYDOT, was developed and full-scale vehicle crash tested for use with low-tension, three cable guardrail systems. Four full-scale crash tests were performed on the cable terminal system. The first test utilized a 2,000-kg (4,409-lb) pickup truck, impacting the cable terminal system at 20 degrees. The other three impacts utilized an 820-kg (1,808-lb) small car, impacting the tangent cable terminal head-on and at a 1/4 point offset.