THE GOLDEN RIVER CAPACITIVE PAD

WEIGH-IN-MOTION SYSTEM -
11'S LiFE AND TIMES
C. Koniditsiotis, B.Eng., Grad.I.E.Aust.,
Experimental Scientist,
Australian Road Research Board

SUMMARY
One of the Australian Road Research Board's (ARRB) tasks was to collect traffic load data
from its full scale pavement test sections situated throughout Australia. Traffic load data was
required as input into the pavement evaluation criteria. As a result of an initial evaluation, the
weigh-in-motion system chosen to conduct the traffic load surveys was the Golden River
Capacitive Pad Weigh-in-Motion Device (GRWIMD). The mean error of the GRWIMD in
measuring gross vehicle and individual axle masses was found to be 3 per cent with a
standard deviation of 9 and 17 per cent respectively. The GRWIMD's portability and
simple installation made its higher inaccuracy as compared to permanent W.I.M. systems
acceptable to ARRB's needs. A series of traffic load surveys were conducted on the
pavement test sections between October 1987 and December 1989. The GRWIMD's
performance was very good, having a satisfactory operation 92 per cent of the survey
duration time. Difficulties with the site selection, system installation, operation and removal
are discussed. Improvements to road loop materials, leading to the use of a new adhesive
tape are detailed. Finally, a site calibration method developed for the GRWIMD is described.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author would like to thank all the ARRB and Road Authority personnel who assisted in
the traffic load surveys.

PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6 171

 Chris Koniditsiotis graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of
Technology with a Bachelor of Engineering (Geological
Engineering) degree in 1986. He currently holds graduate status in
the Institute of Engineers, Australia. He has also been the recipient
of the Franki Pile Award for Excellence in the final year of study,
and the Aust. LM.M. Award for Excellence in the third year of
study. After completing his final examinations, he began work for
the Australian Road Research Board. Chris has been responsible for
the implementation of the Golden River Weigh-in-Motion System at
ARRB. He was involved in its initial evaluation and subsequently
responsible for all aspects of its usage. External work has also been
done by Chris using the weigh-in-motion system. He is the author of
numerous reports and papers on the Golden River Weigh-in-Motion
System.

172 PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6

 INTRODUCTION

1 One of the Australian Road Research Board's (ARRB) tasks was to collect traffic
load data from its full scale pavement test sections situated throughout Australia. Traffic
load data was required as input into the pavement evaluation criteria. As a result of an
initial evaluation, the weigh - in - motion system chosen to conduct the traffic load surveys
was the Golden River Capacitive Pad Weigh - in - Motion Device (GRWIMD).
2. A series of traffic load surveys were co.nducted on all the pavement test sections
between October 1987 and December 1989. Experience gained from the surveys lead to
road loop material improvements and the development of a site calibration method. This
paper presents an overview of the Golden River Weigh - in - Motion Device as used by
ARRB in conducting the surveys, that is, its life and times.

GOLDEN RIVER WEIGH - IN - MOTION DEVICE

3. The Golden River Weigh-in-Motion Device, is a fully automatic, fully portable

unmanned capacitive pad weighing-in-motion system. It consists of a Weighman, a
Retriever, a Weighpad and road loops as shown schematically in Fig. 1. The Weighman, is
installed at the road side. It collects, analyses and stores dynamic load data transmitted from
the Weighpad, which is placed on the road surface. Compression of the Weighpad under
load produces an increase in capacitance, which is interpreted as a weight by the attached
microprocessor-based data collection system. To collect information regarding vehicle
speed and axle separation, a road loop is installed either side of the Weighpad. The
Weighman can be connected directly to an on site printer to give a permanent on-site record
of each vehicle passing. It can also count the number of vehicles and axles directly into
storage bins. It then makes a summary report of these counts at regular intervals, as selected
by the operator, such as quarter or half hourly. The Retriever is carried by the operator to
the site and is used to program and verify the operation of the Weighman. It is also used to
collect (retrieve) and store the recorded traffic load data from the Weighman. In the office
the Retriever can be directly connected to a personal computer and with the aid of a
communication program data transfer can occur.

