Restorable Crash Cushion with Entrained, Unaffixed Crushable Tubes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Crash cushion apparatuses face issues with imperfectly affixed crushable tubes, unpredictable behavior due to buckling and bending, and difficulty in inspection and restoration after impact events, leading to hazardous roadside conditions.
Innovation Solution
A restorable crash cushion apparatus with crushable tubes entrained but not affixed in collapsible bays, featuring slideable dividers with improved sliding characteristics and a rail assembly that supports collapsible bays, allowing for predictable impact behavior and easy restoration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If crushable tubes are affixed in collapsible bays, then tube positioning is secured, but inspection and restoration become difficult and hazardous
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into modular collapsible bays that can be independently inspected and restored. Each bay contains crushable tubes that are not permanently affixed, allowing for segmented replacement and inspection without hazardous disassembly of the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Crushable tubes are extracted from permanent attachment and placed in entrained-only configuration, allowing them to be easily removed and replaced. This extraction of the affixing mechanism eliminates the need for complex inspection and restoration procedures while maintaining tube positioning during operation.
2Reliability
If crushable tubes are affixed in collapsible bays, then tube positioning is secured, but imperfect affixing creates unpredictable impact behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The affixing function is completely removed from the system. Crushable tubes are entrained in collapsible bays without any affixing mechanism, eliminating variability in affixing quality. The tubes remain positioned during operation through entrainment alone, and can be easily replaced if needed.
Solution Approach 2:
Crushable tubes are designed as disposable components that are entrained but not affixed. After impact events, tubes can be quickly replaced without inspection of affixing quality, eliminating the problem of imperfect affixing while maintaining reliable tube positioning during service.
3Stability of the object's composition
If dividers are rigidly fixed on rails, then divider positioning is stable, but impact forces cannot be effectively transferred to crushable tubes
Solution Approach 1:
Dividers are made dynamically movable along the rails rather than rigidly fixed. This allows dividers to move during impact events, enabling effective force transfer to crushable tubes while maintaining stable positioning during normal operation through the rail constraint system.
4Ease of repair
If crushable tubes are entrained but not affixed, then inspection and restoration become easy, but tube positioning may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The affixing mechanism is removed entirely, leaving only entrainment. This simplifies inspection and restoration while the entrainment configuration itself provides sufficient positioning reliability during operation, as tubes remain constrained within collapsible bays without requiring permanent attachment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures effective energy transfer and predictable impact behavior, facilitates safe inspection and restoration, and reduces damage for quick refurbishment, while preventing theft and buckling of crushable tubes.
Implementation Method 1
The crushable tubes crush longitudinally during a head-on impact event, thereby eliminating the need for tube crushing guidance structure.
Implementation Method 2
The crushable tubes crush longitudinally during a head-on impact event
Implementation Method 3
slideable dividers forming the collapsible bays
Data Source
AI summary
A crash cushion apparatus broadly comprising a rail assembly, a number of dividers and a number of side panels forming a number of collapsible bays, and a number of crushable tubes. The rail assembly includes a number of anchor plates and a rail. The dividers are longitudinally spaced apart from each other and slidably entrained on the rail. The side panels link the dividers together. The crushable tubes are oriented longitudinally in spaces formed by the collapsible bays and extend between sequentially adjacent ones of the dividers. The dividers entrain the crushable tubes in the longitudinal orientation without the crushable tubes being fixed to the dividers. The dividers are configured to be driven rearward along the rail and crush the crushable tubes to sequentially collapse the collapsible bays.