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                Safety Eligibility Letter CC-95C
  
  **Hardware Type:**
            Barrier Terminals and Crash Cushions
                          **Code:**
            CC-95C
                          **Date:**
            08/17/2011
                          **Testing Criteria:**
            NCHRP 350
                          **Manufacturer:**
            TrafFix Devices
                          **Device Description:**
            TL-3 Compressor on Asphalt
                          **View PDF:**
            cc95c.pdf (899.98 KB)
    
    Safety Eligibility Letter CC-95C


			**Download Version**PDF [900 KB]

			

			DOT logoU.S. Department of Transportation**Federal Highway Administration**

			1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.Washington, D.C. 20590

			August 17, 2011

			In Reply Refer To: HSST/CC-95C

			

	 Mr.  Felipe Almanza
	   Chief  Design Engineer
	   TrafFix  Devices, Inc.
	   160  Avenida La Pata
	   San  Clemente, CA  92673
Dear Mr. Almanza:

   This  letter is in response to your request for the Federal Highway Administration  (FHWA) acceptance of an alternative anchoring system for your Compressor Crash  Cushion for use on the National Highway System (NHS).
Name of system:

					Compressor Crash CushionType of system:

					Non-Gating Self-Restoring Narrow Crash  Cushion/Impact AttenuatorTest Level:

					NCHRP Report 350 Test Level 3 (TL-3)Testing conducted by:

					KARCO Engineering, LLCDate of request:

					December 21, 2010Date initially acknowledged:

					December 28, 2010Task Force 13 designator:

