Bridge Safety and Security through Crash Testing and Simulations
Bridges and other transportation structures must protect the traveling public during extreme events, including vehicle collisions with bridge railings and piers, barriers, and other structural components. Similar vehicle–structure interaction problems also arise in the protection of buildings and critical infrastructure from intentional vehicle impact and blast hazards. This session will introduce the testing, analysis, and design procedures used to evaluate these extreme loading conditions, including AASHTO and FHWA guidance addressing crashworthiness, bridge safety, and infrastructure security.
Presenters
Qusai Alomari, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Dr. Qusai Alomari is a Research Assistant Professor with the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His work spans the design, evaluation, and implementation of roadside safety features, as well as bridge components subjected to extreme human-made hazards. His research includes full-scale testing, numerical modeling, material characterization, guardrail systems, concrete barriers, and roadside hardware. He has also studied bridge components exposed to vehicle collision, fire, and blast, and investigated retrofit strategies including fiber-reinforced polymer strengthening and soil-infill systems to improve structural resilience under multi-hazard loading.
Bob Bielenberg, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Robert “Bob” Bielenberg is a Research Engineer at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he has worked for 25 years. He serves as Assistant Director of the Roadside Safety Division and Manager of the Midwest States Pooled Fund Program. His research focuses on the design and evaluation of roadside hardware through computer simulation and full-scale crash testing. His work has contributed to numerous safety systems, including the Midwest Guardrail System, long-span guardrails, the SAFER Barrier, and temporary concrete barrier tie-down systems. He is also Principal Investigator for NCHRP Project 22-61 on roadside hardware impacted by battery electric vehicles.
Andrew Loken, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Dr. Andrew Loken is a Research Assistant Professor at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he has conducted roadside safety research for roughly seven years. His work focuses on the analysis and evaluation of concrete barrier systems using LS-DYNA and advanced damageable concrete models. He has contributed to improvements in concrete modeling methods and to NCHRP research on bridge deck overhangs and railing design requirements. Dr. Loken is Principal Investigator for NCHRP Project 22-62 and has also contributed to Department of Defense force-protection projects involving high-speed vehicle impacts on perimeter barriers and gates.
Scott Rosenbaugh, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Scott Rosenbaugh is a Research Engineer at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he has worked for more than 15 years. His responsibilities include the design, analysis, full-scale testing, and evaluation of roadside safety features, as well as development of implementation guidance. His work has included bridge railings, concrete median barriers, guardrail systems, stiffness transitions, and crash cushions designed to meet current safety standards. Rosenbaugh is a lead researcher with the Midwest Pooled Fund Program, participates in Transportation Research Board committees and Task Force 13, and collaborates on active NCHRP research projects.
Joshua Steelman, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Dr. Joshua Steelman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and has collaborated with the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility for approximately 10 years. His research includes bridge railing systems, deck overhang design, crash-test simulation, structural fuses, sign and luminaire supports, and vehicle-impact safety criteria. He has served as project lead and Principal Investigator on multiple NCHRP projects and contributed to proposed AASHTO design guidance. Dr. Steelman has more than 15 years of bridge engineering research experience and four years of structural building design experience, and he is a registered Professional Engineer in Nebraska.
