Development of European End-Treatment TWINY Using Simulation and Crash Testing

In this study, a simple guardrail end treatment, called TWINY, designed particularly for use with a thrie-beam guardrail system is developed. In the first phase, the system is designed and analyzed using a versatile, highly nonlinear finite-element analysis program LS-DYNA. Two different crashes involving a head on impact and a 15 S angle impact are simulated using LS-DYNA. In both simulations, a nominal 900 kg car traveling at 80 km/h is used to impact the end treatment as outlined in European Crash Testing Guidelines EN1317 section 4. Based on the successful simulation results, both tests are repeated in a crash test facility in Germany to substantiate simulation predictions. Full-scale crash testing results compared favorably with those obtained from LS-DYNA simulation. Based on the results, a final full-scale crash testing was carried out on the system to fully verify its compliance with the EN1317 section 4. A 1,300 kg compact car traveling at 80 km/ h impacted the end terminal at its midlength at an angle of 15 S. The vehicle is successfully redirected with minimal damage to both vehicle and terminal. Based on the simulation and full-scale crash test results, it can be concluded that TWINY is a promising end treatment for steel thrie-beam guardrail terminals and can be implemented at the European Highway System with confidence.