Development of Energy-Absorbing Composite Utility Pole

2003 ◽  
Vol 1851 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Foedinger ◽  
John F. Boozer ◽  
Maurice E. Bronstad ◽  
James W. Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Energy Absorption ◽  
Functional Performance ◽  
Weight Ratio ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Electrical Safety ◽  
Roadside Safety ◽  
Utility Pole ◽  
Utility Poles ◽  
Energy Absorbing

The serious hazard presented by unforgiving timber utility poles installed along the nation’s roadways has long been recognized by the roadside safety community. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to the development of safer utility poles beyond breakaway timber pole designs. A new generation of utility pole designs that use energy-absorbing composite materials offers a solution to the development and implementation of safer utility poles that have a cost advantage over breakaway timber poles and can be tailored to achieve the desired functional performance and energy absorption characteristics inherently without the need for additional strength members or add-on energy absorption devices. This research has resulted in the development of an energy-absorbing fiberglass-reinforced composite (FRC) utility pole design that meets structural performance requirements for environmental loading in accordance with the National Electrical Safety Code for Class 4 poles and safety performance criteria in compliance with NCHRP Report 350 Test Level 2 conditions for utility poles. Developmental testing and analyses were performed to support the development of a prototype design for demonstration testing. Full-scale crash testing has demonstrated the ability of the composite pole to absorb the vehicle’s impact energy by progressive crushing and fracture propagation as the vehicle is brought to a controlled stop. In addition to offering improved safety performance, the energy-absorbing FRC pole provides significant functional advantages, such as reduced weight, an improved strength-to-weight ratio, increased longevity, ease of installation, low maintenance, and resistance to environmental degradation.

scholarly journals Two Test Level 4 Bridge Railing and Transition Systems for Transverse Timber Deck Bridges

2000 ◽  
Vol 1696 (1) ◽  
pp. 334-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald K. Faller ◽  
Michael A. Ritter ◽  
Barry T. Rosson ◽  
Michael D. Fowler ◽  
Sheila R. Duwadi
Keyword(s):  
Forest Products ◽  
Service Level ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Transition Systems ◽  
Roadside Safety ◽  
Safety Standards ◽  
Crash Tests ◽  
Test Level ◽  
The U.S

The Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, in cooperation with the Forest Products Laboratory, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, and FHWA, designed two bridge railing and approach guardrail transition systems for use on bridges with transverse glue-laminated timber decks. The bridge railing and transition systems were developed and crash tested for use on higher-service-level roadways and evaluated according to the Test Level 4 safety performance criteria presented in NCHRP Report 350: Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features. The first railing system was constructed with glulam timber components, whereas the second railing system was configured with steel hardware. Eight full-scale crash tests were performed, and the bridge railing and transition systems were acceptable according to current safety standards.

Experimental study of a honeycomb energy-absorbing device for high-speed trains

2019 ◽  
Vol 234 (10) ◽  
pp. 1170-1183
Author(s):  
Benhuai Li ◽  
Zhaijun Lu ◽  
Kaibo Yan ◽  
Sisi Lu ◽  
Lingxiang Kong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Absorption ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Aerodynamic Drag ◽  
Weight Ratio ◽  
Large Mass ◽  
High Speed Train ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
High Speed Trains ◽  
Thin Walled ◽  
Energy Absorbing

Aluminium honeycomb is a light weight, thin-walled material with a typical multi-cellular construction and a good strength-to-weight ratio. Therefore, aluminium honeycomb can be used as an energy-absorbing device for high-speed trains. Due to its large mass and high operating speed, a high-speed train can generate large impact energy. Thus, an energy-absorbing device with a greater energy absorption capability must be designed for high-speed trains. To reduce the aerodynamic drag, the cross-sectional area of a high-speed train is limited. Therefore, a honeycomb energy-absorbing device should be designed in such a way that it is longer than the traditional energy-absorbing devices; however, this may lead to bending, destruction and uncontrollable deformation of the honeycomb; these factors are not conducive for energy absorption. In this paper, a sleeve structure was designed for high-speed trains, and a crash experiment of the energy-absorbing structure showed that the bending and destruction of the honeycomb energy-absorbing device are effectively suppressed compared with the ordinary honeycomb energy-absorbing structure. Moreover, the fluctuation of the crash force was smaller and the crash force is more stable than the traditional thin-walled energy-absorbing structure. Therefore, the deformation instability problem of the ordinary honeycomb energy-absorbing structure and the crash force fluctuation problem of the traditional thin-walled energy-absorbing structure can be solved. Then, a crash experiment and simulation involving a high-speed train with improved honeycomb energy-absorbing device was carried out, and the results showed that the deformation of the end of the train body was stable and controllable, and the train body deceleration satisfied the collision standard EN15227.

