The Historical Evolution of Chinese Highway Guardrail Standards

In order to improve road safety, Chinese highway guardrail standards are constantly improving. This paper will briefly introduce the evolution of Chinese highway guardrail from the surface treatment of waveform guardrail and the standard specification from two angles.

Firstly, changes of surface treatment

Painting stage: this treatment of highway guardrail surface is simple and direct, but the durability and anti-corrosion performance is relatively poor. With the growth of the use of time, the paint is easy to peel off, and the appearance of the guardrail is damaged, while the safety performance will be reduced.

Hot-dip galvanizing stage: hot-dip galvanizing is an effective anti-corrosion treatment method, by immersing the guardrail in molten zinc liquid. The zinc and the surface of the guardrail undergoes a chemical reaction, forming a layer of dense zinc-iron alloy, thus improving the anti-corrosion performance of the highway guardrail. This treatment method has significantly improved the service life of the guardrail.

Diversified processing stage: In order to adapt to the use of different environmental and climatic conditions, the surface treatment of highway guardrail is gradually diversified. In addition to hot-dip galvanizing, there are aluminum plating, galvanizing (aluminum) after spraying, spraying and other treatment methods. These treatments not only improve the corrosion resistance of the guardrail, but also make the appearance of the guardrail more beautiful, which can better coordinate with the surrounding environment.

Secondly, the evolution of specific standards

94 Standard: In 1994, the country has a prevailing waveform guardrail standard, so it is also called 94 Standard. Early built expressways such as Shanghai-Hangzhou expressway, Zhapugang-Jiaxing-Suzhou expressway, etc., are basically based on this standard to set the highway guardrail.

06 Standard: In 2016, on the basis of the 94 Standard, the state introduced 06 Highway Guardrail standard. The standard has not changed much with the 94 Standard.

17 Standard: In 2017, in order to further ensure the safety of highways, adapt to the needs of national travel and security, the state issued the latest highway guardrail standard, referred to as the 17 Standard in the industry.

Thirdly, the difference between 17 Standard and 94 Standard

The new 17 Standard highway guardrail, the most obvious difference is that the original w beam into thrie beam. Specific changes are as follows:

On the anti-collision grade of guardrail, w waves of guardrail are grade A, and thrie waves of guardrail are new grade A. The width of the guardrail size specification has been greatly improved, from the common 310mm to 506mm.

The height of the post is adjusted from the common 2150mm to 2350mm/2500mm, and the post spacing changes from 4-7m in the 94 Standard, to 2-4m in the 06 Standard, to 2m in the 17 Standard. The depth of the post embedded in the concrete from 40cm to the present 80-100cm.

The block has evolved from the traditional two-wave release block to twin block or three-wave bracket. 

In general, the historical evolution of highway guardrail standards is a process of continuous progress and development. With the progress of technology and changes in demand, the standards of road wave guardrail are also constantly updated and improved to adapt to the more complex and changing use of the environment and safety needs.