Numerical simulation and full-scale field testing of steel parapet railing under impact of heavy truck loads – comparative study Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Abstract Bridge parapet is one the most critical part of the bridge superstructure, which functions as a safety feature during accident or collision at the edges of the bridge. For steel parapet railing, complete full-scale field testing needs to be carried out before installation of new parapet railing. Field testing not only expensive but also very time-consuming for preparation and testing works. In this study, a comparison between the results of an actual field test and numerical simulation works was investigated. The chosen 3S two-beam steel parapet had passed the field testing conducted by the Korean Transportation Safety Agency (KOTSA). For comparison, the performance of the steel parapet selected railing was simulated under impact loading of heavy trucks, whereby no passenger car test was conducted. The parapet railing design was modelled and simulated using the SolidWorks and the NASTRAN/PATRAN software, respectively. Five case studies were derived to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the obtained results. Case 3 recorded the lowest difference percentage of 3.6% for the maximum deformation of the parapet railing. However, other case study recorded more than 10% discrepancy of the maximum deformation (i.e. Case 1, 2, 4 and 5). It can be concluded that Case 3 as the right position where the impact load exerted during the field testing. These results proved that the numerical simulation results provide a reliable result for testing the quality of the parapet railing with a minimum cost and time required, consequently, tackle the shortcomings of the field testing.

publication date

  • 2020

start page

  • 012056

volume

  • 476

issue

  • 1