Development of Shallow Footing Anti-Ram Bollard System Through Modeling and Testing

In past terrorist attacks, vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED) have been the primary manner of attacking buildings and infrastructures. Preventing unauthorized vehicles from approaching a protected area with anti-ram systems would maintain an established standoff distance against moving and stationary vehicles and consequently reduce blast and debris threats. This strategy has been considered the first line of defence against terrorists. Several types of anti-ram devices have been developed in accordance with U. S. Department of State K-rating criteria, for example, wedge barriers, rising beams, sliding/swing gates, and drop arms. However, these devices typically need a deep foundation for installation and can't be implemented into many locations where a depth of excavation is limited in order to protect utility lines of buildings and infrastructures. This paper presents a recent development of a series of shallow footing anti-ram bollard systems (SFABS) that can satisfy K-12 rating with only five-inch thick footing. A high-fidelity physics based finite element technique with a vehicle crash model is used for predicting anti-ram capacity and determining design parameters of the SFABS. Full-scale vehicle crash tests of the developed SFABS systems have been carried out to validate the design and analysis.     

Development of Shallow Footing Anti-Ram Bollard System Through Modeling and Testing

In past terrorist attacks, vehicle borne improvised explosive devices （VBIED） have been the primary manner of attacking buildings and infrastructures. Preventing unauthorized vehicles from approaching a protected area with anti-ram systems would maintain an established standoff distance against moving and stationary vehicles and consequently reduce blast and debris threats. This strategy has been considered the first line of defence against terrorists, Several types of anti-ram devices have been developed in accordance with U.S. Department of State K-rating criteria, for example, wedge barriers, rising beams, sliding/swing gates, and drop arms. However, these devices typically need a deep foundation for installation and can＇t be implemented into many locations where a depth of excavation is limited in order to protect utility lines of buildings and infrastructures. This paper presents a recent development of a series of shallow footing anti-ram bollard systems （SFABS） that can satisfy K-12 rating with only five-inch thick footing. A high-fidelity physics based finite element technique with a vehicle crash model is used for predicting anti-ram capacity and determining design parameters of the SFABS. Full-scale vehicle crash tests of the developed SFABS systems have been carried out to validate the design and analysis.     

Effects of Boundary Conditions on the Design of Anti-Ram Bollards

Anti-ram bollards used in perimeter protection are tested to meet performance requirements of established standards such as the US Department of State Specification SD-STD-02.01. Under these standards, tests are conducted in prescribed conditions that should be representative of the service installation. In actual project, conditions encountered on site may vary from the test environment and it would be expensive and time consuming to validate each deviation with a physical test. High-fidelity physics-based (HFPB) finite element modeling can provide precise simulations of the behavior of anti-ram bollards. This paper presents the use of HFPB finite element modeling, using LS-DYNA, in an actual project to evaluate the performance of an anti-ram bollard design subjected to various boundary conditions representing the physical conditions encountered on site. The study shows that boundary conditions can have a significant influence on the performance of the anti-ram bollards. This suggests that anti-ram bollards must be designed and engineered according to actual conditions that are found on site. It also shows that HFPB modeling can be an effective tool that supplements physical testing of anti-ram bollards.