UMTRI Project

Vibration Transmission from Road Surface Features - Vehicle Measurement and Detection

Sponsor: Nissan Motor Company
Investigator: Tim Gordon
08/01/2005 - 03/31/2006

This project has the objective of characterizing vibrations transmitted into the chassis of a test vehicle in response to driving over a range of road surface features, including rumble strips and raised paint markings. Instrumentation will be fitted to the vehicle to measure and record the vibration response; sensors – principally accelerometers – will be attached adjacent to each wheel spindle and also on the chassis structure adjacent to each suspension. The research aim is to reliably detect regular road surface features from the extraneous background of road roughness, potholes, powertrain vibration etc.

Multivariable analysis and optimization techniques will be used, in addition to manual screening of the different sensor outputs to aid the automated detection of regularly spaced road surface features.