Projects/UTC

U01 Enhanced Finite Element Analysis Crash Model of Tractor-Trailers 

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Most of the barriers used on US Highways to mitigate the effect of run off road incidents were designed for use with passenger vehicles and not heavy vehicles. The objective of this project is to develop and enhance the computer models of a heavy vehicle (tractor trailer combination vehicle) that will be used in finite element design, analysis and evaluation of roadside infrastructure hardware. The model could thus be used in lieu of expensive full scale crash tests similar to a model previously developed by NTRCI for single unit trucks.

Research Participants:
  • Battelle Memorial Institute
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • The University of Tennessee-Knoxville