Development of a Sequential Kinking Terminal for W-Beam Guardrails

1998 ◽  
Vol 1647 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean L. Sicking ◽  
John D. Reid ◽  
John R. Rohde
Keyword(s):  
Energy Absorption ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Plastic Hinges ◽  
Average Force ◽  
Dynamic Forces ◽  
Head Weight ◽  
Beam Section ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Energy Absorbing

A new tangent energy-absorbing W-beam guardrail terminal that meets NCHRP Report 350 criteria has been developed. The terminal, designated the SKT-350, dissipates the energy of an encroaching vehicle by producing a series of plastic hinges in the W-beam as the terminal head is pushed down the guardrail. This energy-absorption concept allows for significantly lower dynamic forces on the encroaching vehicle, reducing the vehicle damage, the weight of the terminal head, the propensity for vehicle yaw and roll after impact, and the chances of buckling in the W-beam section. The energy required to move the head down the rail in this design is optimized for current criteria, but by modifying the bending geometry in the head, the average force to displace the head down the rail can be adjusted from values ranging from 11 to 60 kN (2,500 to 13,500 lb), meaning that the system can be easily modified to meet any future changes in safety performance standards. In addition to these important safety advantages, the terminal incorporates a unique cable anchor bracket that closely resembles a breakaway cable terminal anchor and a novel foundation tube design that facilitates the removal of broken posts during repair. Combining the features of reduced forces and head weight, a simple cable box, and more economical soil tubes allows the system to offer the advantages of both reduced cost and improved performance.

New Energy-Absorbing High-Speed Safety Barrier

2003 ◽  
Vol 1851 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Reid ◽  
Ronald K. Faller ◽  
Jim C. Holloway ◽  
John R. Rohde ◽  
Dean L. Sicking
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Steel Tube ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Component ◽  
Testing Program ◽  
Roadside Safety ◽  
New Energy ◽  
University Of Nebraska Lincoln ◽  
Energy Absorbing

For many years, containment for errant racing vehicles traveling on oval speedways has been provided through rigid, concrete containment walls placed around the exterior of the track. However, accident experience has shown that serious injuries and fatalities may occur through vehicular impacts into these nondeformable barriers. Because of these injuries, the Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, later joined by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), sponsored the development of a new barrier system by the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln to improve the safety of drivers participating in automobile racing events. Several barrier prototypes were investigated and evaluated using both static and dynamic component testing, computer simulation modeling with LS-DYNA (a nonlinear finite element analysis code), and 20 full-scale vehicle crash tests. The full-scale crash testing program included bogie vehicles, small cars, and a full-size sedan, as well as Indy Racing League open-wheeled cars and NASCAR Winston Cup cars. A combination steel tube skin and foam energy-absorbing barrier system, referred to as the SAFER (steel and foam energy reduction) barrier, was successfully developed. Subsequently, the SAFER barrier was installed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in advance of the running of the 2002 Indianapolis 500 race. From the results of the laboratory testing program as well as analysis of the accidents into the SAFER barrier occurring during practice, qualification, and the race, the SAFER barrier has been shown to provide improved safety for drivers impacting the outer walls.

scholarly journals Energy Absorption Characteristics of Foam Filled Tri Circular Tube under Bending Loads

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 159-164
Author(s):  
Fauzan Djamaluddin
Keyword(s):  
Energy Absorption ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Circular Tube ◽  
Comparative Investigation ◽  
Tubular Structures ◽  
Vehicle Engineering ◽  
Bending Resistance ◽  
Bending Loads ◽  
Foam Filled ◽  
Energy Absorbing

In this study, the researcher carried out a comparative investigation of the crashworthy features of different tubular structures with a quasi-static three bending point, like the foam-filled two and tri circular tube structures. Energy absorption capacities and failure modes of different structures are also studied. Furthermore, the general characteristics are investigated and compared for instance the energy absorption, specific energy absorption and energy-absorbing effectiveness for determining the potential structural components that can be used in the field of vehicle engineering. Experimental results indicated that under the bending conditions, the tri foam-filled structures were higher crashworthiness behaviour than the two foam-filled circular structures. Therefore, this study recommended the use of crashworthy structures, such as foam-filled tri circular tubes due to the increased bending resistance and energy-absorbing effectiveness.

