Dean Alberson

Roger P. Bligh

Barbara G. Butler

In response to the increased interest in the use of recycled materials such as plastics, rubber, paper, and glass, etc., the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sponsored project 0-1458, entitled "Recycled Materials in Roadside Safety Devices." The purpose of this project was to investigate and explore the use of recycled materials in roadside safety applications with the goal of product implementation. This report summarizes a three-phase research program intended to evaluate the use of recycled materials in roadside safety devices. In the first phase, information regarding recycled material manufacturers and their products was acquired through an extensive literature review and survey of research organizations, state and federal transportation agencies, professional and trade societies, and manufacturers. In the second phase of this project, products were further evaluated through a series of static and dynamic laboratory tests. The testing focused on the applications of Type III barricades, guardrail posts, guardrail offset blocks, and sign supports which were identified as areas with high potential that lacked suitable recycled alternatives. The products showed a wide range in behavior due to different material compositions. Phase III consisted of full-scale crash testing of selected products to validate laboratory results, verify their crashworthiness, and assist with the development of performance specifications. Three products were evaluated for use as temporary sign supports. Another product was evaluated for use as guardrail posts and offset blocks in strong post W-beam guardrail. Performance specifications were prepared for these applications and are included as appendices in the summary report

Summary and Recommendations of Recycled Materials in Roadside Safety Devices

Wanda L. Menges

King K. Mak

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is revising its Barricade and Construction Standard sheets. In support of this effort, an earlier study developed a proposed set of specifications to evaluate and qualify plastic drums for use in work zones. Various plastic drums obtained from manufacturers were submitted first to static tests then crash tested to validate those results. Research findings are being incorporated into the revision of the Barricade and Construction Standard sheets. This portion of the study pertains to the evaluation of various sign substrates for use with plastic drums. The objectives of this study are to (1) identify sign substrates suitable for use with plastic drums, including sign substrates that are currently in use and new sign substrates that could potentially be used with plastic drums, particularly sign substrates made from recycled materials; (2) evaluate the selected sign substrates for safety performance when used with plastic drums; and (3) analyze the test results and recommend sign substrates for use with plastic drums. The scope of the study included a survey of commercially available sign substrates that are currently used with plastic drums and candidate new sign substrates. The selected sign substrates were acquired from the manufacturers. Static and full-scale crash tests were then conducted to evaluate the safety performance of the selected sign substrates.

Roger P. Bligh

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