Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A crash barrier assembly (100) comprising:
• a plurality of C-sectioned posts (10) configured to be inserted in a predetermined spaced apart configuration along a path that needs a guard rail;
• a plurality of thrie beams (20) configured to be rigidly mounted to span said posts (10) in their operative mounted configuration adjacent to the path;
• a plurality of C-sectioned spacers (30) configured to be mounted between said thrie beam (20) and said posts (10) so as to interface said thrie beams (20) and said posts (10).
2. The crash barrier assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the C-sections of said posts (10) and said spacers (30) have inwardly curved arcuate ends (12, 32).
3. The crash barrier assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said thrie beam (20) is a hot-rolled corrugated sheet.
4. The crash barrier assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a weakened connection is provided between said spacer (30) and said thrie beam (20).
5. The crash barrier assembly (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein a notch (36) is provided on said spacer (30) on the operative side wall (34) where said spacer (10) is connected to said thrie beam (20).
6. The crash barrier assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein multiple connections are provided along said thrie beam (20) to increase the longitudinal shock absorption capacity of the thrie beam (20) during an impact.
7. The crash barrier assembly (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the corrugation (22) in said thrie beam (20) is such that a crumpling zone is created on said thrie beam (20) to assist in deflection and increased deflection time of said thrie beam (20) during an impact.
8. The crash barrier assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein fasteners (42, 44) are provided in the assembly to connect said posts (10), said thrie beam (20) and said spacers (30) to each other.
9. The crash barrier assembly (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein hexagonal headed fasteners (42) are provided to connect said spacers (30) to said posts (10).
10. The crash barrier assembly (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein button-head fasteners (44) are provided to connect said spacers (30) to said thrie beams (20) and one thrie beam (20) to another.
, Description:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to the field of vehicle crash barriers.
DEFINITION
Normalized Working Width: The expression “normalized working width” used hereinafter in this specification refers to, the maximum lateral distance between any part of a barrier on the un-deformed traffic side, as per EN1317 Crash Test Standard.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
Multi-lane highways have vehicles of small, medium and large sizes running at high speeds, which usually are above 80 km/hr. At such high speeds, given the high inertia, a vehicle becomes extremely difficult to control. The vehicle may slip over rainwater, oil spills or gravel and slide out of the road. A speeding vehicle may become uncontrollable at sharp turns. For containing a vehicle having high inertia, the existing concrete block crash barriers have been found to be insufficient. They tend to break due to the high magnitude of the impact, thereby allowing the vehicle to move further. In case of high terrain roads having treacherous curves, the cement barriers are unreliable since, although the vehicle impact is partly absorbed, the vehicle is still likely to fall into the valley.
Hence, there is felt a need for a crash barrier which ameliorates the aforementioned issues.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment satisfies, are as follows:
It is an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a crash barrier assembly.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a crash barrier assembly which contains the colliding vehicle from going beyond the barrier and redirects the vehicle on the road.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a crash barrier assembly which keeps the vehicle in upright position.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a crash barrier assembly which ensures minimum damage to the vehicle as to regulate passenger injury.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a crash barrier assembly. The crash barrier assembly comprises a plurality of C-sectioned posts, a plurality of thrie beams and a plurality of spacers. The C-sectioned posts are configured to be inserted in a predetermined spaced apart configuration along a path that needs a guard rail. The thrie beams are configured to be rigidly mounted to span the posts in their operative mounted configuration adjacent to the path. The C-sectioned spacers are configured to be mounted between the thrie beam and the posts so as to interface the thrie beam and the posts.
In an embodiment, the C-sections of the posts and the spacers have inwardly curved arcuate ends.
In an embodiment, the thrie beams are a hot-rolled corrugated sheet. In another embodiment, the corrugation in the thrie beam is such that a crumpling zone is created on the thrie beam to assist in deflection and increased deflection time of the thrie beam during an impact.
In an embodiment, a weakened connection is provided between the spacer and the thrie beam. In another embodiment, a notch is provided on the spacer on the operative front wall where the spacer is connected to the thrie beam.
In an embodiment, multiple connections are provided along said thrie beam to increase the longitudinal shock absorption capacity of the thrie beam during an impact.
In an embodiment, fasteners are provided in the assembly to connect the posts, the spacers and the thrie beam to each other. In another embodiment, hexagonal headed fasteners are provided to connect the spacers to the posts. In yet another embodiment, button-head fasteners are provided to connect the spacers to the thrie beams and one thrie beam to another.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
A crash barrier assembly of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of a crash barrier assembly of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a post according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates a thrie beam of Figure 2; and
Figure 4 illustrates a spacer of Figure 2.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 crash barrier assembly
10 post
12 curved arcuate ends of post
20 thrie beam
22 corrugations of thrie beam
30 spacer
32 curved arcuate ends of spacer
33 operative front wall of spacer
34 operative side wall of spacer
35 operative rear wall of spacer
36 notch
42 hexagonal headed fastener
44 button-head fastener
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “including” and “having” are open-ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element is referred to as being “mounted on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or ‘coupled to” another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.
The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, region, layer or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.
Terms such as “inner”, “outer”, “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.
The present disclosure envisages a crash barrier assembly 100. The crash barrier assembly 100 and its components are described with the help of Figures 1-4.
