Influence of a Lighting Column in the Working Width of a W-Beam Barrier on TB51 Crash Test

Road equipment, such as, e.g., road safety barriers and lighting columns, are subject to certification according to the EN1317 standard to be allowed for use on European roads. In engineering practice, due to the terrain conditions, there are cases where other road equipment is installed within the working width of road safety barriers. Such situations are not considered during the certification process. Hence, the aim of this study is to analyze the effect of a lighting column installed within the working width of the barrier on the results of the TB51 crash test. The full-scale crash test and numerical simulation of this event were conducted. In the full-scale crash test, as well as in the simulation, the lighting column prevented the barrier’s post from properly disconnecting from the guardrail, which resulted in the barrier failing to restrain and redirect the 13-t bus. The simulation was quantitatively compared to the experiment, where the correlation coefficient of ASI curves equaled 84%. The THIV curves differed significantly between the experiment and the simulation, which is explained within the paper. Next, simulations with and without the lighting column were compared. The ASI and THIV in the simulation without the column were 0.33 and 16.1 km/h, respectively. In the simulation with the column, the ASI and THIV were 0.44 and 17.7 km/h, respectively. The maximum roll angle of the vehicle in the simulation without the column was 2.01° and with the column was 5.96°. The main difference, however, was that the system without the lighting column within the working width of the barrier was capable of properly restraining and redirecting the vehicle. The specific mechanics underlying this behavior are described within the paper.