4. The Weighman is a portable, battery-powered unit weighing less than 8 kg. Its
overall size, is 250 x 250 x 150 mm. The internal battery of the Weighman has a life of 10
days between 24-hour recharge cycles. The Retriever is also portable and battery powered,
requiring at least a 14 hour recharge every 3 months. Charger units, are used for recharging
the internalbatteries of both the Weighman and the Retriever from mains AC Power.
5. The Weighpad measures 1.8 m long, 0.51 m wide and 9.5 mm thick. It is
constructed from a hard rubber and contains three parallel layers of sheets acting as the
plates of a capacitor. An oscillator input socket is located on the edge of the weighpad
closest to the road side for connection to the Weighman. The oscillator is a brass module,
measuring 50 x 60 mm, it contains the additional components, with those in the Weighpad
socket, to make up the oscillator circuit.
6. The cost of the GRWIMD (as the one configured for ARRB's requirements) is
around AUS$ 35,000. Detailed information on the GRWIMD can be found in the Golden
River Manual and Operational Instructions (1986), Koniditsiotis (1987,1988) and
Koniditsiotis and Samuels (1987).

PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6 173

 WEIGHT MAT

ROAD LOOP ROAD LOOP

WEIGHMAN

ON SITE
PRINTER

MAIN FRAME

PRINTER

Fig. 1 - Layout of the GRWIMD as used by ARRB

GOLDEN RIVER WEIGH - IN - MOTION DEVICE ACCURACY

7. An evaluation of the GRWIMD was conducted by ARRB during November 1986,

on the Princes Highway, Pakenham, Victoria, (Koniditsiotis 1988). The accuracy in
measuring gross vehicle and individual axle masses was deduced by the evaluation.
Accuracy tests were also conducted at Tonkin Highway, Perth and Port Wakefield Road,
Adelaide during July and October 1989 respectively. In the Pakenham evaluation three
trucks of known axle loads were used. The Perth and Adelaide tests were conducted by
randomly selecting trucks from the traffic stream. The Perth and Adelaide accuracy tests
results were similar and confirmed the fmdings of the Pakenham evaluation (Table I). The
mean error of the GRWIMD in measuring gross vehicle and individual axle masses is 3
percent with a standard deviation of 9 and 17 percent respectively.
8. The accuracy tests at the Perth and Adelaide sites were conducted at the completion
of the traffic load surveys. This served in confirming the initial site calibration (discussed
later in the paper). The results of the accuracy tests indicated no drift in calibration value
during either of the surveys.

9. The number of trucks weighed in the Perth and Adelaide accuracy tests were too
small to conduct a meaningful statistical evaluation (Table I). The tests though, do serve in
in'dicating the GRWIMD's accuracy. A more intense accuracy test comprising two to three
days could not be justified given the equipment took two hours to install and the duration of
the surveys were around seven days each.

174 PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE , PART 6

 TABLE I

ACCURACY OF THE GOLDEN RIVER WEIGH - IN - MOTION DEVICE

Site Date Gross Vehicle Indi vidual Axle

Mass Mass

Mean Std. Obs. Mean Std. Obs.

Error Dev. Error Dev.
% % % %

Princes Hwy. Nov. -3.0 9.0 63 -3.0 17.0 270

Pakenham 1986

Tonkin Hwy. July <5.0 8.0 11 <5.0 20.0 54

Perth 1989

Port Oct. <5.0 9.0 9 <5.0 19.0 25

Wakefield Rd. 1989
Adelaide

10. Samuels (1988), summarized the evaluations of six weigh - in - motion systems,
including the ARRB plate - in - ground Highway Speed Electronic Mass Unit HSEMU, the
West German PAT device, the Main Roads Department, Western Australia originated strain
gauge transducer based systems AXWA Y and CULWAY, the American strain gauge
transducer system FASTWEIGH and the GRWIMD. These six weigh - in - motion systems
have similar mean errors, but the standard deviation for the GRWIMD is greater than that of
the other five (Table II). The GRWIMD is less accurate in measuring gross vehicle and
individual axle masses as compared to the other systems.

