Mechanical & Materials Engineering, Department of
First Advisor
Cody S. Stolle
Date of this Version
11-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial of fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science
Major: Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Under the supervision of Professor Cody S. Stolle
Lincoln, Nebraska, November 2024
Abstract
This describes the development of two surrogate test vehicles, or "bogie vehicles," for performing compliance testing of breakaway devices found on the roadside according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). Historically, surrogate vehicle testing and approval of roadside structures was not permitted, because critical vehicle behaviors could not be emulated using the existing or modified rigid frame structures. Therefore, Project NCHRP 22-55 was funded to develop two reusable bogie vehicles to emulate the MASH 1100C small car and 2270P pickup truck. This thesis describes the background data collection, initial generation of the concepts, and preliminary modeling.
First, a literature review was performed to identify crash tests for these devices, and events which contributed to critical outcomes including test failures or near-failures were identified. Details about the tested devices, including testing configuration, device orientation, and vehicle details, were tabulated in a database and evaluated. Next, concepts were generated for a reusable vehicle structure for both 1100C and 2270P vehicles. Three concepts were evaluated, and a structurally-enhanced production vehicle was selected as a preferred concept. A reinforcement scheme was designed for the vehicles and testing was performed on suspension components. Finally, design drawings of the reinforcement connections were developed. Future work after this thesis will involve the testing and validation of the bogie designs using conditions similar to full-scale crash testing.
Advisor: Cody S. Stolle
Comments
Copyright 2024, Mahfuza Rahman Doreen. Used by permission