Advisory Committee Chair
Dean Sicking
Advisory Committee Members
David Littlefield
Lee Moradi
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2019
Degree Name by School
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME) School of Engineering
Abstract
DESIGN OF A TRUCK-MOUNTED ATTENUATOR WITH TUBE FOLDING TECHNOLOGY SANTOSH GAUTAM MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ABSTRACT Highway safety features have been continuously developed and employed over the years to protect vehicle occupants, pedestrians and work zone personnel from injuries in roadside accidents. The new truck-mounted attenuator designed and evaluated in this study aims to dissipate impacting energy of the errant vehicle in a controlled manner using a tube folding mechanism. Finite element modeling using LS-DYNA is used to study the performance of the designed truck-mounted attenuator. It is required to safely bring passenger vehicles travelling at a speed of 62 mph to a stop by keeping the occupant safety criteria within limits recommended by the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). Several finite element models have been developed to simulate impact with a small car and a pickup truck. The optimized finite element model is found to dissipate the impacting energy of the colliding vehicle by satisfying the occupant safety criteria. Experimental tests are required to validate the numerical models. Future research can be built upon findings of this study for further developments.
Recommended Citation
Gautam, Santosh, "Design Of A Truck-Mounted Attenuator With Tube Folding Technology" (2019). All ETDs from UAB. 1718.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/1718