11. From the six weigh - in - motion systems examined by Samuels (1988), only the
GRWIMD is fully portable. The other five systems require permanent installations. This
makes the GRWIMD unique, in that, it is transportable from site to site, requiring less than
two hours for installation. The other systems require strict site selection and installation.
The GRWIMD caters for a specific need, the one off - one to two week long traffic load
survey. This distinctiveness in the system, made its lower accuracy as compared to
permanent systems acceptable to ARRB's needs.

TRAFFIC LOAD SURVEYS

GENERAL

12. The evaluation of the GRWIMD (Koniditsiotis 1988), found that the procedures for
installation, removal and overall operation were satisfactory. It was concluded that, from an
operational view-point, the GRWIMD was suited for use in short-term surveys. Its
portability was a major advantage, given the pavement test sections to be surveyed were
located throughout Australia. The classification ability of the GRWIMD was also found to
be good.

PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6 175

 TABLE II

TYPICAL WEIGH - IN - MOTION SYSTEM ACCURACIES

Weigh-in-Motion Gross Vehicle Individual Axle

System Mass Mass

Mean Std. Mean Std.

Error Dev. Error Dev.
% % % %

HSEMU 2.3 4.3 2.4 7.5

PAT 1.6 2.7 1.8 5.8

AXWAY -1.6 4.9 - -

CULWAY -2.7 3.4 - -
FASTWEIGH -0.6 2.8 - -
GRWIMD* -3.0 9.0 -3.0 17.0

* after Koniditsiotis 1988

13. Given the favourable findings of the evaluation a program was formulated to
conduct traffic load surveys on all the ARRB pavement test sections. The pavement test
sections are situated either in or very near major Australian cities, namely Adelaide,
Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney (Table III). The traffic load surveys were one to
two weeks in duration.

TABLE III

ITINERARY OF TRAFFIC LOAD SURVEYS CONDUCTED USING

THE GOLDEN RIVER WEIGH - IN - MOTION DEVICE

Pavement Test City Distance Survey Date

Section From GPO
(kro)

Doncaster Rd. Melbourne 15 Oct.! Nov. 1987

Warrego Hwy. Brisbane 50 Apr.! May 1988
Tonkin Hwy. Perth 10 Jun.! Ju1.1989
Port Wakefield Rd. Adelaide 30 Oct. 1989
Rooty Hill (Nth) Rd. Sydney 50 Nov. 1989
Warrego Hwy. Brisbane 50 Dec. 1989

176 PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6

SITE SELECTION
14. The site selected to install the GRWIMD within the pavement test sections was
based on the site selection criteria specified in the Golden River Manual and Operational
Instructions (1986).
15. The selection of the survey site within the Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney
pavement test sections, adhered to the requirements of the site selection criteria specified in
the Manual. These sites had a clear and straight approach of at least 100 m to the
Weighpad. Vehicles traversing the system were observed to be travelling centrally in their
lanes and generally at a constant speed. The rutting where the Weighpad was installed was
less than 5 mm.
16. The Doncaster Road, Melbourne site had two characteristics which were contrary to
the site selection criteria specified in the Golden River Manual and Operational Instructions
(1986). The first characteristic was that there was a clear smooth approach to the Weighpad
for 80 m, not 100 m as recommended in the Manual. This was due to the survey lane
commencing after an intersection. Doncaster Road, prior to the intersection had two lanes,
while after the intersection it comprised three. In addition the first 30 m of the lane was
devoted to a bus-stop. The second characteristic was that during peak traffic, queuing over
the Weighpad occurred. The queuing was observed in the morning and late afternoon, for a
maximum of a half hour each working day. During the traffic load survey these two
characteristics of the site had a minor effect on the equipment's performance (Koniditsiotis
1989). The view of the site as shown in Fig. 2 is of the vehicles as they approach the
GRWIMD which is situated in the foreground. The Weighpad, oscillator cable and road
loop wires leading to the Weighman (adjacent to the fire-hydrant) can be seen. The bus-
stop, situated 80 m up stream from the GRWIMD at the commencement of the lane and the
intersection prior to that, can also be observed.
17. The difficulties encountered with the Doncaster Road, Melbourne site brings to light
a common predicament weigh - in - motion system users are found in. That is, requiring
traffic load data at a particular site, but not necessarily having the appropriate road geometry
conditions or equipment requirements to install the system.

