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Abstract
Concrete median barriers (CMB) are installed to decrease the overall severity of traffic accidents by producing higher vehicle decelerations. In 2016, an update to the AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) saw a 58% increase in impact severity of test level 4 (TL-4) impact conditions when compared to the NCHRP Report 350 testing criteria. This study investigates the use of fiber reinforced rubberized CMBs in dissipating the impact energy to improve driver safety involved in crashed vehicles. Two full-scale barrier prototypes with shear keys were constructed and tested under TL-4 quasi-dynamic impact conditions in a laboratory setting. Compared to the GDOT specified barrier, the fiber reinforced rubberized concrete mixture, a design with 20% replacement of the coarse aggregate by volume with recycled rubber tire chips and a 1.0% steel fiber addition, was evaluated based on its performance in toughness, energy absorption capacity and its plastic response.