| TTI Research Supervisor: James Kovar Assistant Research Scientist Texas A&M Transportation Institute TAMU 3135 College Station, Texas 77843-3135 (979) 317-2680 [email protected] | Pooled Fund Technical Representative: Shawn Debenham Traffic and Safety Division Utah Department of Transportation 4501 South 2700 West PO Box 143200 Salt Lake City, UT 84114-3200 (801) 965-4590 [email protected] |
The Roadside Safety Pooled Fund has prioritized their research needs for various hardware
systems, including various configurations of luminaire poles with four bolt slip bases. To date,
limited full-scale testing has been conducted to MASH on non-proprietary luminaire supports.
Several states use configurations of a slip base luminaire pole, but it is not possible to test all
possible configurations. Therefore, research is needed to identify and evaluate critical luminaire
pole configurations with a four bolt slip base to MASH TL-3 criteria, such that other, less critical
configurations can be reasonably assumed to also meet MASH criteria. Consequently, the Roadside
Safety Pooled Fund has prioritized evaluating this system through full-scale crash testing.
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate critical configurations of a non-proprietary fourbolt slip base luminaire support for MASH crashworthiness. This effort may include analytical
analyses, simplified computer simulations, full-scale dynamic testing, or a combination of these
methodologies to evaluate the system’s crashworthiness.
This project will benefit the members of the Roadside Safety Pooled Fund by providing a range of
luminaire pole configurations which are deemed MASH compliant through analyses and full-scale
crash testing of computer simulations. This will expand the toolbox engineers and designers may
utilize when selecting products to be placed on the roadside or in medians.
The TTI research team will develop a range of luminaire pole configurations with four bolt slip
bases which were determined to meet MASH criteria through full-scale crash testing of critical
designs. This effort may include analytical analyses, simplified computer simulations, full-scale
dynamic testing, or a combination of these methodologies to evaluate the system’s
crashworthiness. The TTI research team will prepare and submit a research report fully
documenting the work completed within this project. This report will be submitted to the
technical representatives of the Roadside Safety Pooled Fund for review and approval.
The proposed work plan consists of four tasks as described below.
Task 1: Literature Review and State Survey
The task objective is to review previous literature, testing, and standards related to four bolt slip
bases and luminaire poles. The TTI research team will complete this review through various
means, including use of internet search engines, as well as databases like the Roadside Safety
Pooled Fund MASH database and the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility library of research
projects. Additionally, the TTI research team will survey the members of the Roadside Safety
Pooled Fund for details regarding current standards for utilizing four bolt slip bases with
luminaire poles. In particular, the research team will investigate which configurations of
luminaire poles are commonly utilized by the Roadside Safety Pooled Fund members. This
information may include pole height, mast arm length, etc. This reviewed information will lay
the foundation for the analysis and design efforts in Task 2.
Task 2: Engineering Analysis
The task objective is to analyze and develop a four bolt slip base design for various luminaire pole
configurations. The TTI research team’s goal is to identify a critical configuration which would be
evaluated in Task 3 with full-scale crash testing. This evaluation would allow the TTI research
team to determine the crashworthiness of other configurations, and therefore, provide the Roadside
Safety Pooled Fund members with a range of options suitable for implementation. This effort may
incorporate analytical analyses, simplified computer simulations, or a combination of the two to
predict crashworthiness.
Task 3: System Construction & Full-Scale Crash Testing
The task objective is to complete full-scale crash testing evaluating the crashworthiness of the
system developed in Task 2. These tests will be run under conditions set forth in MASH tests
3-60, 3-61, and 3-62.
Task 3 will include the reporting and documentation of the project’s effort. The TTI research
team will prepare and submit a research report fully documenting the work completed within this
project. This report will be submitted to the technical representatives of the Roadside Safety
Pooled Fund for review and approval.
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