Mash Tl 3 Testing And Evaluation Of The Txdot T131rc Bridge Rail Transition

MASH TL-3 Testing and Evaluation of the TxDOT T131RC Bridge Rail Transition

MASH TL-3 Evaluation of 2019 MASH 2-Tube Bridge Rail Thrie Beam Transition

The purpose of the tests reported herein was to assess the performance of the 2019 MASH 2-Tube Bridge Rail Thrie Beam Transition according to the safety-performance evaluation guidelines included in AASHTO MASH. The crash tests were performed in accordance with MASH TL-3, which involves two full-scale crash tests (MASH Tests 3-20 and 3-21). However, MASH states that when there are transitions between two barrier types with different stiffness, one from a more flexible barrier and the other to a more rigid barrier, a full-scale crash test is recommended for both types. Therefore, MASH Test 3-21 was performed at the transition from the thrie beam rail to bridge rail, and at the transition from the W-beam rail to thrie beam rail. This report provides details of the 2019 MASH 2-Tube Bridge Rail Thrie Beam Transition, detailed documentation of the crash tests and results, and an assessment of the performance of the 2019 MASH 2-Tube Bridge Rail Thrie Beam Transition for MASH TL-3 transition evaluation criteria. The 2019 MASH 2-Tube Bridge Rail Thrie Beam Transition performed acceptably for MASH TL-3 transitions.

MASH Test 3-21 on TL-3 Thrie Beam Transition Without Curb

This project evaluated the impact performance of a modified Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) thrie beam transition to rigid concrete barrier without a curb element below the transition rail. In a previous test described in TxDOT Research Report 0-4564, a thrie beam transition without curb failed to meet National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 performance criteria. However, it could not be discerned whether the vehicle instability observed in that test was attributable to the missing curb or the rotation of the thrie beam transition rail into the sloped face of the concrete safety shape rail at the bridge end connection point.