<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="https://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
  <channel>
    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
    <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
    <atom:link href="https://rip.trb.org/Record/RSS?s=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" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
    <description></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
    </image>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of Large Truck Parameter Requirements For Crash Testing</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2712181</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Research is needed to examine test-vehicle physical properties, vehicle pre-test preparation, and relevant evaluation criteria for Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Levels 4, 5, and 6, considering the current large-vehicle fleet and contemporary freight operations.

 Research needs include: Reviewing and updating the physical properties of single-unit trucks (Test Level 4), tractor-vans (Test Level 5), and tractor-tank vehicles (Test Level 6), including vehicle dimensions, mass, center-of-mass height, and other critical features, to better reflect the current large-vehicle fleet. The research should also review MASH documentation requirements for large test vehicles. Determining whether MASH test-vehicle pre-test preparation for large vehicles reflects critical and contemporary operating practices. For example, this may include determining whether rigidly anchored or translatable ballast freight distributions contribute to more severe impact conditions or vehicle instability following impact. Assessing MASH evaluation criteria, including rollover potential, occupant risk, and effects on adjacent traffic flow, in relation to the system’s intended purpose and primary function. For example, a barrier designed primarily to capture an impacting vehicle and prevent secondary collisions with roadside obstacles may be considered successful if it effectively contains and redirects the vehicle. However, research is needed to explore whether there is value in refining the evaluation criteria to include a “preferred” performance designation for systems that also minimize occupant risk, limit occupant compartment damage, and improve vehicle stability by reducing rollover potential for large vehicles.

 Potential research tasks include: Review existing physical characteristics of large vehicles in the current vehicle fleet; Review existing crash tests, including: identifying causes of testing failures and determining whether failures are associated with particular vehicle design features.Identify issues with existing acceptance criteria; Analyze large-vehicle crashes to determine the consequences of modifying acceptance criteria; Identify potential modifications to crash test procedures.
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:16:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2712181</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Safety Risks of Occupant Compartment Damage During Crashes</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2054768</link>
      <description><![CDATA[According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) crash tests, devices sometimes fail due to relatively insignificant damage to the vehicle, as MASH does not allow for any part of the device or vehicle component to enter the vehicle compartment. If there is any penetration, the device fails that test. Some deformation of the vehicle occupant compartment is allowed, but varies by area of the vehicle. Although engineering judgment and experience indicate that minor deformation/penetration does not normally pose a safety risk to occupants, MASH is very stringent in this area. 

As with many AASHTO publications, early editions often contain guidelines based on expert consensus rather than research, and as time goes on committees request research to address these areas. Without solid information on the risk posed to vehicle occupants from some minor types of crash test damage, the thresholds in AASHTO documents need to err on the side of caution (e.g., “no penetration into the occupant compartment”). As states, academia, and industry work to develop MASH hardware and fully implement MASH, some devices fail crash tests even though engineering judgement suggests that the devices appear to provide the desired protection to vehicle occupants. Research is needed to determine whether deformations and penetrations that appear to be relatively minor — but are currently cause for failed MASH crash tests — do in fact present a safety risk to vehicle occupants.

The objectives of this research are to (1) evaluate the MASH limits for test vehicle deformations and penetrations by roadside safety features and vehicle components and (2) conduct tests to ensure the thresholds for test vehicle occupant compartment deformations and penetrations most appropriately represent potential safety risk to occupants in the current vehicle fleet.

Achieving these objectives would make MASH testing thresholds more realistic, which can lead to increased development and use of MASH devices.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2022 06:34:44 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2054768</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>MASH Hardware Evaluation with New Proposed Test Vehicles</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854211</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) requires full-scale crash testing of roadside hardware (RSH) using worst practical impact conditions, which should be representative of the composition of vehicles involved in run-off-road crashes and of the roadside departure speeds and angles. Previous NCHRP projects have led to changes in standard test conditions and test vehicles. MASH was introduced in the mid-2000s and updated the standards and evaluation criteria for choosing which passenger cars and pickup trucks to crash test. A midsize test vehicle was also introduced. After exploratory crash testing for each of these changes in test vehicle selection criteria, a narrow range of makes and models were informally adopted as the preferred test vehicles, offering reproducible and economical outcomes.

NCHRP Project 20-07(372), "Evaluation of MASH Test Vehicles," indicated a significant decline in new passenger car sales and a rise in new light truck sales since 2014, driven primarily by compact utility vehicle (CUV) sales. Hence, updates for the selection criteria used for standardized passenger car and light truck test vehicles were recommended, as was exploratory full-scale testing to evaluate RSH using the CUV class of test vehicle. Pilot testing evaluating existing MASH-compliant RSH using the new proposed vehicles, with emphasis on the CUV class, is needed to ensure that testing criteria remains representative of practical, worst-case impact conditions.