Fig. 2 - View of the Doncaster Rd, Melbourne GRWIMD site

PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6 177

INSTALLATION AND REMOVAL

18. The Golden River Weigh-in-Motion Device was installed according to the
instructions specified in the Golden River Manual and Operational Instructions (1986). The
removal of the device was yet again based on the instruction Manual. The installation of the
GRWIMD can be divided into five sections, specifying its four components, namely
Weighpad, road loops, oscillator, Weighman and finally the software programming of the
system.

19. The Weighpad component of the GRWIMD is installed by physically securing it via
road nails to the road surface (Fig. 3). The perimeter of the Weighpad is taped-down (after
the road nails) with a fibre-.enforced bitumen tape. A layer of bitumen bedding material is
placed under the Weighpad, so as to protect it from the road surface. A matt black coloured
strip is painted from the edge of the Weighpad to the edge of the lane. This gives the
impression to the on-coming traffic that the Weighpad occupies the entire lane (Fig. 2). In
all the traffic load surveys, the installation of the Weighpad posed no difficulties.

Fig. 3 - The Weighpad being secured to the road surface via road nails-
Port Wakefield Rd, Adelaide
20. A second layer of underside bitumen bedding material was required so as to protect
the Weighpad from a coarse 10 mm aggregate road surface seal found at the Tonkin
Highway, Perth site. On removal of the Weighpad at the completion of the survey,
abrasions and indentations on the underside bedding material due to the 10 mm seal were
evident. For coarser seals, a third or fourth layer of underside bitumen bedding material
could be used, but this would have the effect of significantly raising the Weighpad off the
road surface. The consequence of this would be significant oscillation of vehicles' axles as
they traversed the Weighpad. Thus, it is recommended that not more than two layers of
underside bedding material be used. Quantitative work relating the thickness of the
underside bedding material to the coarseness of the surface seal it can withstand has not
been done by ARRB. Only a qualitative recommendation can be offered, that is for two
layers of underside bedding material a maximum of 10 to 12 mm size aggregate can be
withstood.

178 PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE , PART 6

21. The road loop material type has undergone considerable developments, leading to
major operational improvements. These road loop improvements are discussed in detail in a
separate section of the paper.

22. The oscillator exhibited no difficulties in being connected to or removed from its
Weighpad socket. In Fig. 4, fibre-enforced bitumen tape has been cut away revealing the
oscillator and its cover.

23. The installation of the Weighman was satisfactorily performed in all the traffic load
surveys. The oscillator cable and the road loop wires were plugged into the Weighman
according to the instruction Manual. The only obstacle encountered in some of the
installations was locating a pole or guard rail on the side of the road to which the Weighman
could be secured. At the Rooty Hill (Nth) Road, New South Wales site the Weighman was
chained and padlocked to two portable pegs driven into the side of the road. The Retriever
was plugged in by removing the Weighman face plate (Fig. 5).

24. The oscillator cable and road loop wires leading to the Weighman were buried in all
the surveys. This would protect them from adverse environmental conditions and minimise
possible vandalism.

25. The software programming of the GRWIMD was done in accordance with the
Golden River Manual and Operational Instructions (1986) . No difficulties were encountered
with the programming of the system in all the surveys conducted.

