Dynamic wheel scales for heavy vehicle road simulators

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute of The Pennsylvania State University are engaged in a research project that studies how dynamic wheel forces of heavy vehicles affect pavement damage. One of the main tools used in this research project is a four post road simulator located at The Turner Fairbank Research Center in McLean, Virginia. The Dynamic Truck Actuation system (DYNTRAC) was constructed without a dynamic force measuring system. This paper presents the testing and evaluation of a dynamic wheel force sensor for DYNTRAC. Various technologies are examined for use as force sensors. The design options selected for testing and evaluation were actuator piston mounted load cells, wheel scales based on the strain measurement of a bending plate, and scales based on shear beam load cells. The scale based on shear beam load cells was selected as the best design for use with DYNTRAC.