摘要: |
The traffic load data that are key to the design of pavement structures include truck volumes and the load spectra for those volumes. These data are obtained by counting trucks by class and by weighing a sample of trucks to obtain the load spectra associated with each class of truck. Therefore, data collection equipment must allow for collecting both types of data. Weigh-in-motion (WIM) data collection equipment collects both truck volume and load spectra, but the equipment is more expensive to obtain and more difficult to install and operate than equipment that can only count and classify vehicles. Therefore, highway agencies routinely use a combination of WIM and simpler vehicle classification equipment to collect the data they require for pavement design. This report summarizes the key issues and information needed by a state or other highway operating agency to select the equipment it needs to perform these tasks. It also summarizes the steps that must be taken to ensure that the equipment selected works as intended and that, as a consequence, the data collected accurately describe the vehicle fleet being measured. |