Sensor-based road quality assessment increases productivity and reduces costs

Vehicle optimization based on road conditions

“The underlying idea is simple,” says Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Benedikt Mundl, engineer for measurement technology and durability at monalysis, a spin-off from Kempten University of Applied Sciences. “Innovative manufacturers such as MAN offer a broad portfolio of trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles for use in the most diverse parts of the world and areas of application. Road types, surfaces and environmental conditions vary greatly. Therefore, they want to know how these local conditions – and the stresses and strains they introduce to the vehicle – impact products and components.”

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) adapt vehicles to the conditions expected in the field already at production stage. This enables them to offer optimized equipment that keeps vehicles operating safely for longer, increases driving and passenger comfort, reduces breakdowns and material consumption, and helps schedule necessary maintenance work timely. “With this, manufacturers can hand over to their customers a vehicle that has been optimized for real-life conditions, for the longest possible service life,” says Mundl.

Robust analog test sensors reduce costs

On board of world-wide test drives: ASC 5525MF triaxial capacitive accelerometers. With measuring ranges from ±2 to ±200g and a wide frequency response, they are particularly suitable for capturing low and medium frequencies. Their robust design in a stainless-steel housing ensures high resistance to repetitive shock loads of up to 6,000g. They work accurately and reliably at temperatures up to +125 °C. To that end, this analog sensor is ideally suited for precise data acquisition under widely varying, sometimes unexpected and adverse terrain, environmental and climatic conditions.

Digital sensors for real-time detection of road damage

While analog sensors are typically installed in vehicles jointly with extensive test equipment for temporary test drives, public buses, for example, can conveniently be retrofitted with ASC’s digital accelerometers to regularly transmit road quality data during active service.

“In its digital sensor adaptation, our method is also of interest to road maintenance authorities,” Mundl confirms. As many German roads are in a poor state. Following cold winters in particular, cracks, potholes and progressive road damage tend to mushroom.

To change that, the Swabian town of Kempten is running the ErNeSt project funded by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport, in which the Kempten University of Applied Sciences and monalysis are developing alternative approaches to the permanent recording of road conditions. To that end, monalysis integrates triaxial digital accelerometers of the ASC DiSens® ECO-3321 series with CAN interface into public transport buses in order to assess road surfaces several times a day, autonomously and without additional burden for the operators, to capture their condition and classify it according to a desired scale. The acceleration events on relevant sections along the route are categorized into various frequency ranges and evaluated accordingly.

The digital interface options and filter settings of this sensor allow for uncomplicated data transfer. While the repetition of consistent conditions – the same routes every day, traffic volume, vehicle condition, driving behavior, etc. – provides a reliable basis for evaluating the measured data and any deviations from normal state. “On this basis, road departments can intervene quickly to fix problematic areas before more serious damage occurs.”

Leading vehicle manufacturers rely on ASC sensors

“For our projects, following the rigorous testing of sensor models from various manufacturers we decided to work with ASC’s accelerometers,” recalls Mundl. “In addition to their distinct quality and excellent value for money, we were convinced by the references of leading vehicle manufacturers who were already using ASC sensors and very pleased with their performance.”

Learn more: https://www.asc-sensors.de/en/sensoren/asc-5525mf-en/, https://www.asc-sensors.de/en/sensoren/asc-disens-eco-3321-en/