Precast Traffic Barrier Leveling Segment with Triangular Stem
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing precast concrete earth retaining walls require additional traffic barrier segments to prevent vehicles from falling off, and existing solutions like guard rails or poured concrete barriers are cumbersome and inefficient for varying roadway grades.
Innovation Solution
The development of precast traffic barrier segments that can be installed parallel to the roadway grade, utilizing a tilting table to cast leveling units at various heights and angles, allowing the barrier to follow changing vertical grades, and incorporating a triangular stem to capture backfill soil weight for stability and impact resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional guard rails or poured concrete barriers are used, then vehicle safety is provided, but installation becomes cumbersome and inefficient especially on varying roadway grades
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier system is divided into modular precast concrete segments that can be individually manufactured and then assembled on-site. Each segment is a self-contained unit with standardized dimensions and connection features, allowing rapid installation without complex formwork or pouring operations. This segmentation enables efficient assembly while maintaining the structural integrity needed for vehicle safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The precast segments are designed with variable heights and adjustable orientations to accommodate varying roadway grades. By changing the geometric parameters of the segments during manufacturing, the system can adapt to different slope requirements without requiring complex installation procedures. The segments incorporate features like inclined surfaces and adjustable connection mechanisms that allow them to be installed at various angles to match the roadway profile.
2Productivity
If precast traffic barrier segments are installed parallel to roadway grade, then installation efficiency improves, but ability to follow changing vertical grades becomes limited
Solution Approach 1:
Different segments are manufactured with locally optimized properties to suit specific grade requirements. Each segment can have unique height, slope angle, and geometric characteristics tailored to the local roadway profile at its installation location. This allows the barrier system to follow changing vertical grades while maintaining efficient precast manufacturing and installation procedures, as each segment is customized during production rather than requiring complex field adjustments.
3Strength
If additional concrete volume is used for barrier segments, then impact resistance and stability improve, but material consumption and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The precast segments are manufactured off-site with optimized concrete mixes, reinforcement configurations, and structural geometries that maximize strength-to-volume ratios. During manufacturing, the concrete can be properly cured and strengthened before installation, eliminating the need for excess concrete that would otherwise be required to achieve the same strength on-site. This preliminary action allows the segments to achieve high impact resistance with minimal material consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The barrier segments utilize composite construction combining reinforced concrete with optimized steel reinforcement cages and potentially other materials. This composite approach allows the concrete to provide compressive strength while the steel reinforcement provides tensile strength, achieving superior impact resistance with reduced overall concrete volume compared to unreinforced or poorly reinforced designs.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed herein are embodiments of a roadside barrier segment to sit on top of a retaining wall to provide impact resistance to vehicular traffic. Concrete traffic barriers are pre-cast in a controlled manufacturing environment then transported as a modular precast concrete segment to the jobsite and installed interlocking directly on top of an earth retaining wall. The precast concrete segment is designed to have a counterweight from soil backfill on a stem of the precast segment that resists overturning pressures from vehicle impact on the traffic barrier segment that extends above the roadway surface. The stem may be triangular in shape to capture more of the backfill soil. A vertical node may be placed on one side of the segment and a receiving channel on the opposite side of the segment to allow the interaction of adjacent segments to share impact loads from motor vehicles.