Use of Gravel Properties to Develop Arrester Bed Stopping Model

Abstract

This study was undertaken to investigate the engineering properties of a river pea gravel and to develop a model that can be applied to predict the stopping distance of runaway trucks in arrester beds. A summary of the engineering properties studied is included in this paper. Both static and dynamic triaxial compression tests were conducted. These tests were performed with a specially constructed triaxial cell. Specially designed dynamic equipment was employed to perform the dynamic testing. In the static testing, the test specimens were subjected to different confining pressures, whereas in the dynamic testing, the test specimens were under a vacuum condition. The analysis includes pertinent parameters of the truck and gravel properties, which were obtained from static and dynamic triaxial compression tests. The performance prediction from the developed model is in better agreement with the full‐scale experimental results than Federal Highway Administration guidelines or Bekker's model. The proposed model provides a good engineering approach for evaluation and prediction of gravel arrester bed performance.