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Vibration Transmission from Road Surface Features – Vehicle Measurement and Detection

by
Timothy J. Gordon
Zevi Bareket

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1. Introduction
The purpose of the project was to investigate which sensor outputs strongly correlate with road surface features, for the purpose of reliable discrimination between different types of road feature. The intention was to reliably identify the vibration characteristics associated with rumble strips at the road edge, and discriminate these special features from other road surface irregularities such as potholes, raised line markings and reflectors (cats eyes).
The project was comprised of two phases:
• Phase 1 – Install Vibration Measurement System [March – July 2005] In Phase 1, a data acquisition system, incorporating sensors, amplification, signal conditioning and data recording was fitted to the vehicle. An interface was also provided to the vehicle Control Area Network, to record additional data relevant to the detection issue. Acquisition of forward and rear-pointing video images was also included. Tests were conducted to verify system performance, accuracy and reliability.
• Phase 2 – Vehicle Testing (main test program) [August 2005 – March 2006] In Phase 2, a ‘library’ of relevant road surface features has been compiled, including confounding features such as potholes. A comprehensive set of examples has been identified within South-East Michigan and Ohio, and measurements are currently being conducted to record the vibration responses over these features under a variety of test conditions.