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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <title>Development and Evaluation of Approach Guardrail Transition with Increased Span Length between Concrete bridge Rail and First Transition Post - Phase II </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2689395</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Phase I of this project, funded by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), addressed this need at the concept and simulation level. Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) researchers developed and refined several long-span approach guardrail transition (AGT) concepts for the 34-inch tall NDOT thrie-beam system and used LS-DYNA simulations to evaluate their performance with increased span between the concrete buttress and the first transition post under MASH TL-3 impact conditions. The work included evaluation of the upstream W-beam to thrie-beam transition, the downstream thrie-beam to rigid buttress connection, and identification of critical impact points for both the pickup truck and small car tests. These analyses demonstrated that the selected long-span concept is a promising candidate, but they do not satisfy Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requirements. Federal acceptance of new roadside safety hardware under the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) requires full-scale crash testing. An FHWA eligibility letter cannot be obtained on the basis of simulations alone. Without full-scale crash testing, the long-span AGT system cannot be fully validated, adopted statewide, or included in NDOT standard plans. Phase II is therefore needed to conduct the required full-scale MASH TL-3 crash tests and provide an FHWA-compliant evaluation of the new long-span AGT system.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:25:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2689395</guid>
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      <title>Evaluation of Concrete Models in LS-DYNA to Develop a MASH Test Level 6 (TL-6) Barrier System – Phase I</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1562291</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In locations that have large truck volumes, barriers that meet the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware test level (TL) 4 or 5 standards are utilized. Unfortunately, while these designs are appropriate for tractor trailers, they are not designed to TL-6 standards, which apply to tanker trucks.  To date, only one TL-6 vehicle containment system has been developed, but cost issues have prevented its widespread implementation.  Consequently, critical infrastructure (i.e., bridge abutments) are not protected against tanker truck crashes, which puts critical facilities (e.g., schools, hospitals, etc.) at risk of exposure to hazardous materials after a crash.  To this end, it is necessary to develop a new, cost-effective, and structurally adequate TL-6 safety barrier system.  Among various aspects for the development, selecting a proper constitutive material model and model parameters is considered one of essential components, because the material model and model parameters used in computational simulation can significantly reduce time and costs for barrier design without compromising predicting power.  This research is to identify the proper constitutive model and model parameters for predicting behavior of concrete in the new TL-6 safety barrier system.  

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 09 Oct 2018 19:25:55 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1562291</guid>
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      <title>Investigation, Dynamic Testing, and Evaluation of Guardrail Posts for Use in Transitions between Temporary Concrete Barrier and Guardrail</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1251922</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Temporary concrete barriers (TCBs) are connected and transitioned to many types of barriers. Unfortunately, the only transitions previously developed have been between TCBs and safety shaped concrete barriers and TCBs and permanent concrete median barriers. Transitions between TCBs and other common barrier types, such as guardrail, have typically not been full-scale crash tested and may pose a serious hazard to motorists during an impact. The Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) has an existing project that consists of developing a transition between TCBs and the Midwest Guardrail System (MGS).  That project has funding to identify and quantify the most pressing TCB to guardrail transition needs and for concept development with LS-DYNA computer simulation. However, further research is needed to evaluate the performance of typical post types and sizes that could potentially be utilized during the concept development. Therefore, this project seeks to supplement the concept development and simulation of transitions between TCBs and the MGS through dynamic post testing.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 05 Jun 2013 01:01:44 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1251922</guid>
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