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                Safety Eligibility Letter B-206
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Longitudinal Barriers and Bridge Rails
                          **Code:**
            B-206
                          **Date:**
            04/16/2010
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            Louisiana DOT
                          **Device Description:**
            12ft Pinned PCB
                          **View PDF:**
            b206.pdf (1.02 MB)
    
    Safety Eligibility Letter B-206


			
						
			DOT logoU.S. Department of Transportation**Federal Highway Administration**
			1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.Washington, D.C. 20590
            April 16, 2010
          In Reply Refer To:HSSD/B-206
			
			Paul Fossier, P.E.
            	Assistant Bridge Design Administrator
                Bridge and Structural Design Section, Rm. 608J
                Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
                Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9245
            Dear Mr. Fossier:
            This letter is in response to your request for Federal  Highway Administration (FHWA) acceptance of a roadside safety system for use on  the National Highway System (NHS).
            Name of  system: Louisiana 12-ft. Pinned F-Shape  Portable Concrete Barrier 
            	Type of  system: F-Shape Reinforced Concrete Barrier
                Test Level:  NCHRP Report 350 Test Level 3 (TL-3)
                Testing  conducted by: Texas Transportation Institute
                Date of  Request: March 15, 2010
                Drawing  Designator: SWC15
            You requested that we find this system acceptable for use on  the NHS under the provisions of National Cooperative Highway Research Program  (NCHRP) Report 350 “Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance  Evaluation of Highway Features.”
            **Requirements**Roadside safety systems should meet  the guidelines contained in the NCHRP Report 350. FHWA Memorandum “ACTION: Identifying Acceptable Highway Safety  Features” of July 25, 1997, provides further  guidance on crash testing requirements of longitudinal barriers.
            **Description**The  Louisiana 12-ft. Pinned F-Shape Portable Concrete Barrier (Louisiana Portable  Barrier) specifies a restraining mechanism that limits lateral deflections of  concrete barriers, is easy to install, inspect, and remove, and minimizes  damage to the bridge deck or concrete pavements. This mechanism uses the  pinned-down approach to restrain the barriers. Pins are simply dropped into  designed inclined holes that start from the toe of the barrier and continue  into the bridge deck or underlying concrete pavement.
            The  description of the crash tested Louisiana Portable Barrier is as follows. The  precast concrete segments used in this crash test were 12.5-ft. long and had  the standard F-shape profile. The as-tested  barrier dimensions were 32 inches tall x 24 inches wide at the base x 91⁄2 inches  wide at the top. The horizontal barrier  reinforcement consisted of eight no. 4 bars spaced at heights of 33⁄4 inches, 12  7/8 inches, 21 1/8 inches, and 29 3/8 inches from the bottom of the barrier  within the vertical reinforcement. Vertical barrier reinforcement consisted of  pairs of no. 4 bars spaced 18 inches on center. These vertical bars were bent  in a “hook” fashion to conform to the F-shape barrier profile and to provide  sufficient concrete cover for the drainage scupper and the horizontal inset at  the base of the barrier. For the two vertical bar pairs adjacent to the ends of  the barrier segments, the spacing was reduced to 16 3⁄4 inches and 9 inches  respectively. Adjacent barrier segments were connected using a pin-and-loop  type connection. The loops were made of 3⁄4-inch diameter round stock steel. The  outer diameter of the loops was 31⁄2 inches and they extended 2 inches outside  the end of the barrier segment. The barrier connection was comprised of two  sets of three loops. When installed, the distance between adjacent barrier  segments was 1⁄4  inch. A 1-inch diameter × 30-inch long  ASTM A449 connecting pin was inserted between the loops to establish the  connection. A 2-inch diameter × 1⁄4-inch thick washer was welded 3⁄4  inch from the top of the connecting pin. The pin was held in place by resting  the washer on insets built into the faces of adjacent barriers.
            Two 1  7/8-inch diameter pinning holes, inclined at 40 degrees from pavement surface,  were cast into the toe of each barrier segment. The holes started from the  traffic face of the barrier and exited the near the barriers bottom centerline.  After the crash test, the as-tested pinning hole detail was subsequently  revised to a 4-inch x 1 7/8-inch slotted hole in order to accommodate existing  bridge deck reinforcement when drilling the pinning hole into reinforced  concrete. The pinning holes in the barrier were used as a guide to drill the  13⁄4-inch diameter holes into an un-reinforced  concrete pavement. The depth of the holes inside the pavement was 6.25 inches  when measured vertically. The average thickness of the unreinforced concrete  pavement was 8 inches. The holes for the drop-pins were located 16 inches  horizontally away from the ends of the barrier segments. A 11⁄2-inch diameter ×  211⁄4-inch long ASTM A36 steel drop-pin was placed into each hole. A 1⁄2-inch thick, 4-inch×4-inch A36 plate cover  was welded to the top of each drop-pin. The plate covers were welded at a  5-degree angle from the vertical so that they matched the profile of the  barrier toe.
