Anti-Ram Surface-Mount Bollards Pass the Test

RSA K12 Surface Mount Bollard System - On January 18, 2012, this surface-mount bollard system passed a DOS K12 (ASTM M50 P1) crash test.

Since 9/11 certain properties and buildings in major U.S. cities have invested in anti-ram barriers to thwart a truck or other vehicle packed with explosives from getting too close. Security risks for high-profile buildings/sites are a challenge to address.

Everything from wall barriers to ''tiger traps'' (collapsible pavement) have been installed, but the most common site protection is security bollards. Installing security bollards, however, requires the expense of excavation.

With city infrastructure close underground, there often is little room to excavate. The result has been the development of shallow-mount security bollards.

''Current K-Rails and Jersey Barriers don't work as anti-ram devices,'' says Rick Adler, president of RSA Protective Technologies, LLC. ''The U.S. Department of State has extensively tested K-rails only at the basic K4 level, yet each test failed. The RSA/K&C K12 Surface Mount Bollard was invented in response to a DHS request to RSA. This product is now designed, tested, deployed and available.''

 


The surface-mount bollard system uses 14'8'' long x 48'' wide x 12'' tall steel boxes filled with sand or water as ballast. Each box has round steel sleeves for three 40-inch tall 10'' diameter bollards. The bollards are in-filled with concrete.

Each bollard is secured to the box with a steel locking pin placed through the sleeve. Two-inch thick steel plates with openings drop over the bollards/sleeves to connect the boxes. Four boxes were linked for the crash test. The 12 bollards meet the minimum crash rating. The terminating bollard on either end is covered with a box that sits atop the base box. On the ground behind each of the end boxes are 8' x 4'6'' x 4' ''deadman'' boxes filled with sand or water.

The RSA K12 Surface Mount Bollard system is delivered to the site on a single flatbed truck. There is no excavation or physical connection to the ground, no field welding, no special bolting nor any construction permitting required. It fully assembles with one forklift truck and a two person crew in less than two hours. All fabricated pieces are connected as a monolithic structure by simply dropping them down over one another. The system is just as easily disengaged for deployment elsewhere.

On January 18, 2012, this surface-mount bollard system passed a DOS K12 (ASTM M50 P1) crash test. This means a 15,000-lb. truck traveling at 50 mph struck a bollard head-on and was stopped dead in its tracks, i.e., the front tires did not breach the bollards, and the truck's front end was obliterated. The reason it struck only one bollard is the space between the bollards was four feet. The K12 indicates the level of anti-ram protection used at U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world.

So how does the surface-mounted system stop a seven and a half ton truck without cemented the bollards into a hardscape?

Each bollard is secured to the box with a steel pin. Between the boxes are spacers connected by 2'' steel plates dropped over the bollards. Four boxes were linked for the crash test, meaning 12 bollards. The terminating bollard on either end was covered with a box that sits atop the base box. On the ground behind each of those end boxes were 8'x4'6''x4' ''deadman'' boxes filled with sand.

For a more permanent installation, the landscape architect would have the option of beautifying the installation with surrounding landscaping, and making it more user-friendly, e.g., ramps for handrails and pedestrian walkthroughs between the bollards.

The system uses 14'8'' long x 48'' wide x 12'' tall steel boxes placed on site and filled with sand. Each box has steel sleeves for three 40-inch tall bollards. The bollards are in-filled with concrete. Each bollard is secured to the box with a steel pin and 2'' drop down steel plates. For the test, four boxes were linked, meaning a row of 12 bollards. The terminating bollard on each end of the bollard run was covered with a box that sits atop the base box; behind each of those end boxes on the ground were 8'x4'6''x4' ''deadman'' boxes filled with sand (water works, too).

The unique advantage of this modular bollard system is the ease of installation, whether it's a temporary security need or long term. The manufacturer says the reusable bollards and plates last 25 years or more. Applications for the system could include temporary road closings, farmers' markets, street fairs or stadium events, to name a few.

Visit www.rsaprotect.com for more information.