As illustrated in Figure 1, the crash barrier assembly 100 comprises a plurality of C-sectioned posts 10, a plurality of thrie beams 20 and a plurality of spacers 30. The C-sectioned posts 10 are configured to be inserted in a predetermined spaced apart configuration along a path that needs a guard rail. The thrie beams 20 are configured to be rigidly mounted to span the posts 10 in their operative mounted configuration adjacent to the path. The C-sectioned spacers 30 are configured to be mounted between the thrie beams 20 and the posts 10 so as to interface the thrie beams 20 and the posts 10. The thrie beam 20 receives the impact and undergoes deformation first. A reduced energy of impact is transferred to the spacer 20 which also undergoes deformation. An even further reduced energy of impact is transferred to the post 10 as the post 10 deforms as well. Thus, the energy of impact is adequately absorbed by the assembly 100, and hence the colliding vehicle’s speed is drastically reduced, thereby protecting its occupants and other vehicles and property, if any, in the vicinity of the path. Typically, the path is a high-speed multi-lane highway.
In an embodiment, fasteners 42, 44, as illustrated in Figure 1, are provided in the assembly to connect the posts 10, the spacers 30 and the thrie beams 20 to each other. In another embodiment, hexagonal headed fasteners 42 are provided to connect the spacers 30 to the posts 10. In yet another embodiment, button-head fasteners 44 are provided to connect the spacers 30 to the thrie beams 20 and one thrie beam 20 to another. Besides connecting the components of the assembly 100, the fasteners 42, 44 are configured to break after a certain threshold stress so as to absorb additional energy of impact.
In Figure 2, Figure 2a shows an isometric view, Figure 2b shows a front view, Figure 2c shows a front view and Figure 2d shows a top view of a post 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The post 10 is a C-sectioned post, wherein C-sections of the posts 10 have inwardly curved arcuate ends 12. Button-head fasteners 44 are used at an operative front side of the assembly 100 to reduce damage to the vehicles due to scratching. The operative front wall of each post 10 has a hole for inserting fasteners. The main function of the post is to keep the assembly 100 grounded and fixed in place.
In Figure 3, Figure 3a shows an isometric view and Figure 3b shows a front view of a thrie beam 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in Figure 3, the thrie beam 20 is a hot-rolled corrugated sheet. The corrugations 22 are created during the process of rolling the sheet. Residual stress imparted during rolling also increases strength of the sheet. The corrugation 22 in the thrie beam 20 is such that a crumpling zone is created on the thrie beam 20 to assist in deflection and increased deflection time of the thrie beam 20 during an impact. The crumpling zone also increases space available for deflection. The thrie beam 20 has holes for insertion of threaded fasteners therethrough. In an embodiment, multiple connections are provided along the thrie beam 20 to assist in the deformation of the thrie beam 20 during an impact.
In Figure 4, Figure 4a shows an isometric view, Figure 4b shows a front view, Figure 4c shows a front view and Figure 4d shows a top view of a spacer 30 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in Figure 4, a weakened connection is provided between the spacer 30 and the thrie beam 20. In an embodiment, a notch 36 is provided on the spacer 30 on the operative side wall 34 where the spacer 30 is connected to the thrie beam 20. During an impact, the notch 36 closes up causing the thrie beam 20 to remain nearly vertical as the post 10 bends, which helps in keeping upright the vehicle that crashes into the barrier. In an embodiment, the C-sections of the spacers 30 have inwardly curved arcuate ends 32.
The C-sections of the posts 10 and the spacers 30 allow ease of installation using threaded fasteners 42, 44. Moreover, while providing compressive strength required for holding the heavy thrie beams 20, the C-sections are comparatively lower in strength than the conventional I-sections. The comparatively stiff I-sections do not absorb shock of a vehicle impact and hence are likely to cause uprooting of the posts, putting the impacting vehicle and its occupants in grave danger. The grip of posts 10 increases in ground due to arcuate ends 12 of the walls of the posts 10.
The crash barrier assembly of the present disclosure was tested as per EN1317 Crash Test Standard. A truck of 13000 kg weight, at a speed of 70 km/hr was made to impact the crash barrier assembly at an approach angle of 20°. A normalized working width of 1.27 m was obtained, which is well within the specified limit of 1.3 m.
The crash barrier assembly of the present disclosure is considered most appropriate for hilly roadways where space is constrained, as compared to concrete crash barriers, wire rope crash barriers or other available semi-rigid type barriers.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described hereinabove has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a crash barrier assembly, which:
• contains the colliding vehicle from going beyond the barrier and redirects the vehicle on the road;
• keeps the vehicle in upright position;
• ensures minimum damage to the vehicle as to regulate passenger injury;
• requires less deflection width which makes it suitable for use in hilly terrain also where there is space constraint;
• increases the shock absorbing capacity of the crash barrier;
• is suitable for containment of smaller and light as well as large and heavy vehicles;
• is easy to assemble;
• reduces the magnitude of impact due to increased flexibility;
• is more economical and has longer life cycle; and
• increases the grip of posts in ground due to arcuate ends of the walls.
The foregoing disclosure has been described with reference to the accompanying embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
The numerical values mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.