The development of an extensive-range dynamic road profile and roughness measuring system.

摘要

A road surface profile measuring method and tool was developed and evaluated in this research to support the applications of road surveys, vehicle dynamics studies, and vehicle design.;This research contributes a road profiling system that is capable of measuring road profiles of wavelength from 1 to 300 ft and beyond. The method developed by this research contains two parts: (1) a surface dynamic road profiling (SDRP) method that measures road profiles of wavelength from 1 to 300 ft surpasses the existing compatible formats in the evaluation conducted by this study, and (2) an innovative long wavelength road profiling (LWLRP) method that is designed to measure road profiles of wavelength longer than 300 ft. The results of accurate road surface profiles measurements can be converted into reliable road roughness indices which are the primary basis for pavement maintenance and management.;The evaluation was conducted in both computer simulation and experimental forms. The computer simulation indicated that the SDRP method developed in this thesis research was the best among its category at this time and that the LWLRP method produces acceptable errors. The experimental evaluation proved that the SDRP system constructed in this study consistently measured reliable road profiles and that the LWLRP device was capable of measuring LWLRP longer than 300 ft to some extent as permitted by the available instrumentation.;Road profiling is widely used in today's highway survey. The improved SDRP method developed in this study provides an accurate road survey in a relatively lower cost. The new LWLRP method can provide pavement survey and vehicle dynamics study in a high-speed application.