In 2020, the European Commission (EC) created a working group, striving to establish a robust methodology for assessing the performance of vehicle security barriers through numerical simulations.

The first milestone was reached through the creation of a generic numerical vehicle model of the N1 category (3.5t truck), which can be used for virtual testing of security barriers. It is generic in the sense that it does not represent a specific vehicle, but provides a set of modifiable parameters allowing the user to adapt the characteristics of the vehicle to any brand and type (within the limits defined from the N1 category).

Alongside the performance testing of the already available generic N1 model, the EC will provide within the coming year additional generic numerical models for heavier vehicles (notably the N2/N3 categories representing trucks ranging from 7 to 30 tons).

In parallel, the EC has launched a new activity focusing on the creation of realistic simulation models for the combined vehicle-barrier security systems. The joint utilisation of vehicle and barrier numerical models will allow to accurately reproduce the effects from different vehicle impact scenarios. By establishing an exhaustive technical toolkit for the virtual testing of security barriers, the EC will provide valuable support to both the relevant security stakeholders in terms of protection critical infrastructure as well as public spaces and the industrial manufacturers for creating efficient innovative solutions.

It is underlined that input from the security barriers' users and/or manufacturers during this methodological development of the virtual testing of security barriers is of great importance for the endeavours of the EC in providing support to the security barrier community.