Finite element analysis of an accident severity according to the european standard EN1317

The increase in traffic safety and the design of safer roads includes installation of restrain systems on separate road segments as part of the highway infrastructure for withholding the vehicle back on the road. The existing European normative EN1317 is the framework for the guardrail design. The regulative is determining for example both the maximum deceleration in the passenger compartment considering the vehicle and the maximum guardrail deflection for specific type of impact, given in the test matrix. If all of the parameters are within the prescribed range and if other obligations are fulfilled the guardrail il can be safe for use. In other words the guardrails are designed to absorb the energy coming from the vehicle motion safely lowering the velocity through desired vehicle path. The aim of this paper is with numerical simulation to find the crash worthiness of a vehicle to guardrail impact. (Author)