Device to Optimize Crashworthiness of Breakaway Sign Support System to Meet AASHTO MASH

This project will develop a device that will improve the crashworthiness of small sign breakaway support systems. The majority of these systems have not been successfully tested to the guidelines of the AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). The most common observed crash testing failure is the sign panels and sign support rotating into the windshield and roof and causing excessive deformation or penetration of the occupant compartment. The device to be developed in this project will attach to the small sign support system to change the rotation and trajectory of the breakaway components after an impact so that the breakaway components do not strike the windshield or the rear window or the roof of the impacting vehicle. The device is expected to work on a wide variety of existing breakaway sign support configurations. The behavior of existing sign supports will be adjusted by optimizing size, mass, and location of the device through simulated tests. The results of simulated tests will be validated through crash tests with a small car and a pickup truck surrogate vehicles and one or two sign support system configuration(s) with the prototype device attached. If successful, the mass and height of the mass necessary for each configuration to produce a crashworthy behavior will be determined. The results will be input into a program so that the mass and height can be calculated for any configuration.   

Language

  • English

Project

  • Status: Active
  • Funding: $140,000.00
  • Contract Numbers:

    Project 20-30, IDEA 250

  • Sponsor Organizations:

    National Cooperative Highway Research Program

    Transportation Research Board
    500 Fifth Street, NW
    Washington, DC  United States  20001

    American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

    444 North Capitol Street, NW
    Washington, DC  United States  20001

    Federal Highway Administration

    1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
    Washington, DC  United States  20590
  • Project Managers:

    Jawed, Inam

  • Performing Organizations:

    Safe Rads Engineering US, Inc.

    ,    
  • Principal Investigators:

    Rasmussen, Jennifer

  • Start Date: 20250102
  • Expected Completion Date: 20261231
  • Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01944823
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
  • Contract Numbers: Project 20-30, IDEA 250
  • Files: TRB, RIP
  • Created Date: Feb 3 2025 10:23PM