Fig. 4 - Oscillator inserted into weighpad socket - Warrego Hwy, Brisbane

PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6 179

 Fig. 5 - Retriever plugged into Weighman at Rooty Hill (Nth) Rd, Sydney

OBSERVATIONS

Golden River Manual Inconsistency

26. At the Doncaster Road, Melbourne survey, an inconsistency was observed between
the equipment's performance in the field and the explanation of that performance given in
the Golden River Manual and Operational Instructions (1986).

27. This inconsistency relates to Section 5.11 of the Manual. The section on
programming of Thresholds for mass categories (bins). Mass Thresholds are the user
entered masses in which vehicles traversing the Weighpad are binned into. Section 5.11
states that the mass binning Thresholds entered by the user are those for the individual axle
masses (lAM) and that the Thresholds for the gross vehicle masses (GYM) are internally
calculated by the Weighman by multiplying the user entered lAM by a factor of four.
28. At the Doncaster Road, Melbourne installation, it was observed that the Weighman's
operation in the field was contrary to that specified in the Manual. The Thresholds entered
by the user were not the lAM as specified by the Manual, but the GVM. Also the entered
values were not multiplied by a factor of four to give the GVM, but divided by a factor of
four to give the lAM. This factor of four is not user specified, but is a standard multiplier
used by the GRWIMD.
29. During this particular traffic load survey, the GRWIMD was programmed in the
field according to the Manual's instructions. The inconsistency with Section 5.11, resulted
in erroneous Mass Thresholds being used. The user entered what according to the Manual
were the lAMs but the GRWIMD was interpreting these values as GYMs. This erroneous
condition was detected after the first few days of the survey and then corrected
(Koniditsiotis 1989).

180 PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6

30. It is recommended that the Manual be corrected of this inconsistency, so that it fully
reflects the GRWIMD's operation.

Golden River Classification Scheme 3 Anomaly

31. The vehicle classification scheme used by the GRWIMD to classify vehicles is the
Golden River United Kingdom's Classification Scheme 3 (GRCS 3). This scheme, classifies
vehicles into one of 13 classes according to the number and separation of axles, as shown in
Table IV.

32. The evaluation of the GRWIMD conducted by ARRB during November 1986
showed that the system's classification ability was good, correctly predicting 62 out of the
63 truck passes Koniditsiotis (1988). During this evaluation exercise only trucks were used.

TABLE IV
GOLDEN RIVER CLASSIFICATION SCHEME 3 (GRCS 3)

VEHICLE CLASSIFICATION VEHICLE DESCRIPTION

1 Cars, Cars with Trailer

2 Rigid 2 Axle Goods

3 Rigid 3 Axle Goods

4 Rigid 4 Axle Goods

5 Rigid 2 Axle Goods

with 1,2 or 3 Axle Trailer

6 Rigid 3 Axle Goods

with 2 or 3 Axle Trailer
7 Artic 2 Axle Prime Mover
with 1 Axle Trailer
8 Artic 2 Axle Prime Mover
with 2 Axle Trailer

9 Artic 2 Axle Prime Mover

with 3 Axle Trailer
10 Artic 3 Axle Prime Mover
with 1 or 2 Axle Trailer

11 Artic 3 Axle Prime Mover

with 3 Axle Trailer

12 Bus or Coach
13 Other Vehicles
up to 11 Axles

PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6 181

33. During the subsequent traffic load surveys, it was observed that a proportion of cars,
that is Classification Type #1 vehicles were being classified as Rigid 2 Axle Goods that is,
Classification Type #2 vehicles (Table IV). With other vehicle types it was observed that
the GRWIMD's classification ability was as expected. Investigation of this apparent
classification anomaly showed that GRCS3 defines the wheelbase threshold between a car
(Classification Type #1) and a Rigid 2 Axle Goods (Classification Type #2) as 2.65 m. This
wheelbase threshold might be appropriate in the United Kingdom, but commonly found cars
on Australian roads such as late model Holdens and Fords have a considerably larger
wheelbase than 2.65 m. As a result of this, cars (Classification Type #1) with wheelbase
greater than 2.65 m were being classified as Rigid 2 Axle Goods (Classification Type #2).
34. A correction algorithm was developed to adjust for this classification anomaly. The
algorithm was based on the assumption that vehicles classified as Rigid 2 Axle Goods
(Classification Type #2) and having rear axle masses less than or equal to 1.5 tonne could be
regarded as cars (Classification Type #1).

