The hi-dro cushion cell barrier vehicle-impact attenuator consists basically of water-filled plastic tubes with orifices in the caps. a colliding vehicle forces the water out the orifices, thereby experiencing a restraining force that depends on orifice size and number, number of tubes being compressed, amount of water in the tubes, and other design considerations. Six full-scale crash tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the barrier as a vehicle-impact attenuator. The resulting test decelerations were substantially lower than those from a rigid wall test included for comparison purposes. Other full-scale tests have been conducted elsewhere. Data from a computer simulation model of the crash cushion developed at brigham young university showed excellent agreement with data from selected tests performed in this series. (Author/publisher)
Abstract