Historically, American factories have responded quickly and powerfully to threats against our society. After Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt challenged our workers “to overwhelmingly out-produce the enemies, and to provide a crushing superiority of equipment for our soldiers to win the war.”
Today, we are fighting enemies much closer to home. Increasingly, terrorist are choosing targets on U.S. soil and the attacks frequently come from a moving or stationary vehicle carrying explosives.
With all the attention recently about breaches in security at the White House, it is good to know that metal manufacturers are once again on the front-line developing new products to protect our people and buildings.
Engineers at the Texas A & M Transportation Institute (TTI) have introduced an alternative design to a traditional barrier that can instantaneously stop a 15,000 pound truck travelling 50 mph.
Bollards have been used for decades to act as a protective device against destructive forces. In fact, Chicago Metal Rolled Products commonly produces the flat back-U shaped product for its customers utilizing our expertise in mandrel bending of pipe.
Typically, these posts are made from 4, 5 or 6 inch outside diameter pipe. There are two 90 degree bends with a center line radius that is 2 times the diameter of the pipe (2D). The width of the structure can vary, and they are usually embedded 3 feet deep into a concrete foundation.
Comparatively, TTI uses a beefier, 12 inch pipe with a center line radius approximately 36 inches (3D). It stands 3 feet above the ground and is 17 feet wide, but it is only anchored 18 inches below the surface making it easier to install in urban settings.
Chicago Metal Rolled Products has the capabilities to provide all of these configurations as well as using different rolling and forming methods and materials to make defensive posts.
The implementation of new barricades at security sensitive facilities throughout the world is an unfortunate reality in a world transformed completely by 9/11. Chicago Metal Rolled Products is proud to be part of a response team including metal fabricators throughout the U.S.A.
