Experimental and Numerical Simulation of the Use of Fiber Reinforced CompositeMaterials for Road Side Safety Applications

摘要

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is currently investigating thepotential of using fiber reinforced composite materials for applications in highway structures. In particular the use of fiber reinforced composites for highway safety structures, such as luminare supports, sign supports, and roadside barriers (rail systems) are being investigated. The feasibility and application of composite materials are analyzed through a series of impact tests on laboratory specimens. Pultruded glass-fiber reinforced composite materials are being considered because of the ease of mass production and they are one of the least expensive composite materials available to date. These tests have been conducted to determine the impact behavior and material characteristics under dynamic load. The tests of these small scale specimens and pultruded sections give an understanding of the different failure modes and aid in the prediction of the behavior of a full-scale structure.