            Barrier  segment reinforcement includes a 22-inch long U-shaped no. 4 bar placed  diagonally at the location of each drop-pin hole. This U-shaped bar was placed  around the drop-pin hole to provide  resistance to drop-pin pullout in the event of concrete failure in the vicinity  of the hole. The  completed test installation consisted of eight barrier segments connected  together for a total length of approximately 100 ft. Details of the barrier and the pin-down  restraint are enclosed for reference.
            **Crash Testing**The Louisiana  Portable Barrier was crash tested at the test facilities at Texas  Transportation Institute Proving Grounds Riverside Campus. After the crash  test, the test article showed tire marks and scrapes marring the face of the  CMBs. The corner of segment 4 at the connection to segment 5 on the rear at  ground level was broken. The drop-pins were pulled up as follows:
            Pin  2A 0.5 inches; pin 2B 0.4 inches; pin 3A 2.6 inches; pin 3B 1.3 inches; pin 4A  1.9 inches; and pin 5A 0.4 inches. The drop-pins adjacent to the impact joint  were deformed, but none of the pins pulled out of the concrete pavement.  Segment 3 was pulled up on the end near segment 2 by  0.7 inches and on the end near segment 4 by 1.6 inches. Segment 4 was pulled up 1.4  inches near the end of segment 3 and by 1.0 inch at the end near segment 5. The  vehicle contacted the installation 4.0 ft upstream of the joint between  segments 3 and 4, and remained in contact for a total length of contact of 22  ft. Working width was 2.83 ft. Maximum permanent deformation of the barrier was  0.48 ft, and maximum dynamic deflection during the test was 0.96 ft.
            **Findings**We  concur that the Louisiana 12-ft. Pinned F-Shape Portable Concrete Barrier successfully  passed the requirements of NCHRP  Report 350Test Level 3. The occupant risk factors were within  the preferred limits specified in NCHRP  Report 350. Although the barrier sustained some damage that would  require repair, there were no detached elements, fragments, or other debris  that showed potential for penetrating the occupant compartment, or presented a  hazard to workers or others in the area. Also noteworthy is the absence of  significant damage to the underlying unreinforced concrete slab.
            Please note the following standard  provisions that apply to FHWA letters of acceptance:
            This acceptance is limited to the  crashworthiness characteristics of the system and does not cover their structural features, nor  conformity with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
            	Any changes that may adversely influence the  crashworthiness of the system will require a  new acceptance letter.
                Should the FHWA discover that the qualification  testing was flawed, that in-service performance reveals unacceptable safety  problems, or that the system being marketed is significantly different from the  version that was crash tested, we reserve the right to modify or revoke our  acceptance.
                You will be expected to supply potential users  with sufficient information on design and installation  requirements to ensure proper performance.
                You will be expected to certify to potential  users that the hardware furnished has essentially the same chemistry,  mechanical properties, and geometry as that submitted for acceptance, and that  it will meet the crashworthiness requirements of the FHWA and the NCHRP Report  350.
                To prevent misunderstanding by others, this  letter of acceptance is designated as number B-206 and shall not be reproduced except  in full. This letter and the test  documentation upon which it is based are public information. All such letters and documentation may be  reviewed at our office upon request.
                This acceptance letter shall not be construed as  authorization or consent by the FHWA to use, manufacture, or sell any patented system for  which the applicant is not the patent holder.  The acceptance letter is limited to the crashworthiness characteristics  of the candidate system, and the FHWA is neither prepared nor required to  become involved in issues concerning patent law. Patent issues, if any, are to be resolved by  the applicant.Sincerely yours,
						Signature of David A. Nicol
						David A. Nicol, P.E.
							Director, Office of Safety Design
							Office of SafetyEnclosures U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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