Lankford, Robert, authorHeyliger, Paul, advisorAtadero, Rebecca, committee memberGlick, Scott, committee member2016-08-182016-08-182016http://hdl.handle.net/10217/176795Roadside barriers are the primary structural safety device on surface roads. They can be made from any material as long as they can absorb the energy involved in an impact scenario. One material that has that potential is Ipe. Ipe is a hardwood material that has relatively high strength compared to common structural woods. Despite its high strength, the 9 independent material properties for Ipe has not studied in the literature. In this paper, those material properties are determined with various tests. With the material properties, dynamic finite element analyses were done with seven different roadside barrier configurations and were then compared to the performance of the commonly used steel W-beam barrier. Ipe showed great potential with certain configurations, but with a much higher cost. Realistic implementation of Ipe in roadside barriers would be more beneficial for roads with lower speed limits, thus lowering that cost.born digitalmasters thesesengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.Text