Pilot Investigation into Design Forces on Vertical Structural Members due to a Intentional Truck Impact

This study is aimed to provide indications for further research and background information for the design of safety barriers protecting critical infrastructure objects against terrorist attacks using trucks. The principles of Eurocodes and information in related background documents give a starting point. Using the EN 1991-1-7 model, the procedure for determining design forces due to intentional impact by a road vehicle is newly proposed and their values are indicated for different threat levels. Impact forces obtained by a simplified analytical model are compared with those based on a non-linear dynamic finite element analysis. It appears that the model for intentional attack is fundamentally same as that for accidental impact, but mass and velocity of the impacting vehicle need to be adjusted. The design forces for intentional attack are much higher in comparison to those for an accidental impact, ranging in a first approximation between 3000 and 9000 kN, depending on stiffness of impacting vehicle Further research should be particularly focused on detailed modelling of the impacting body and its stiffness and model uncertainty of the simplified approach.