A research program was undertaken to obtain an insight on the effects of the modified automobile bumper configurations produced by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 215 on the collision behavior of a variety of guardrails and median barriers. Specific objectives of this study were to: a) develop and implement a generalized simulation model capable of depicting the three-dimensional nonlinear dynamic response of guardrail/median barrier systems; b) develop and implement a three-dimensional vehicle model that accounts for the bumper modifications produced by FMVSS 215 and is capable of three-dimensional interaction with the guardrail/median barrier simulation model; c) identify, through parametric analysis, selected guardrails and median barriers that are particularly sensitive in their respective performance to the modifications produced by FMVSS 215; and d) establish whether FMVSS 215 vehicle modifications significantly alter barrier performance to a degree warranting barrier modification and/or FMVSS 215 revision. An underlying purpose of this effort was to increase our awareness and understanding of guardrail/vehicle interaction phenomena as well as isolate the contributary factors in barrier performance.
Abstract