End terminal

An end terminal for a guardrail system comprising:

• an elongated guardrail beam defining a longitudinal axis extending in a substantially horizontal plane, said beam having a vertical cross section defined by a plurality of inclined web portions joined to define upper and lower peaks and at least one valley positioned between said upper and lower peaks, said plurality of inclined webs web portions comprising at least an uppermost web portion and a lowermost web portion;
• an impact head comprising a housing having a front, a top, and a bottom forming a cavity and having a downwardly facing opening formed in said bottom of said housing, said impact head comprising a reshaping flattening device disposed within said housing and defining a channel comprising an inlet and an outlet vertically aligned along said longitudinal axis at a first height, said channel being defined by an upper forming surface and a lower forming surface vertically spaced from said upper forming surface, wherein said outlet opens into said cavity between said top and bottom of said housing, said cavity having a greater height than said outlet at a location where said outlet opens into said cavity, wherein said guardrail beam is moveable through said channel at said first height from a first position to a second position in response to an impact from a vehicle, and wherein said channel engages and deforms said guardrail beam from a first shape to a second shape as said guardrail beam is moved through said channel between said first and second positions;
• and
• an anchor vertically spaced below said outlet and coupled to an end portion of said guardrail beam via a tether, said tether extending through said opening in said bottom of said impact head and into said cavity and being adapted to pull said guardrail beam downwardly from said first height, and wherein said guardrail beam is bendable in only one rotational direction by said impact head as said guardrail beam exits said outlet and is pulled downwardly by said anchor through said opening.

An end terminal for a guardrail system comprising:

• an elongated guardrail beam defining a longitudinal axis extending in a substantially horizontal plane, said beam having a vertical cross section defined by a plurality of inclined web portions joined to define upper and lower peaks and at least one valley positioned between said upper and lower peaks, said plurality of inclined web portions comprising at least an uppermost web portion and a lowermost web portion;
• an impact head comprising a housing comprising a rear portion, a top, a bottom and a front defining a cavity and a flattening device disposed in said rear portion, said front adapted to be engaged by an impacting vehicle, said flattening device defining a channel comprising an inlet and an outlet vertically aligned along said longitudinal axis at a first height, said channel being defined by a first forming surface and a second forming surface spaced from said first forming surface, wherein said outlet opens into said cavity between said top and bottom of said housing, said cavity having a larger dimension than said outlet at a location where the outlet opens into said cavity, wherein said housing comprises an opening in communication with said cavity, wherein said guardrail beam is moveable along said longitudinal axis through said channel from said inlet to said outlet, and wherein said first and second forming surfaces engage said guardrail beam as said guardrail beam is moved through said channel, wherein said first and second forming surfaces are configured and arranged such that said guardrail beam is flattened as said guardrail beam exits said outlet of said channel along said longitudinal axis;
• an anchor vertically spaced below said outlet;
• and
• a tether coupled between said anchor and an end portion of said guardrail beam located at said first height within said cavity, said tether extending through said opening in said impact head and into said cavity and being adapted to pull said guardrail beam downwardly through said opening from said first height to a second height vertically spaced from said first height free of any engagement with any other end terminal structure once said guardrail beam exits said outlet.

An end terminal for a guardrail system comprising:

• an elongated guardrail beam defining a longitudinal axis extending in a substantially horizontal plane, said beam having a vertical cross section defined by a plurality of inclined web portions joined to define upper and lower peaks and at least one valley positioned between said upper and lower peaks, said plurality of inclined web portions comprising at least an uppermost web portion and a lowermost web portion;
• an impact head comprising a housing having a front, a top and a bottom forming a cavity and having an opening formed in said housing, said impact head comprising a flattening device defining a channel comprising an inlet and an outlet vertically aligned along said longitudinal axis at a first height, said channel being defined by a first forming surface and a second forming surface spaced from said first forming surface, wherein said outlet opens into said cavity between said top and bottom of said housing, said cavity having a larger dimension than said outlet at a location where the outlet opens into said cavity, wherein said opening is in communication with said cavity, wherein said guardrail beam is moveable through said channel at said first height from a first position to a second position in response to an impact from a vehicle, and wherein said channel engages and deforms said guardrail beam from a first shape to a second shape as said guardrail beam is moved through said channel between said first and second positions;
• and
• an anchor vertically spaced below said outlet and coupled to an end portion of said guardrail beam via a tether, said tether extending through said opening in said impact head and into said cavity and being adapted to pull said guardrail beam downwardly through said opening from said first height, and wherein said guardrail beam is downwardly bendable in only one rotational direction by said impact head as said guardrail beam exits said outlet and is pulled downwardly by said anchor through said opening.