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20092007112 | APT SECURITY SYSTEMS HAS BECOME THE FIRST UK MANUFACTURER TO HAVE A RETRACTABLE BOLLARD TESTED AND PROVEN ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC.

APT Security Systems has become the first UK manufacturer to have a retractable bollard tested and proven on both sides of the Atlantic.

APT Security Systems has become the first UK manufacturer to have a retractable bollard tested and proven on both sides of the Atlantic.

APT Security Systems has become the first UK manufacturer to have a retractable bollard tested and proven on both sides of the Atlantic.

The company has repeated the success of the Model 400 bollard’s K12 certification test by the US Department of State (DoS) by undertaking a test conforming to the British Standards Institution PAS 68:2007 specification for vehicle security barriers at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), home to the country’s foremost vehicle and highways testing facilities.

The K12 rated Model 400 bollard has been developed in the U.S. by APT’s partner, IPS (Intelligent Perimeter Systems) through a U.S. Department of Defense small business research grant to develop new high technology systems providing complete area and perimeter security protection. The product has a self-contained, 24VDC powered independent hydraulic actuating system, eliminating the need for a bulky central pump station as well as the need for high voltage power. No additional civil works are required, which means they are not only easy to install, but also easy to operate and maintain.

Two PAS 68 tests were carried out on the Model 400 bollard at TRL on the same day. The first was undertaken with a 7.5 tonne 2 axle rigid vehicle – ballasted to 6.8 tonnes with an additional 0.7 tonnes of cargo (sand bags) bringing the vehicle to 7.5 tonnes. The vehicle impacted the bollard at 40 miles per hour stopping the vehicle dead with zero penetration of the load carrying part of the vehicle.

The bollard was then lowered allowing the vehicle debris to be cleared, and the bollard was raised again for a second test that same day. The vehicle used on the second test was an 18 tonne 2 axle rigid European vehicle meeting the requirements of PAS 68. The unladen weight of the vehicle is 6.8 tonnes with sand bags added to make the test weight of 7.5 tonnes. Impact speed was 50 miles per hour, and again the bollard was successful in stopping the vehicle with a penetration distance of just 4.5 metres for the load carrying part of the lorry. After stopping the larger vehicle the bollard continued to work satisfactorily.

The TRL test follows the results of the U.S. Department of State's own K12 crash test, whereby the Model 400 resisted the impact of a typical U.S. vehicle weighing 6,800kg (15,000lbs Gross Vehicle Weight - GVW) – hitting it at 50 miles per hour (80kph) with zero penetration.