Transition barrier for connecting a permanent barrier to a temporary barrier

Abstract

A transition barrier for transitioning from a permanent median barrier to a temporary median barrier, the transition barrier having: a) a first end; the first end being connectable to the permanent median barrier by a permanent median barrier connector; b) a second end; the second end being connectable to the temporary median barrier by a temporary median barrier connector; c) a transition section defining a transition wall of a predetermined length between the first end and the second end; the transition wall having a top, bottom, front and a back; d) at least one barrier brace proximate the transition wall, for supporting said transition wall; and e) at least one spacer, proximate the back of the transition wall for contact with a surface of the permanent concrete barrier.

Claims

1. A transition barrier for transitioning from a permanent concrete barrier to a temporary concrete barrier, preventing a vehicle impacting said transition barrier from penetrating, underriding, overriding or overturning said transition barrier, said transition barrier comprising: a) a first end; said first end being connectable to a surface of said permanent concrete barrier by a permanent concrete barrier connector; b) a second end; said second end being connectable to an end of said temporary concrete barrier by a temporary concrete barrier connector; c) a transition section defining an impact load receiving transition wall of a predetermined length between said first end and said second end; said transition wall comprising a steel plate having a top, bottom, front and a back; d) at least one barrier brace proximate said transition wall, for supporting said transition wall; and e) at least one spacer, proximate the back of said transition wall for contact with a surface of said permanent concrete barrier, wherein said at least one spacer comprises a plurality of spacers, said plurality of spacers comprising a combination of fixed in length spacers and adjustable in length spacers; wherein said transition wall comprises a surface profile resembling that of said permanent concrete barrier.

2. The transition barrier of claim 1 providing for at least one of the following: i) containing and redirecting said vehicle impacting said transition barrier, ii) bringing said vehicle impacting said transition barrier to a controlled stop, and combinations thereof, said permanent concrete barrier being spaced apart from said temporary concrete barrier.

3. The transition barrier of claim 2 wherein said transition wall further comprising a shape of a profile of said permanent concrete barrier.

4. The transition barrier of claim 2 wherein said barrier brace is proximate said back of said transition wall.

5. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said transition wall further comprising a shape of a profile of said permanent concrete barrier.

6. The transition barrier of claim 5 wherein said barrier brace is proximate said back of said transition wall.

7. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said barrier brace is proximate said back of said transition wall.

8. The transition barrier of claim 7 wherein said at least one barrier brace runs a predetermined horizontal length of the transition wall.

9. The transition barrier of claim 8 wherein said at least one barrier brace runs a substantial horizontal length of the transition wall wherein a first end of said at least one barrier brace is proximate said first end of said transition barrier and a second end of said at least one barrier brace is proximate said second end of said transition barrier.

10. The transition barrier of claim 9 wherein said at least one barrier brace is a plurality of barrier braces running a predetermined horizontal length of the transition wall.

11. The transition barrier of claim 10 wherein said plurality of barrier braces are spaced apart from each other and are each integral with said back of said transition wall.

12. The transition barrier of claim 8 wherein said barrier brace has a position on said transition wall at a height between 16 to 20 inches from the ground, so as to be substantially equivalent to the height of a standard bumper of a vehicle.

13. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein at least one of said plurality of spacers further comprises a contact plate for contacting said surface of said permanent concrete barrier.

14. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said permanent concrete barrier connector allows for an approach angle of from about 0 to about 10 degrees from centerline of said permanent concrete barrier.

15. The transition barrier of claim 14 wherein said approach angle is less than about 6 degrees.

16. The transition barrier of claim 14 wherein said approach angle is less than about 5 degrees.

17. The transition barrier of claim 14 wherein said approach angle is less than or equal to about 4 degrees.

18. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said permanent concrete barrier connector is at least one anchor.

19. The transition barrier of claim 18 wherein said at least one anchor is a concrete anchor.

20. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said permanent concrete barrier connector is a plurality of concrete anchors, each of said concrete anchors having a low-profile, non-snagging head for mitigating snagging of sheet metal of a vehicle during impact onto said temporary transition barrier.

21. The transition barrier of claim 20 wherein said temporary concrete barrier connector is at least one concrete anchor.

22. The transition barrier of claim 20 wherein said temporary concrete barrier connector is a plurality of concrete anchors.

23. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said temporary concrete barrier connector is at least one concrete anchor.

24. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said temporary concrete barrier connector is a plurality of concrete anchors.

25. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said barrier brace has a position on said transition wall at a height between 16 to 20 inches from the ground, so as to be substantially equivalent to the height of a standard bumper of a vehicle.

26. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein at least one of said fixed in length spacers is proximate said first end of said transition barrier.

27. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein at least one of said adjustable in length spacers is proximate said second end of said transition barrier.

28. The transition barrier of claim 27 wherein said spacer adjustable in length is adjustable to achieve a compression fit between the transition barrier and the permanent concrete barrier minimizing deflection during impact.

29. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said spacer adjustable in length is adjustable to achieve a compression fit between the transition barrier and the permanent concrete barrier minimizing deflection during impact.

30. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said transition barrier is configured for temporary use.

31. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein said transition barrier contains and redirects a vehicle impacting said transition barrier and/or brings the vehicle to a controlled stop wherein the transition barrier mitigates said vehicle from flip over.

32. The transition barrier of claim 1 wherein the permanent concrete barrier is a permanent concrete median barrier and the temporary concrete barrier is a temporary concrete median barrier.

33. A method of forming a transition barrier between two spaced apart concrete barriers, said method comprising: i) connecting a first end of said transition barrier of claim 1 to a first concrete barrier; and ii) connecting a second end of said transition barrier of claim 1 to an end of a second concrete barrier, forming a transition barrier between said two spaced apart concrete barriers.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein said first concrete barrier is a permanent concrete barrier and said second concrete barrier is a temporary concrete barrier.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the transition barrier according to one preferred embodiment

(2) FIG. 2 is a front view of the transition barrier of FIG. 1

(3) FIGS. 3A-3D are a cut away view of the transition barrier of FIG. 1 from the end of the temporary barrier

(4) FIGS. 4A and 4B is a rear and perspective view respectively of the transition barrier of FIG. 1 without the adjustable spacers; FIG. 4C is an exploded view of a section of FIG. 4A

(5) FIG. 5 is a top view of the transition barrier of FIG. 1

(6) FIG. 6 is an end view of the transition barrier of FIG. 1 from the end of the permanent median barrier

(7) FIG. 7A is a top view of the adjustable spacer according to one embodiment

(8) FIG. 7B is a top view of the fixed spacer according to one embodiment

(9) FIGS. 8A-8C are side views of the spacers according to one embodiment

(10) FIGS. 9A-9B are views of the temporary transition barrier of Example 1 in use with a sign support system

(11) FIGS. 10A-10D are view of a transition barrier with spacers according to another embodiment

(12) FIG. 11 is a view of the transition barrier with spacers according to another embodiment

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) Referring now to the Figures, there is shown a transition barrier 10, connected at a first end to the surface of a permanent concrete median barrier 20 and connected at a second end to the end of a temporary concrete median barrier 30. The permanent concrete median barrier 20 in this case is a New Jersey Tall Wall keyed-in barrier. The temporary concrete median barrier 30 in this case is a 32-inch Tall X-bolt (or cross bolt) barrier with cutout. The transition barrier 10 has a transition wall 40 with an outer profile 41 resembling the profile 21 of the permanent concrete median barrier 20 being the New Jersey Tall Wall keyed-in barrier. The outer profile 41 consists of a lower sloped wall 42 transitioning to a higher sloped wall 43. The transition wall 40 is made of steel. It may be made of a number of steel plates suitably joined together at the ends thereof or it may be a single steel plate. If joined together at the ends thereof, the joining technique should be one in which the joined plates will behave as a single steel plate.