					SCI28You  requested that we find an alternative anchoring system acceptable for use on  the NHS under the provisions of the National Cooperative Highway Research  Program (NCHRP) Report 350.
    **Requirements**
      Roadside  safety devices should meet the guidelines contained in NCHRP Report 350. The  FHWA memorandum "ACTION: Identifying Acceptable Highway Safety Features" of  July 24, 1997, provides further guidance on crash testing requirements of  longitudinal barriers and crash cushions.
    **Decision**
      The  following device was found acceptable, with details provided below:
    Compressor Crash Cushion anchored to an asphalt pad  with a 30-point anchor rod system**Description**
      The Compressor Crash Cushion was originally accepted for use  on the NHS for one-way traffic applications in FHWA Product Acceptance Letter  CC-95 on February 26, 2007 and for two-way traffic applications in Acceptance  Letter CC-95A, dated December 23, 2009.  In  both cases, the Compressor was mounted on a reinforced concrete pad using  fourteen (14) anchor bolts for each of the crash tests conducted.  For the present request, the Compressor itself  remained unchanged from the previously accepted design. In short, the TrafFix  Devices Inc. Compressor is a re-directive, non-gating and self-restoring narrow  crash cushion with a total length of  6.5  meters (255.25 inches).  Its effective  length is  4.98 meters (196 inches). The  Compressor measures 1.24 meters (48.66 inches) wide, and is 1.36 meters (53.5  inches) in height.  Its main components  include: a steel mounting base, six plastic energy absorbing modules, and  twelve steel fender panels.  The front  and rear anchor plates remain unchanged from the previously accepted design,  but eight (8) anchor clips have been added to each side of the base plate to  accommodate the additional anchors needed to secure the Compressor to an  asphalt pad.  Thirty (30) 7/8-inch-9TPI  threaded anchor rods with an overall length of 406 millimeters (16 inches) were  used.  These rods were set into 2.54  millimeters (1-inch) diameter holes drilled 355.6 millimeters (14 inches) deep  through a 6-inch thick asphalt pad and into compacted sub base.  All bolts were secured with an epoxy  adhesive.  The front and rear anchor rods  are positioned in the same fourteen (14) locations as were the concrete anchor  bolts used for Acceptance Letter CC-95 and CC-95A testing.  Design details for anchoring the Compressor  to an asphalt pad are provided as enclosure to this correspondence.
    **Crash  Testing**
      Since  the basic design of the Compressor was unchanged from the previously accepted  version, required testing for the new anchoring system is to determine the  adverse affects of the crash performance of the unit.  After an initial consultation with FHWA, it  was agreed that NCHRP Report 350 tests 3-33 and 3-38 were likely to place the  greatest loadings on the new anchor design and that the remaining tests for a  redirective crash cushion need not be rerun.
    Test 3-33 required a 100 km/h impact by a  2000-kg pickup truck at 15 degrees on the nose of the crash cushion.  As reported in Karco Test Report Number  TR-P30145-01-A, dated December 4, 2010, a 2042 kg (4502 lb) pickup truck  impacted the Compressor at 101.4 km/h (63 mph) and at 14.8 degrees. Occupant  Impact Velocity was 10.7 m/sec and the Ridedown Acceleration was 14.6 g's.  Vehicular roll, pitch, and yaw were recorded as 43.9, 30.5, and 177.3 degrees,  respectively. The truck came to rest 3.9 meters (12.8 feet) rearward and 8.4  meters (27.5 feet) to the left of the crash cushion.  The Karco report indicated that some repairs  would need to be made to the Compressor to return it to its fully functional  condition.
    Test 3-38 also required a 100 km/h 2000-kg  pickup truck test, but into the side of the Compressor at a 20-degree  angle.  Karco Test Report Number  TR-P30144-01-A, dated December 3, 2010, reported a 2029.5-kg (4473-lb) truck  struck the crash cushion at 100.2 km/h (62.3 km/h) and 20.1 degrees.  Occupant Impact Velocity was 7.0 m/sec  (lateral) and the Ridedown Acceleration was 12 g's. Vehicular roll, pitch and  yaw were recorded as 15.7, 18.4, and 26.7 degrees, respectively.  The truck came to rest 61.5 m (201.8 ft)  downstream and 21.3 m (69.9 ft) to the left of the Compressor.  After this test, the Compressor appeared to  remain functional without requiring repairs.
    Crash  Test summaries are provided as enclosure to this correspondence.
    **Findings**
      The  Compressor as described above and in Acceptance Letters CC-95 and CC-95A is  acceptable for use on the NHS as a Self Restoring/Low Maintenance, Narrow Crash  Cushion as a permanent or temporary attenuator when such use is acceptable to a  highway agency.  It can be mounted on a  concrete pad with fourteen (14) anchor bolts or on an asphalt pad using thirty  (30) steel rod anchors.  The Compressor  can be used in bi-directional traffic flow applications when used with Karco's  tested transition design.
    Therefore,  the system described in the requests above and detailed in the enclosed  drawings is
      acceptable  for use on the NHS under the range of conditions tested, when such use is  acceptable
      to a  highway agency.
    Please note the following standard provisions that apply to FHWA letters of  acceptance:
    This acceptance  provides a AASHTO/ARTBA/AGC Task Force 13 designator that should be used for  the purpose of the creation of a new and/or the update of existing Task Force  13 drawing for posting on the on-line ‘Guide to Standardized Highway Barrier  Hardware' currently referenced in AASHTO ‘Roadside Design Guide'.
      This acceptance is limited to the  crashworthiness characteristics of the systems and does not cover their  structural features, nor conformity with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control  Devices (when applicable).
      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 NCHRP Report 350.
      To prevent misunderstanding by others, this  letter of acceptance is designated as number CC-95C 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.
      The Compressor Crash Cushion is a patented product  and considered proprietary.  If  proprietary devices are specified by a highway agency for use on Federal-aid  projects, except exempt, non-NHS projects, (a) they must be supplied through  competitive bidding with equally suitable unpatented items; (b) the highway  agency must certify that they are essential for synchronization with the  existing highway facilities or that no equally suitable alternative exists; or  (c) they must be used for research or for a distinctive type of construction on  relatively short sections of road for experimental purposes. Our regulations concerning  proprietary products are contained in Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations,  Section 635.411.
      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 Michael S. Griffith */*
			      
			      Michael S. GriffithDirector, Office of Safety TechnologiesOffice of SafetyEnclosures U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

**Federal Highway Administration**

1200 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, SE

WASHINGTON, DC 20590

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