Investigation of the Effect of Weight Factor on Performance of Piezoelectric Weigh-in-Motion Sensors
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 9
Abstract
Trucking industry growth increases loads on existing roads and may raise the possibility of overloaded vehicles, which consequently cause significant damage to pavement. Weigh-in-motion (WIM) technology improves weight enforcement activities by increasing the capacity of static weigh stations and provides traffic monitoring and traffic data for pavement research and design. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the behavior of WIM sensors installed in different environments, which affects reliable and precise data gathering. Therefore, different types of piezoelectric WIM systems, including quartz, polymer, and ceramic sensors, were installed at the Center for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) test sites of the University of Waterloo in Canada. The objective of this research is to explore the behavior of piezoelectric WIM sensors under different load conditions specifically for the polarized sensors, which illustrated heteroscedasticity in weight estimations caused by inconsistent variance of estimations. The issue was solved by transformation of variables, which resulted in constructing a compensation curve. The investigated effect of the weight factor will assist in the recommendation of improved benefits of the least expensive WIM technology.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Thomas A. Duever (University of Waterloo, chair of the Chemical Engineering Department) for his helpful advice and Dr. Xiaohua Jiang (Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Department of Mechatronics Engineering) for his invaluable efforts during the course of this research. The authors also appreciate the assistance of Dr. Susan Tighe (University of Waterloo, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department) and Mr. Dave McCaughan (Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Waste Management Department).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 9 • September 2013
Pages: 913 - 922
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 3, 2012
Accepted: Mar 25, 2013
Published online: Apr 1, 2013
Published in print: Sep 1, 2013
Discussion open until: Sep 1, 2013
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