(14) The transition wall is further rigidified by a number of spaced apart horizontal braces 50 (FIG. 4A) on the inner profile 44 thereof. At the first end 60 of the transition wall 40, each of said horizontal braces is tapered 51 downwards to the first end 60 to reduce the transition angle between the transition wall 40 and the permanent concrete median barrier 20. In this instance, the transition angle is 3.1 degrees. Each of said horizontal braces 50 is a HSS (hollow structural section) with a hollow rectangular tubular cross section (although other suitable cross sections may be used) made of structural steel grade ASTM A500C. In this embodiment, there are four horizontal braces 50. The top three of said horizontal braces are made of HSS 4×2×0.25 inches No. 1 and are positioned on the inner profile 44 of the higher sloped wall 43. The fourth of said horizontal braces is made of HSS 4×2×0.25 inches No. 2 and is position on the inner profile 44 of the lower sloped wall 42. Each of said horizontal braces 50 is welded onto the inner profile 44 of the transition wall 40. In this embodiment, given the transition wall comprises a number of steel plates, the transition wall 40 includes a number of backing plates 45 (FIG. 4C) between each of the spaced apart horizontal braces 50. Each of said backing plates is welded onto the inner profile 44 of the transition wall. The backing plates 45 serve to obtain optimal (preferably 100%) penetration welds to structurally simulate a single steel plate for the transition wall 40. At predetermined positions, the inner profile 44 of the transition wall 40 includes a number of spaced apart vertical braces 70. In this embodiment there are four spaced apart vertical braces 70. Each of said vertical braces 70 is made of HSS 6×6×0.313 inches. Each of said spaced apart vertical braces 70 is of a hollow rectangular tubular cross section (although other cross sections may be used). Each of said spaced apart vertical braces 70 is welded onto each of the horizontal braces 50. The first vertical brace 71 (FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7B, FIG. 8A) proximate the first end 60 serves as a non-adjustable spacer to sit against the surface of the permanent concrete median barrier 20. The second vertical brace 72 (FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 8B) proximate the first vertical brace 71 also serves as a non-adjustable spacer to sit against the surface of the permanent concrete median barrier 20. Vertical brace 72 extends beyond vertical brace 71 to compensate for the greater distance between the transition wall and the vertical brace 72. The third 73 and fourth 74 vertical braces (FIG. 3A, FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7A, FIG. 8C) each serve as an adjustable brace, each having a brace plate 75 (shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B) connected to each of the third 73 and fourth 74 vertical braces to a brace plate jack screw 76 by a ball joint 77 allowing each brace plate 75 to move along the length of the brace plate jack screw 76 and the ball joint 77 allowing each brace plate 75 to be adjusted on the plane thereof. Each brace plate 75 is a flat square configuration made of HSS. In this embodiment, the size of each brace plate 75 is 300 mm by 300 mm by 19 mm thick. However, the brace plate may be of any size and shape that allows for transference of load during a collision or impact on the temporary transition barrier 10 from the transition wall 40 to the permanent concrete median barrier 20.

(15) The first end 60 of the transition wall 40 is attached to the surface of the permanent concrete median barrier 20 by a number of socket button head cap screws 61 and hardened flat washers with each screw having a hardened flat washer thereon. Each screw is then fastened in place in a complementary internal threaded insert 63 in the permanent concrete median barrier 20 (FIG. 6). The angle made between the fastened transition wall 40 and the permanent concrete median barrier 20 is about 3.1 degrees. However, the angle may differ depending on the specific need.

(16) The second end 80 of the transition wall 40 is attached to the end 31 of the temporary median barrier 30 via steel shroud 90 enveloping the end 31 of the temporary median barrier 30 (See FIGS. 3A-3D). The steel shroud 90 facilitates the shape of the transition wall 40 is maintained and that separation of the transition wall 40 from the horizontal braces 50 and vertical braces 70 is minimized. The steel shroud 90 is connected to the inner profile of the transition wall via a steel shroud vertical brace 100. The steel shroud vertical brace 100 is similar in shape as the vertical braces 70. The steel shroud is connected to the steel shroud vertical brace 100 by a threaded cross bolt system 91. In this embodiment, the steel shroud is connected to the steel shroud vertical brace by a pair of threaded cross bolts. One end 92 of each threaded cross bolt is connected to the transition wall 40 with a threaded cross bolt nut 93. The second end 94 of each threaded cross bolt is connected to end 31 of the temporary median barrier 30 utilizing an x-type connection of the temporary median barrier 30 with a threaded cross bolt nut 93. A cup washer 95 is inserted into a complementary cross bolt void 96 found on the temporary median barrier 30 providing a bearing surface on the wall 40 further minimizing the temporary transition barrier 10 from separating from the temporary median barrier 30. The cup washer 95 has a low profile to minimize snagging of the sheet metal of a vehicle during impact.

(17) Referring now to FIGS. 9A and 9B, there is depicted a sign support system in use with the transition barrier wherein the sign support system is positioned and secured between parallel spaced apart temporary barriers 30. Barriers 30 are connected to permanent barriers 20 via transition wall 40.

(18) Referring now to FIGS. 10A-10D, there is depicted a variant of the vertical spacers. In this instance, spacers 730 and 740 are tubes made of round steel section (with or without internal stiffeners) grade ASTM A500C or similar HSS or pipe grades. Each spacer is secured on a horizontal brace of the transition wall 40 via a nut and bolt system (or equivalent). Depending on the spacing between the transition wall 40 and the median barrier 20, each spacer 730 and 740 is positioned along the length of the horizontal brace to provide a snug fit between the transition wall 40 and the median barrier 20 while absorbing and transferring any load from the transition wall 40 to the median barrier 20 during impact or collision.

