MULTIPLE-SENSOR WEIGH-IN-MOTION: THEORY AND EXPERIMENTS

A theory is developed for the design of multiple-sensor weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems to minimize the errors caused by the dynamic axle loads of heavy vehicles moving at highway speeds. The theory is verified using measurements from a wheel load measuring mat of total length 38 m, incorporating 96 capacitive strip WIM sensors. The mat was installed on the Navistar test track in Indiana. A total of 460 test runs was performed on six different articulated heavy vehicles, at a range of speeds between 8 and 80 km/hr. The strip sensors were found to be reliable and to measure the dynamic wheel loads with errors of less than 4% RMS. The sensor calibration is independent of speed and temperature. The experimental results were found to agree closely with the theoretical predictions of multiple-sensor WIM performance and it was possible, using a three-sensor array, to measure static axle loads with approximately 6% RMS error, or less, for typical highway conditions of speed and road surface roughness. A good design for multiple-sensor WIM systems is to use three sensors, spaced evenly along the road. The sensors should be spaced according to a simple formula that depends only on the average traffic speed and the number of sensors.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1991/1311/1311-010.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=MULTIPLE-SENSOR+WEIGH-IN-MOTION%3A+THEORY+AND+EXPERIMENTS&author=D.+Cebon&author=C.+Winkler&publication_year=1991
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1311, Pavement Management: Data Collection, Analysis, and Storage 1991. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Cebon, D
  • Winkler, C B
• Publication Date: 1991

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 70-78
• Monograph Title: Pavement management: data collection, analysis, and storage, 1991
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1311
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Errors; Experiments; Minimization; Numbers; Sensors; Theory; Weigh in motion
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00621627
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309051509
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 30 1992 12:00AM