The load imposed by a moving axle on the road surface varies in response to the road profile and the characteristics of the vehicle. Vehicles fitted with dynamic wheel load measuring instrumentation have shown that the dynamic loads on a road surface can be highly repeatable. The extent to which dynamic wheel loads concentrate on public highways would have implications for the assessment of road wear and vehicle "road-friendliness". In particular, the locations of greatest dynamic loading would deteriorate faster than expected. Recent developments in road-mounted wheel weight sensors have made it possible to study the spatial wheel loading of random traffic on public highways. An array of 16 wheel of 16 wheel weight sensors was installed in the A34 dual carriageway near Abingdon. Dynamic loading data from over 4000 heavy axles were used to investigate the spatial repeatability of wheel loads in relation to such factors as road profile, axle weight and vehicle speed. The results suggest that dynamic wheel loading at the site was highly repeatable. The average dynamic wheel loads at each of the 16 sensor locations varied between plus or minus 20 per cent of the static wheel weights. (A)
Abstract