The objectives of this research are to: (1) determine which test vehicles and corresponding characteristics are representative of the changing vehicle fleet; (2) conduct full-scale crash tests of previously tested MASH-compliant RSH using representative vehicles; (3) identify RSH performance differences between existing MASH-compliant test vehicles and new representative vehicles; and (4) recommend vehicle types and corresponding characteristics for RSH crash safety analysis.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 27 May 2021 16:52:54 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854211</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Implementation of MASH Surrogate Test Vehicles for Sign Supports, Breakaway Poles, and Work Zone Traffic Control Devices</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854207</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Historically, roadside safety features have been subjected to crashworthiness evaluations using a variety of impact test specifications and/or guidelines.  The implementation of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) has left state departments of transportation (DOTs) and manufacturers in a situation where a significant number of breakaway poles, sign supports, and work zone traffic control devices (herein called “Systems”) need to be evaluated for MASH compliance. The development of robust surrogate test vehicles, with an ability to largely capture vehicle deformation and penetrations as well as accurate system behavior, would reduce crash-testing costs and promote greater innovation for new products for manufacturers and DOTs. There is a need to provide a guide to aid in selecting the appropriate surrogate test vehicles and testing protocols to evaluate the crashworthiness of Systems.
The objective of this research is to develop a guide for the implementation of surrogate test vehicles, including pendulums and bogie vehicles, for evaluation of Systems for MASH compliance and propose modifications to the AASHTO MASH for sign supports, breakaway poles, and work zone traffic control devices. 
At the minimum, the research results shall include the design and development of surrogate test vehicles, testing protocols, and validation based on simulation and laboratory testing for families of related devices within the following three groups: (1) sign supports, (2) breakaway poles, and (3) work zone traffic control devices. For this research, a family of related devices is a set of similar devices within one of the three groups that share the same critical characteristics controlling crashworthiness.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 May 2021 10:58:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1854207</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of MASH Test Vehicles</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1842749</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) requires full-scale crash testing of roadside features using worst practical impact conditions, which are supposed to be representative of the composition of vehicles involved in run-off-road crashes and roadside departure speeds and angles. For this research effort, the composition of the United States vehicle fleet was investigated using three data sources: state Department of Transportation (DOT) crashes; state and national vehicle registrations; and new vehicle sales. New vehicle sales were the most convenient and economical data source, and was determined to be representative of both crash and registration data; therefore analysis was recommended using new vehicle sales. 
A sales-based cumulative distribution for new vehicle weights was used to identify the 5th and 95th percentile weights to update criteria for the 1100C small car and 2270P pickup truck, respectively. The 5th percentile weight was determined to be 2,800 lb and 4-door, gas-powered, base trim candidate small car options were recommended. Relatively few pickup truck options were identified at the 95th percentile weight of 5,850 lb, and because recent 2018 and 2019 model year pickup truck weights were much lower for Chevrolet and Ram models, a 92.5 percentile weight of 5,400 lb was selected, and a pickup truck with four-wheel drive (4WD), ½-ton suspension, and crew cab trim was recommended. Recommendations were provided to update the 1500A mid-size car; it was recommended that compact (crossover) utility vehicles (CUVs) be considered as they accounted for 40% of all new vehicle sales in 2017. A crash test pilot program should be implemented to begin testing of the recommended MASH small and large passenger vehicles. Updated MASH passenger vehicle properties and a method for continually updating vehicle selection criteria are herein recommended.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 24 Mar 2021 10:31:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1842749</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Implementation of Improved Overlay Testers for Fatigue Cracking Resistance of Asphalt Mixture</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1485804</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The  goal  of  this  implementation  project  are  1)  to  assess  the effectiveness of  an alternative data analysis methodology that the Performing Agency proposed for OT that considers two parameters to quantify the AC mixes, critical fracture energy and crack progression rate and 2) to establish specifications and guidelines to design AC mixes with reproducible cracking potential that can be successfully utilized by the District personnel of the The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), also referred to as the Receiving Agency. In this project, the Performing Agency shall address the following technical objectives:
1. Provide assistance and training to Receiving Agency personnel for the proper use of the proposed OT test methodology and corresponding specifications in the laboratory setting.
2. Improve specifications for the proper use of AC mixes in flexible pavements based on their cracking properties.
3. Demonstrate the potential of the alternative data analysis methodology proposed under Project 0-6815 “Improved Overlay Tester for Fatigue Cracking Resistance of Asphalt Mixtures” that concluded in June 30, 2016 for balanced mix design along with the Hamburg wheel tracking (HWT) test results.
4. Assess the impact that different mix-design parameters such as aggregate type, aggregate gradation, asphalt binder content and performance grade (PG), recycle material content, and additives may have on the performance indices, critical fracture energy and crack progression rate, proposed in Project 0-6815 “Improved Overlay Tester for Fatigue Cracking Resistance of Asphalt Mixtures, which concluded in June 30, 2016.
5. Gather field performance data to correlate the lab and field cracking life of AC mixtures and establish limits of acceptable cracking properties using the OT performance indices proposed in Project 0- 6815.
6. Generate guidelines to improve the cracking resistance of under-performing AC mixes based on the influence of AC mix-design parameters.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 18 Oct 2017 10:49:52 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1485804</guid>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>