Evaluation of the Vertical Wheel Loads of a Heavy Vehicle with Two Different Experimental Methods

Dynamic tyre forces are thought to be a cause of increased damage to roads caused by heavy vehicles. For many years, research into “vehicle-highway interaction” involved measuring or simulating the dynamic tyre forces generated by heavy vehicles, without reference to the response of the road surface. As a consequence, there is a considerable literature concerning dynamic tyre forces generated by trucks. A variety of techniques can use for measuring the dynamic tyre forces generated by heavy vehicles. In our laboratory a combination of accelerometers and strain gauges had been used to determine the wheel forces through measuring the shear and bending strains, and the accelerations of the wheels. Our research focused on the comparison of these methods and especially on the understanding of the dynamic behavior of the forces applied on the two wheels. A variety of road tests were conducted in order to evaluate the methods in depth during cornering, accelerating, and other cases.