It’s easy to get lost in the terminology and just as easily confused on how it applies to your organizations vital assets safety and protection. Golden Bay Fence Plus Iron Works has documented the Common US Standards; and has even included information on British Standards PAS 68 to help in making the best decision when choosing to protect your assets – the correct decision.

Terms To Know

Crash-Rated Barrier

A barrier that has been crash tested and certified by a certifying agency such as DOS, DOD, ASTM, BSI (British Standards) There are cases of this term being used to describe products that have not been tested or certified by any agency or observer. If there is a doubt, ask for a copy of the certificate from the certifying agency.

Engineer-Rated or Non-Crash Rated

A barrier that has been designed, analyzed, and stamped by a professional erg barriers with this rating have been analyzed using computer modeling programs. Some products are structurally analyzed to determine crash-worthiness while others are designed based on the design and testing of similar products.

Definition of Standards

To date, the Department of State (DoS), Department of Defense (DoD), US General Administration (GSA)/Interagency Security Committee (ISC) and ASTM have developed rating systems and requirements and/or testing standards. The United Kingdom also has adopted a testing and rating standard which some of the proprietary systems have used for testing.

Rating systems are defined by some combination of the size, velocity and angle of approach of the design vehicle (which can be translated into Kinetic Energy) and the allowable penetration distance. Prior to specifying anti-ram performance requirements the design team should understand the different rating systems and the proof of performance methods that may be required by the specification.

The original DoS rating system and test standard was published in SD-STD-02.01 Certification Standard: Test Method for Vehicle Crash Testing of Perimeter Barriers and Gates, dated April 1985. This was subsequently revised in SD-STD-02.01, Revision A Certification Standard: Test Method for Vehicle Crash Testing of Perimeter Barriers and Gates, dated March 2003.

Qualifications

Barriers where the penetration of the cargo bed must not exceed one (1) meter beyond the pre-impact inside edge of the barrier. The rating of the barrier is determined when a 15,000 lb. (6810 kg) gross-weight vehicle impacts the barrier from a perpendicular direction.

Definition

“K” indicates the DOS certified barrier speed rating’s maximum vehicle impact speed achieved when a vehicle traveling at normal speed is successfully arrested by the barrier from a perpendicular direction.

K12 50 mph (80 kph)
K8 40 mph (65 kph)
K4 30 mph (48 kph)

Qualifications

Barriers meeting the certification criteria SD-STD-02.01, Revision A, dated March 2003 (with the exception of penetration) which has been evaluated to the previous SD-STD-02.01, dated April 1985. All barriers that are certified to the current DOS Certified Anti-Ram Vehicle Barriers List are considered to be DOD Certified.

Definition

“K” indicates the DOS certified barrier speed rating’s maximum vehicle impact speed achieved when a vehicle traveling at normal speed is successfully arrested by the barrier from a perpendicular direction.

K12 50 mph (80 kph)
K8 40 mph (65 kph)
K4 30 mph (48 kph)

“L” indicates the distance of penetration of the cargo bed beyond the pre-impact edge of the inside of the barrier.
L3 3 ft. (915 mm) or less
L2 3 ft. to 20 ft. (915 mm to 6.1 m)
L1 20 ft. to 50 ft. (6.1 m to 15.3 m)

The General Services Administration first published their blast/security design criteria, Draft GSA Security Design Criteria, in 1998. Before this document was finalized, the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) was established and the GSA document was updated and published as the Interagency Security Committee Security Design Criteria for New Federal Office Buildings and Major Modernization Projects in May 2001. 

The ISC document provides design vehicle weights and velocities but does not prescribe testing requirements, kinetic energy, or certification requirements. ISC vehicle weights and velocities are tied to the level of protection required for the specific facility being protected.

Ratings and Requirements by ASTM

ASTM International Designation F 2656-07 Certification Standard

ASTM has developed a Standard Test Method for Vehicle Crash Testing of Perimeter Barriers, Standard F-2656-07. This standard builds on the DoS standards and expands if for a wider range of project requirements (i.e. different vehicle sizes, additional velocities, and allowable penetration distances).

Qualifications

This test method provides a structured procedure to establish a penetration rating for perimeter barriers subjected to a vehicle impact. Knowing the penetration rating provides the ability to select an appropriate barrier for site-specific conditions around a facility.

The barrier penetration rating does not imply that a barrier will perform as rated in all site conditions, approach routes, and topography, Also, only single specimen tests at a specified impact location are required by this test method, and therefore, not all points of impact can be tested and validated for the penetration rating. Other impact locations may respond differently.

Definition
Typical Test Vehicle (weight)
RATING (speed) (test range) Kinetic Energy (ft-kips)
_____________________________________________________________

Small passenger car (C) (2430lbs)
C40 (40mph) (38.0-46.9 mph) 131
C50 (50mph) (47.0-56.9 mph) 205
C60 (60mph) (57.Omph-above) 295

Pickup truck (P)2300 (5070lbs)
PU40 (40 mph) (38.0-46.9 mph) 273
PU50 (50 mph) (47.0-56.9 mph) 426
PU60 (60 mph) (57.0-above mph) 613

Medium-duty truck (M) (15 000lbs)
M3050 (30 mph) (28.0-37.9 mph) 415
M4065 (40 mph) (38.0-46.9 mph) 802
M5080 (50 mph) (47.0-above mph) 1250

Heavy goods vehicle (H) (65 000lbs)
H30 (30 mph) (28.0-37.9 mph) 1950
H40 (40 mph) (38.0-46.9 mph) 3470
H50 (50 mph) (47.0-above mph) 5430

“P” indicates the test vehicle’s distance of penetration upon impact with barrier.
P1 <1 m (3.3 ft)
P2 1.01 to 7 m (3.31 to 23.0 ft)
P3 7.01 to 30 m (23.1 to 98.4 ft)
P4 30 m (98 ft) or greater

Example: A M30 P1 crash barrier is designed to stop à Medium Duty Truck (M) traveling 30mph with a penetration distance of <3.3ft

The prevalent anti-ram testing standard in the United Kingdom is the Publicly Available Specification: PAS 68:2007. This standard is based on similar premises as the DoS and ASTM documents. The PAS allows testing by vehicle impact or pendulum impact and allows analysis (Design) for extrapolating test results to alternate ratings or system configurations. The PAS 68 provides 3 classification systems based on the method of classification (i.e. vehicle impact, pendulum impact or analysis).

Vehicle Impact: four-part classification system preceded by a “V”.

• Barrier Type 
• Test Weight/Velocity
• Vehicle Penetration 
• Dispersion of Major Debris 

Pendulum Impact: three-part classification system preceded by a “P”. 

• Barrier Type 
• Test Energy 
• Pendulum Weight/Release Height

Design Method: two-part classification systems preceded by a “D”. 

• Barrier Type 
• Design Energy

A classification through the vehicle impact test method will be the closest to a DoS or ASTM rating. The vehicle weight categories of the ASTM standards and the PAS 68 can roughly be compared as shown in the following table, with the PAS 68 vehicle weights larger than the corresponding ASTM vehicle weight. There are other differences in the vehicles, based on the vehicle configuration differences between the United States and the United Kingdom.

ASTM -vs- PAS 68 Vehicle Weights 

ASTM Test Vehicle Weight PAS 68 Vehicle Weights
_______________________________________________________
1,100 kg 1,500 kg 
2,300 kg (5,070 lbm) 2.500 kg 
3,500 kg 
6,800 kg (15,000 lbm) 7,500 kg 
29,500 kg (65,000 lbm) 32,000 kg