35. The NAASRA Vehicle Classification System (YCS) specifically designed for
Australian conditions has been adopted by Golden River Pty. Ltd. in other traffic survey
products it has, but has not been implemented into the GRWIMD. It is recommended that
the NAASRA VCS or another classification scheme appropriate to Australian conditions be
adopted by Golden River Pty. Ltd. for the GRWIMD.

Weighpad Failure

36. The Weighpad was found to be inoperative on arrival at ARRB after the Warrego
Highway, Brisbane traffic load survey, conducted during April and May 1988. The local
Golden River technical personnel diagnosed the failure as being caused by an ingress of
water. Severe rain storms were encountered during the Warrego Highway survey, resulting
in minor flooding of the Weighpad. It is believed that this flooding resulted in the
Weighpad's failure. As a result of this failure, the traffic load survey program was
significantly delayed.
37. The cost in repairing the Weighpad was found to be too high as compar~d to
purchasing a new one. Hence a new Weighpad was purchased by ARRB, to date its
performance has been satisfactory.

Oscillator Difficulty
38. Apart from one operational difficulty, the performance of the oscillator throughout
the traffic load surveys was satisfactory. During the Warrego Highway, Brisbane survey of
December 1989, the Weighpad temperature sensing circuit component of the oscillator
failed. This failure occurred towards the end of the survey and resulted from excessive high
temperatures being encountered. Laboratory tests on the oscillator revealed that it contained
a faulty component which on reaching high temperatures, as those encountered in Brisbane,
failed to operate.

Road Loop Wire Connector Malfunction

39. During stages of the Perth, Adelaide and Sydney surveys, it was observed that either
one or both the road loops were giving erroneous results. The cause for this malfunction
was diagnosed as resulting from a poor linkage at the road loop wire connector. The
malfunction was fixed by either cleaning or replacing the road loop wire connector. It is
recommended that the road loop wire connector be designed as a fully insulated unit.

182 PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6

Vandalism

40. No deliberate human action aimed at damaging the GRWIMD was encountered in
any of the surveys. On two separate occasions though, objects were deliberately thrown out
of moving trucks with the aim of scaring the operator. These incidents involved half a brick
and a steel pipe and occurred during the Tonkin Highway, Perth and Port Wakefield Road,
Adelaide surveys respectively.
41. While in transit from Melbourne to Sydney for the Rooty Hill (Nth) Road survey, the
operator's vehicle was broken into. Pilfered were an assortment of tools and the Weighman
unit. The traffic load survey program was delayed while a new Weighman was purchased.

PERFORMANCE

42. The performance of the GRWIMD is primarily measured by the results it produces.
The traffic load data produced and its accuracy has been suitable to ARRB's needs. The
GRWIMD performance is also measured by how well it executes its task. System
breakdowns, road loop failures, oscillator difficulties, Manual Inconsistencies etc. all
contribute to the GRWIMD's performance.

43. A mechanism for measuring this aspect of the GRWIMD's performance is to

determine the uptime. Uptime is the percentage of satisfactory operation time in any given
survey. The total duration of all the traffic load surveys conducted was 42.1 days (10 11.5
hrs), from this, the GRWIMD performance was satisfactory for 38.7 days (929.5 hrs).
Hence, the total uptime of the system was 92 percent (Table V).

