Finite element modelling of a truck crashing into a new form of mobile vehicle blocker

E V Arcieri,S Baragetti

doi:10.1088/1757-899x/1038/1/012008

Abstract

In the last years, a new form of terrorist attack has sowed panic in western countries: vehicles have been run into crowded places injuring and killing many people. The first solution to preventing the vehicle ramming attack has been the placement of concrete barriers around areas that are potential terrorist targets. The performance of these systems is questionable and the design of new, effective and good-looking protection devices is a hot topic. The authors have already presented a new certified mobile barrier, which is able to stop a 3500 kg vehicle run at 64 km/h in a few meters thank to its high deformability and the adoption of water as a filler. The water flows out and removes an appreciable amount of the impact energy. In this paper, the crashes of a 7500 kg truck running at 64 km/h against a concrete block and a single barrier designed by the authors are analysed with the help of finite element (FE) calculations in Abaqus Explicit. The water in the barrier is modelled using Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). Due to the complexity of the truck modelling, a very simplified geometry is adopted, which is a consequence of the different versions tested. According to the results, compared to the concrete blocks, the designed barrier is overall more effective, even in a single configuration.

Highlights

Terrorists have injured and killed some European civilians by driving heavy vehicles at high speed
The crashes of a 7500 kg truck running at 64 km/h against a concrete block and a single barrier designed by the authors are analysed with the help of finite element (FE) calculations in Abaqus Explicit
The municipalities commonly faced the problem by enclosing crowded places, which represent a sensitive target for this form of attack, with concrete blocks

Summary

Introduction

Terrorists have injured and killed some European civilians by driving heavy vehicles at high speed. Fixed systems prevent rescue vehicles from entering the protected area causing difficulties and delays. Retractable systems such as mobile bollards solve this problem even though they have foundations but are still expensive due to the presence of the mechanism which produces their movement. E.g. the jersey barriers and the cubes which appear in our cities, are mobile blockers They are not fixed to the ground and for this reason they are low-priced. It should be stressed that the primary purpose of the jersey barriers is to prevent the vehicles from invading the opposite lane These barriers are effective in the case of oblique impacts [2]

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Conclusion