Finite element analysis (FEA) using LS-DYNA has become a common method for assessing the crash performance of roadside safety hardware. LS-DYNA is a nonlinear, dynamic, explicit finite element code that is very efficient for the analysis of impact events such as vehicle collisions with roadside barriers. In general, FEA has been most successfully used as a design tool to explore variations in new designs or changes in existing designs. Full-scale crash testing is still regarded as the ultimate measure of performance, but the use of computer simulation using FEA has been shown to be very useful in minimizing the number of tests required to develop a good design by determining the most promising design alternatives.

Roadsafe has highly qualified personnel to perform this type of work. Dr. Plaxico and Dr. Ray have used FEA extensively for over twenty years in the analysis and design of roadside safety hardware systems. Their work has included projects sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, the National Transportation Research Center, Inc., State DOT’s, the Army Test Center, the US Department of Defense, US Department of energy, and various commercial/industrial companies. Roadsafe also has excellent computational facilities for performing LS-DYNA simulations. These qualifications and capabilities maximize our potential for conducting high quality research that always leads to success our projects.