Full title: Comparative traffic safety study of the tunnel niche wall protection by means of steel safety railing (SSR) or crash cushion.

Abstract:

With the purpose of determining the most suitable method of protecting the SOS tunnel niche wall in the event of vehicle impacts, comparative numerical analysis of vehicle impacts has been performed in accordance with the standard EN 1317. Within the limitations, especially in regard to the tunnel niche length, numerical simulations were performed for the event of tunnel niche wall protection by means of an H2 steel safety railing and compound elements of the VECU-STOP crash cushion system.

Based on comparative analyses of the values of the Acceleration Severity Index (ASI), Theoretical Head Impact Velocity (THIV) and values of the Post-Impact Head Deceleration (PHD), the VECUSTOP crash cushion provides the best results for the events of impacts of TB 11 vehicles (vehicle mass 900 kg and vehicle velocity 100 km/h) and TB 21 vehicles (vehicle mass 1300 kg and vehicle velocity 80 km/h) into an SOS tunnel niche.