Study of Flexible Delineator Post Performance and Revision of Existing Pre-Qualification Specifications;Research rept. for May 02-Apr 03

摘要

Flexible post-mounted delineators are typically ground-mounted plastic posts with reflective sheeting that are used to delineate roadsides, interchanges, and other areas in which safety is a concern. These devices are designed to withstand multiple impacts as opposed to metal guide posts; flexible delineator posts (FDPs) limit damage to the impacting vehicle along with alleviating the potential for injury to vehicle occupants. Some products that meet current acceptance criteria and are on the Nevada Department of Transportation's (NDOT's) Qualified Product List (QPL) have exhibited dissatisfactory in-service performance. The excessive replacement of FDPs that have cracked or broken, have lost large portions of reflective sheeting, or have lost a significant degree of stiffness has led to higher life-cycle costs than expected. This study was undertaken to address these problems and to develop realistic pre-qualification specification/criteria so that such problems can be mitigated in the future. The procedure adopted in the study included the flowing activities: (1) a well-designed statewide survey of NDOT FDP field performance, (2) a FDP field performance survey of other states with similar climate, (3) analysis of vehicle-impact data collected by the National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP), (4) correlation of NTPEP test (impact and UV exposure tests) data with actual FDP field performance in Nevada, (5) review of current pre-qualification pass/fail criteria used by other states, (6) development of a pre-qualification procedure for FDPs for Nevada, and (7) re-qualification of FDPs that are currently on NDOT's QPL. The recommended guidelines for pre-qualification of FDPs along with a commentary that summarizes the details of the procedure are presented in Appendix E of the report.