Guardrail terminals have evolved to the point where they absorb energy while utilizing tension in the rail to countermand the compression. However, non-gating terminals have yet to be developed. In the present study, the possibility of a non-gating guardrail terminal was investigated. Specifically, the combination of lateral and longitudinal forces that produce non-gating performance were determined from computer simulation. Next, a prototype terminal was crash tested at the research team’s laboratory. A terminal head was designed to deform the guardrail, and its internal structure was adjustable to control the longitudinal force. Posts were designed to control lateral forces by modifying their section modulus. This controlled the force at which the posts buckled in response to a collision. A prototype was subjected to two 15° crash tests using an SUV and a small car. In both tests, the kinetic energy of the test vehicle was fully absorbed and the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) criteria would have been met. Neither vehicle passed beyond the terminal head, making these test results the first of their kind.

护栏终端已经发展到可以吸收能量，同时利用导轨中的张力来抵消压缩的程度。然而，非门控终端尚未开发。在本研究中，研究了非门控护栏终端的可能性。具体而言，产生非浇口性能的横向力和纵向力的组合由计算机模拟确定。接下来，原型终端在研究团队的实验室进行了碰撞测试。设计了终端头使护栏变形，其内部结构可调节以控制纵向力。立柱旨在通过修改其截面模量来控制侧向力。这控制了柱子因碰撞而弯曲的力。使用一辆 SUV 和一辆小型汽车对原型进行了两次 15° 碰撞测试。在两次测试中，测试车辆的动能都被完全吸收，并且已满足评估安全硬件(MASH) 标准的手册。两辆车都没有通过终端头，使这些测试结果成为同类中的第一个。