EVALUATION OF SIGN SUBSTRATES FOR USE WITH PLASTIC DRUMS

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is revising its Barricade and Construction Standard sheets. In support of this effort, an earlier study developed a proposed set of specifications to evaluate and qualify plastic drums for use in work zones. Various plastic drums obtained from manufacturers were submitted first to static tests then crash tested to validate those results. Research findings are being incorporated into the revision of the Barricade and Construction Standard sheets. This portion of the study pertains to the evaluation of various sign substrates for use with plastic drums. The objectives of this study are to (1) identify sign substrates suitable for use with plastic drums, including sign substrates that are currently in use and new sign substrates that could potentially be used with plastic drums, particularly sign substrates made from recycled materials; (2) evaluate the selected sign substrates for safety performance when used with plastic drums; and (3) analyze the test results and recommend sign substrates for use with plastic drums. The scope of the study included a survey of commercially available sign substrates that are currently used with plastic drums and candidate new sign substrates. The selected sign substrates were acquired from the manufacturers. Static and full-scale crash tests were then conducted to evaluate the safety performance of the selected sign substrates.