(19) Referring now to FIG. 11, there is depicted another variant of the vertical spacers. In this instance, spacers 830 and 840 are similar to spacer 72 of FIG. 7B, but the spacers 830 and 840 are adjustable along the horizontal brace by a spaced apart apertures 850 found along two horizontal braces. The spaced apart apertures 850 are situated along the portion of the horizontal braces between the vertical braces 70. The spacers 830 and 840 are each secured to the desired location by a threaded bolt and nut at the desired apertures 850.

(20) The following are examples of a temporary transition barrier of the present disclosure undergoing MASH testing.

Example 1

(21) Evaluation of the temporary transition barrier having a length of 10891.4 mm transitioning from a permanent 1049 mm Tall Wall New Jersey profile concrete median barrier to a temporary pinned-down, precast F-shape concrete barrier with a cross-bolt connection through MASH test 3-20.

(22) The evaluation criteria for test MASH 3-20 includes assessing structural adequacy and occupant risk during impact by a test vehicle. Structural adequacy evaluation criteria includes the test article should contain and redirect the vehicle or bring the vehicle to a controlled stop; the vehicle should not penetrate, underride, or override the installation although controlled lateral deflection of the test article is acceptable (as per TABLE 5-1. A. Safety Evaluation Guidelines of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware 2009). Occupant risk evaluation criteria includes detached elements, fragments, or other debris from the test article should not penetrate or show potential for penetrating the occupant compartment, or present undue hazard to other traffic, pedestrians, or personnel in a work zone. Deformations of, or intrusions into, the occupant compartment should not exceed limits set forth in Section 5.3 as follows: roof ≤4.0 in. (102 mm), windshield-no tear of plastic liner and maximum deformation of 3 in. (76 mm), window-no shattering of a side window resulting from direct contact with a structural member of the test article (this requires the side windows to be in the up position for testing)-in cases where the windows are laminated, the guidelines for windshields will apply, wheel/foot well and toe pan areas ≤9 in. (229 mm), side front panel (forward of A-pillar)≤12 in. (305 mm), front side door area (above seat)≤9 in. (229 mm), front side door area (below seat)≤12 in. (305 mm), and floor pan and transmission tunnel areas ≤12 in. (305 mm); and Appendix E. (as per TABLE 5-1. D. Safety Evaluation Guidelines of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware 2009); the vehicle should remain upright during and after collision-the maximum roll and pitch angles are not to exceed 75 degrees (as per TABLE 5-1. F. Safety Evaluation Guidelines of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware 2009); Occupant impact velocities (OIV) maximum limit for the longitudinal and lateral component is 40 ft/s (12.2 m/s) (as per TABLE 5-1. H. Safety Evaluation Guidelines of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware 2009); and occupant ridedown acceleration maximum limit for longitudinal and lateral component is 20.49G (as per TABLE 5-1. I. Safety Evaluation Guidelines of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware 2009). The temporary pinned-down precast F-shape barrier branched off from the permanent 1049 mm Tall Wall New Jersey profile concrete median barrier until it became parallel to the permanent 1049 mm Tall Wall New Jersey profile concrete median barrier. A second row of the precast pinned barrier branched off on the opposite side of the permanent 1049 mm Tall Wall New Jersey profile concrete median barrier as shown in FIG. 8.

(23) MASH test 3-20 involved impacting the temporary transition barrier at the critical impact point (CIP) with a small passenger vehicle (1100 kg test inertia mass) at a target impact speed and angle of 100 km/h and 25 degrees respectively, to the transition barrier. Actual impact speed and angle were within MASH specified tolerances. After the impact, the vehicle was successfully contained and redirected. The maximum occupant impact velocity (OIV) and the ridedown acceleration were within MASH specified tolerances. The temporary transition barrier complied with MASH 3-20.

Example 2

(24) Evaluation of the temporary transition barrier having a length of 10891.4 mm transitioning from a permanent 1049 mm Tall Wall New Jersey profile concrete median barrier to a temporary pinned-down, precast F-shape concrete barrier with a cross-bolt connection through MASH test 3-21

(25) The conditions of MASH test 3-21 were the same as MASH 3-20 save for the following:

(26) MASH test 3-21 involves impacting the temporary transition barrier at the critical impact point (CIP) with a quad-cab pickup truck (2270 kg test inertia mass) at a target impact speed and angle of 100 km/h and 25 degrees respectively, to the transition barrier. Actual impact speed and angle were within MASH specified tolerances. After the impact, the vehicle was successfully contained and redirected. The maximum occupant impact velocity (OIV) and the ridedown acceleration were within MASH specified tolerances. The temporary transition barrier complied with MASH 3-21.

(27) As many changes can be made to the preferred embodiments without departing from the scope thereof; it is intended that all matter contained herein be considered illustrative and not in a limiting sense.