scholarly journals Novel cellular materials for energy absorption applications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Mudassir ◽  
Mahmoud Mansour
Keyword(s):  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Energy Absorption ◽  
Metal Foams ◽  
Cellular Materials ◽  
Cellular Structures ◽  
Senior Project ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Good Energy ◽  
To Come ◽  
Energy Absorbing

Cellular materials such as metal foams are porous, lightweight structures that exhibit good energy absorption properties. They have been used for many years in various applications including energy absorption. Traditional cellular structures do not have consistent pore sizes and their behaviors and properties such as failure mechanisms and energy absorption are not always same even within the same batch. This is a major obstacle for their applications in critical areas where consistency is required. With the popularity of additive manufacturing, new interest has garnered around fabricating metal foams using this technology. It is necessary to study the possibility of designing cellular structures with additive manufacturing and their energy absorbing behavior before any sort of commercialization for critical applications is contemplated. The primary hypothesis of this senior project is to prove that energy absorbing cellular materials can be designed. Designing in this context is much like how a car can be designed to carry a certain number of passengers. To prove this hypothesis, the paper shows that the geometry is a key factor that affects energy absorption and that is possible to design the geometry in order to obtain certain behaviors and properties as desired. Much like designing a car, it requires technical expertise, ingenuity, experience and learning curve for designing cellular structures. It is simple to come with a design, but not so much when the design in constrained by stringent requirements for energy absorption and failure behaviors. The scope was limited to the study of metal foams such as the ones made from aluminum and titanium. The primary interest has been academic rather than finding ways to commercialize it. The study has been carried out using simulation and experimental verification has been suggested for future work. Nevertheless, the numerical or simulation results show that energy absorbing cellular structures can be designed that exhibit good energy absorption comparable to traditional metal foams but perhaps with better consistency and failure behaviors. The specific energy absorption was found to be 18 kJ/kg for aluminum metal foams and 23 kJ/kg for titanium metal foams. The average crushing force has been observed to be around 70 kN for aluminum and around 190 kN for titanium. These values are within the acceptable range for most traditional metal foams under similar conditions as simulated in this paper.

scholarly journals Reversed-torsion-type crush energy absorption structure and its inexpensive partial-heating torsion manufacturing method based on origami engineering

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Xilu Zhao ◽  
Chenghai Kong ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Ichiro Hagiwara
Keyword(s):  
Energy Absorption ◽  
Peak Load ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
Manufacturing Method ◽  
Partial Heating ◽  
Vehicle Structure ◽  
Energy Absorbers ◽  
Energy Absorbing ◽  
Origami Engineering

Abstract Current vehicle energy absorbers face two problems during a collision in that there is only a 70% collapse in length and there is a high initial peak load. These problems arise because the presently used energy-absorbing column is primitive from the point of view of origami. We developed a column called the Reversed Spiral Origami Structure (RSO), which solves the above two problems. However, in the case of existing technology of the RSO, the molding cost of hydroforming is too expensive for application to a real vehicle structure. We therefore conceive a new structure, named the Reversed Torsion Origami Structure (RTO), which has excellent energy absorption in simulation. We can thus develop a manufacturing system for the RTO cheaply. Excellent results are obtained in a physical experiment. The RTO can replace conventional energy absorbers and is expected to be widely used in not only automobile structures but also building structures.

Composite Core Cross Tube Crushing Analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Jenson ◽  
Muhammad Ali ◽  
Khairul Alam
Keyword(s):  
Energy Absorption ◽  
Compressive Loading ◽  
Deformation Mode ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Absorption Capacity ◽  
Functionally Graded ◽  
Layer By Layer ◽  
Thin Walled ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Energy Absorbing

