MPC Research Reports
Report Details

Title:	Ipe: Evaluation of Orthotropic Elastic Properties and Its Application in Roadside Barriers
Authors:	Robert Lankford
University:	Colorado State University
Publication Date:	Dec 2017
Report #:	MPC-17-337
Project #:	MPC-416
TRID #:	01659691
Keywords:	barriers (roads), costs, design, elasticity (mechanics), evaluation and assessment, finite element method, steel, wood

Abstract

Roadside barriers are the primary structural safety devices on surface roads. They can be made from any material as long as they can absorb the energy involved in an impact scenario. One material that has that potential is Ipe, which is a hardwood material that has relatively high strength compared with common structural woods. Despite its high strength, the nine independent material properties for Ipe have not yet been studied in the literature. In this paper, those material properties are determined with various tests. With the material properties, dynamic finite element analyses were done with seven different roadside barrier configurations and were then compared with the performance of the commonly used steel W-beam barrier. Ipe showed great potential with certain configurations, but with a much higher cost. Realistic implementation of Ipe in roadside barriers would be more beneficial for roads with lower speed limits, thus lowering that cost.

How to Cite

Lankford, Robert. Ipe: Evaluation of Orthotropic Elastic Properties and Its Application in Roadside Barriers, MPC-17-337. North Dakota State University - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, Fargo: Mountain-Plains Consortium, 2017.