44. The uptime varied between traffic load surveys, from 82 percent for Tonkin
Highway, Perth to 100 percent for Warrego Highway, Brisbane - Apr./May 1988. The
causes for this decline in the uptime or performance are Weighman internal faults, road loop
and road loop connector failures, oscillator difficulties, Manual inconsistencies and a
Weighpad failure (Table V).

ROAD LOOP IMPROVEMENT

45. The road loops used at the GRWIMD evaluation at Pakenham (Koniditsiotis 1988)
were the Adhesive Surface Loop Kits (ASLK) supplied by Golden River Pty. Ltd. Their
installation, operation and removal was satisfactory and recommended for the then future
traffic load surveys.

46. The performance of the ASLK, at the Doncaster Road, Melbourne survey, was as
predicted by the Pakenham evaluation. The loops were installed according to the
instructions supplied and operated satisfactorily. The environmental conditions encountered
were good, with little rain and moderate air temperatures. The road surface was a fine grain
aggregate, well suited for ASLK usage.

47. At the first Warrego Highway, Brisbane survey, severe rain storms resulted in a wet
and sometimes flooded road surface, preventing the ASLK from satisfactorily bonding. It
was concluded that the performance of the Golden River Pty. Ltd. supplied ASLK was
unsatisfactory in wet conditions.

48. An investigation into the possible use of other road loop adhesive materials was
conducted. After a detailed survey of tapes, glues and sprays, an adhesive tape called
Bitumastic was selected. Bitumastic is a matt black coloured double sided adhesive tape, 50
mm wide and 4 mm thick.

PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6 183

 TABLE V

PERFORMANCE OF THE GOLDEN RIVER WEIGH-IN-MOTION DEVICE

Pavement Test Survey Satisfactory Uptime Comments

Site Duration Operation
(hrs.) (hrs.) (%)

Doncaster Rd. 233 224 96 16

Melbourne

Tonkin Hwy. 187 154 82 2 3

Perth

Port Wakefield Rd. 182 167.5 92 3

Adelaide

Rooty Hill (Nth) Rd. 169.5 168 99 13

Sydney

Warrego Hwy. 67 67 100 4

Brisbane
(Apr./May 1988)

Warrego Hwy. 173 149 86 5

Brisbane
(Dec. 1989)

Total 1011.5 929.5 92

Notes:

1. Weighman internal fault

2. Road loop failure
3. Road loop connector malfunction
4. Weighpad failure (survey cut short)
5. Oscillator difficulty
6. Manual inconsistency

49. A road loop site comparison test was performed at the Tonkin Highway, Perth
survey. The test involved installing a Golden River ASLK road loop and a Bitumastic tape
road loop and comparing their performance over the same road surface, environmental and
traffic conditions. Both loops survived the installation and their initial performance was
satisfactory. Six hours after the installation, it began raining heavily. When the rain ceased,
it was observed that the leading edge of ASLK was peeling off the road surface. The
leading edge was re-taped, and the comparison test re-commenced. The following morning,
half of the ASLK road loop had lifted off the road surface. The Bitumastic road loop,
showed no signs of failure . The ASLK road loop was subsequently removed and replaced
with a Bitumastic one.

184 PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6

50. The Bitumastic is an all weather tape as compared to the ASLK which is
predominantly dry weather. The Bitumastic can be pre-installed in the laboratory,
minimising the field installation time. The ASLK requires a full field installation. Both
tapes were found to be suitable on coarse surface seals, but the Bitumastic had a superior
bondage strength. The cost of the Bitumastic tape per installation was cheaper than that of
the ASLK. The advantages and disadvantages of both road loop materials are shown in
Table VI.

51. As a result of the site comparison test, it was decided to abandon usage of the
Golden River supplied ASLK and replace it with the Bitumastic tape. In subsequent traffic
load surveys the performance of the Bitumastic road loops was satisfactory.