Abstract Thin walled axial members are typically used in automobiles’ side and front chassis to improve crashworthiness of vehicles. Extensive work has been done in exploring energy absorbing characteristics of thin walled structural members under axial compressive loading. The present study is a continuation of the work presented earlier on evaluating the effects of inclusion of functionally graded cellular structures in thin walled members under axial compressive loading. A compact functionally graded composite cellular core was introduced inside a cross tube with side length and wall thickness of 25.4 mm and 3.048 mm, respectively. The parameters governing the energy absorbing characteristics such as deformation or collapsing modes, crushing/ reactive force, plateau stress level, and energy curves, were evaluated. The results showed that the inclusion of composite graded cellular structure increased the energy absorption capacity of the cross tube significantly. The composite graded structure underwent progressive stepwise, layer by layer, crushing mode and provided lateral stability to the cross tube thus delaying local tube wall collapse and promoting large localized folds on the tube’s periphery as compared to highly localized and compact deformation modes that were observed in the empty cross tube under axial compressive loading. The variation in deformation mode resulted in enhanced stiffness of the composite structure, and therefore, high energy absorption by the structure. This aspect has a potential to be exploited to improve the crashworthiness of automobile structures.

Crashworthiness performance of concentric structures with different cross-sectional shapes under multiple loading conditions

2020 ◽  
pp. 095440702096188
Author(s):  
Sadjad Pirmohammad
Keyword(s):  
Energy Absorption ◽  
Specific Energy ◽  
Absorption Maximum ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Hexagonal Structure ◽  
Loading Conditions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Specific Energy Absorption ◽  
Multiple Loading ◽  
Energy Absorbing

This paper evaluates the crashworthiness performance of concentric structures with different numbers of tubes (i.e. one to five) and cross-sectional shapes (i.e. hexagon, octagon, decagon and circle) under the multiple loadings of θ = 0, 10, 20 and 30°. An experimentally validated finite element model generated in LS-DYNA is employed to calculate the crashworthiness parameters including the specific energy absorption, maximum crush force and crush force efficiency. A total of 20 concentric structures are analyzed to explore the effects of number of tubes and cross-sectional shapes on the crushing performance. A multi-criteria decision-making method known as TOPSIS is also used to compare and rank the concentric structures in terms of crushing performance. Based on the results, the hexagonal structure including two tubes and octagonal, decagonal and circular structures including three tubes demonstrate the best results among their corresponding cross-sectional shapes. These structures show 9, 39, 38 and 39% higher specific energy absorption compared to their corresponding single tubal cases, respectively. However, in comparison to single tubal cases, they generate 4, 57, 57 and 58% higher maximum crush force, respectively. As such, the values for the improvement of the crush force efficiency are 3, 26, 25 and 21%, respectively. Furthermore, the decagonal structure including three tubes provides the highest energy absorbing characteristics as compared with all the other structures studied in this research. Meanwhile, taking into account all the multiple loading conditions, this structure shows 50% higher specific energy absorption than the hexagonal structure including single tube (as the weakest structure).

Development of a 34-in. Tall Thrie-Beam Guardrail Transition to Accommodate Future Roadway Overlays

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (2) ◽  
pp. 489-501
Author(s):  
Scott K. Rosenbaugh ◽  
Ronald K. Faller ◽  
Jennifer D. Schmidt ◽  
Robert W. Bielenberg
Keyword(s):  
Full Scale ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Concrete Barriers ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
Crash Tests ◽  
Test Level

Roadway resurfacing and overlay projects effectively reduce the height of roadside barriers placed adjacent to the roadway, which can negatively affect their crashworthiness. More recently, bridge rails and concrete barriers have been installed with slightly increased heights to account for future overlays. However, adjacent guardrails and approach transitions have not yet been modified to account for overlays. The objective of this project was to develop an increased-height approach guardrail transition (AGT) to be crashworthy both before and after roadway overlays of up to 3 in. The 34-in. tall, thrie-beam transition detailed here was designed such that the system would be at its nominal 31-in. height following a 3-in. roadway overlay. Additionally, the upstream end of the AGT incorporated a symmetric W-to-thrie transition segment that would be replaced by an asymmetric transition segment after an overlay to keep the W-beam guardrail upstream from the transition at its nominal 31-in. height. The 34-in. tall AGT was connected to a modified version of the standardized buttress to mitigate the risk of vehicle snag below the rail. The barrier system was evaluated through two full-scale crash tests in accordance with Test Level 3 (TL-3) of AASHTO’s Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) and satisfied all safety performance criteria. Thus, the 34-in. tall AGT with modified transition buttress was determined to be crashworthy to MASH TL-3 standards. Finally, implementation guidance was provided for the 34-in. tall AGT and its crashworthy variations.

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