Numerical simulations and full-scale impact testing to develop appropriate crash barriers

Impacts with barriers represent a significant Subset of vehicular collisions. The accidents, in which vehicles crush the median barriers and impact with subtend vehicles, are rising steadily in China. This paper is the first step, using computer simulation, to study the hardware of steel beam barriers to improve the intension of barriers and limit the injury to the occupants of vehicles during a lateral impact. Then, assembling hardware and reusing computer simulation, a series of initial new crash barriers have been developed. Finally, these new crash barriers have been validated by full-scale impact testing. Some of these new crash barriers have now been applied in expressways in China. It is demonstrated that, in the study process, the models of computer simulation have been corrected by the results of full-scale impact testing, and, using the corrected model, the appropriate median barriers have been developed. So this approach not only reduces the cost and time, but also enhances the precision of computer simulation.