U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
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Washington, DC 20590
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Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
| REPORT |
| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
 |
| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-024 Date: June 2016 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-024 Date: June 2016 |
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This study was conducted as part of the Federal Highway Administration’s Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program. The LTBP Program is a long-term research effort, authorized by the U.S. Congress under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users legislation, to collect high-quality data from a representative sample of highway bridges nationwide that will help the bridge community better understand bridge performance. The products from this program will be a collection of data-driven tools, including predictive and forecasting models that will enhance the abilities of bridge owners to optimize their management of bridges.
This report presents a review of the literature related to regulations on truck weight limits, weigh-in-motion (WIM) technologies for pavements and bridges, WIM system specifications and accuracy, and experience from the Long-Term Pavement Performance Program with WIM systems relevant to the traffic load data collection goals for the LTBP Program. This report should be of interest to bridge program personnel from Federal, State, and local transportation departments as well as to parties engaged in bridge-related research.
Mark Swanlund
Acting Director, Office of Infrastructure
Research and Development
Notice
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.
The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.
Quality Assurance Statement
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.
Technical Report Documentation Page
| 1. Report No.
FHWA-HRT-16-024 |
2. Government Accession No.
N/A |
3 Recipient's Catalog No.
N/A |
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| 4. Title and Subtitle
LTBP Program’s Literature Review on Weigh-in-Motion Systems |
5. Report Date June 2016 |
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| 6. Performing Organization Code N/A |
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| 7. Author(s)
Imad Al-Qadi, Hao Wang, Yanfeng Ouyang, Kirk Grimmelsman, and Jeffrey Purdy |
8. Performing Organization Report No. N/A |
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9. Performing Organization Name and Address Pennoni Associates Inc. |
10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) N/A |
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| 11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-12D-00030-T-13001 |
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| 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Office of Infrastructure Research and Development |
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Final Report |
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14. Sponsoring Agency Code HRDI-50 |
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| 15. Supplementary Notes
FHWA Contacts: Susan Lane, HRDI-50 and Yamayra Rodriguez-Otero, HRDI-50 FHWA Technical Lead: Tom Saad |
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| 16. Abstract
Truck size and weight are regulated using Federal and State legislation and policies to ensure safety and preserve bridge and high infrastructure. Weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems can capture the weight and other defining characteristics of the vehicles actually using the Nation’s highways, providing important loading-related data that is essential for evaluating the performance of transportation infrastructure. As part of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program’s Technical Assistance Contract, a literature review of the state of the practice was performed for WIM systems installed in pavements and on bridges. This literature review focused on the development of WIM systems, concepts for measuring axle loads, the applications of WIM sensors for pavements, and recent advancements in bridge WIM system. This review covers the types, installation, calibration, operations, accuracy, efficiency, effectiveness, and durability of WIM systems, in addition to current Federal and State truck load regulations. This review facilitates selection of the appropriate WIM technology systems for consideration and use to address LTBP Program needs. This literature review serves as a reference document for Pooled Fund Project Number TPF-5(283), The Influence of Vehicular Live Loads on Bridge Performance, which targets the impact of vehicle live loads on bridge component durability. |
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| 17. Key Words
LTBP Program, weigh-in-motion, bridges, trucks, truck weights |
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161. |
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19. Security Classification Unclassified |
20. Security Classification Unclassified |
21. No. of Pages 42 |
22. Price N/A |
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| Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) | Reproduction of completed page authorized |
SI* (Modern Metric) Conversion Factors
| 2D | two-dimensional | |
| 3D | three-dimensional | |
| AASHTO | American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials | |
| AVC | automatic vehicle classification | |
| B-WIM | bridge weigh-in-motion | |
| ESAL | equivalent single-axle load | |
| FE | finite element | |
| FHWA | Federal Highway Administration | |
| FAD | free-of-axle-detector | |
| GVW | gross vehicle weight | |
| LCV | longer combination vehicle | |
| LTBP | Long-Term Bridge Performance | |
| LTPP | Long-Term Pavement Performance | |
| NCHRP | National Cooperative Highway Research Program | |
| NOR | nothing-on-road | |
| OS/OW | oversize/overweight | |
| PCC | portland cement concrete | |
| SPS | Specific Pavement Study | |
| STAA | Surface Transportation Assistance Act | |
| TRB | Transportation Research Board | |
| TS&W | truck size and weight | |
| USDOT | U.S. Department of Transportation | |
| WAVE | Weigh-In-Motion of Axles and Vehicles for Europe | |
| WIM | weigh-in-motion |