TABLE VI

ADV ANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES BETWEEN TIIE BITUMASTIC

TAPE AND GOLDEN RIVER ASLK ROAD LOOP MATERIALS

Road Loop Advantages Disadvantages

Material

- all weather adhesive - difficult to remove from road

surface at completion of
survey
- high bondage strength

- pre-installed in laboratory - purchased independently of

Bitumastic Golden River Pty. Ltd.
tape
- suitable for coarse surface
seals

- cost (small) AUS$ 62.50

per installation

- easy to remove from road - predominantly a dry weather

surface at completion of adhesive
survey
- low bondage strength

Golden River - suitable for coarse surface - full installation in field

adhesive surface seals
loop kit
- purchased directly from - cost (high) AUS$ 97.50
Golden River Pty. Ltd. per installation

PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6 185

 SITE CALIDRATION METHODOLOGY

52. The Weighpad component of the GRWIMD is supplied with a laboratory calibration
factor for both load and temperature compensation. During manufacture, the Weighpad
undergoes a procedure of dynamic loading at various temperature ranges. As a consequence
of this laboratory procedure, the Weighpad Calibration Factor (WCF) and Weighpad
Temperature Coefficient (WTC) are determined. According to the Golden River Manual
and Operational Instructions (1986), great care is taken to ensure that the WCF and WTC
are 'accurate, repeatable and representative of road conditions'. The two calibration values
are unique for any Weighpad and are programmed .into the Weighman at the software
installation stage.
53. By the very nature of the laboratory calibration procedure, the WCF and WTC
values deduced can not sufficiently reproduce the conditions associated with the actual
survey site. Site conditions such as: smoothness of approach, type and coarseness of road
surface, longitudinal and transverse profiles etc. can only be calibrated for after the
Weighpad has been installed at the site. Thus a site calibration methodology was developed,
which would take into account the local conditions.

54. The site calibration methodology developed is as follows:

(i) Select a site and install the GRWIMD hardware according to the directions in the
Golden River Manual and Operational Instructions (1986).
(ii) During the software installation stage, program the Weighpad's WCF and WTC
laboratory supplied values into the Weighman. The GRWIMD, only allows site
calibration of the WCF, the WTC which is set in the laboratory is never altered.
(iii) Using a vehicle of known gross vehicle mass, (statically weighed) conduct 10
passes (at expected traffic speeds for the site) over the Weighpad. Record the gross
vehicle mass for each pass as measured by the GRWIMD.
(iv) Obtain a mean gross vehicle mass for the 10 passes as measured by the GRWIMD.
(v) Compare the measured mean gross vehicle mass to that of the known gross vehicle
mass. If the percentage difference is not sufficiently small as required by the traffic
load survey's needs, the WCF determined in the laboratory can be fine tuned. A
sample calculation follows:
WCF (supplied with Weighpad) 196
Known gross vehicle mass 16.0 Tonne
Measured mean gross vehicle mass 14.0 Tonne
(via GRWIMD)
% difference ( (16.0 - 14.0) /16.0) * 100
12.5 % (underweight)

By using the laboratory supplied WCF, the GRWIMD is underweighing by 12.5

percent. It may be said, that this 12.5 percent difference is due to the prevailing
site conditions, thus the supplied WCF can be increasing by 12.5 percent to
produce the Site Calibrated WCF.

Thus (12.5 / 100) * 196 24.5

Site Calib. WCF 196 + 24.5
220.5 (221)

186 PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6

(vi) Using the Site Calibrated WCF, repeat steps (iii) to (v) until the percentage
difference calculated is within the required tolerance.

55. This site calibration methodology was utilised for all the traffic load surveys
conducted. It was found advantageous to use the standard Benkelmen Beam truck as the
calibrating vehicle, given its availability with all the road authorities (Fig. 6).

56. The site calibrations conducted for all the traffic load surveys proved satisfactory.
For all the sites, the mean difference between the known and measured gross vehicle masses
ranged from 0 to 5 percent with an associated standard deviation of between 5 to 1O
percent.

Fig. 6 - Calibration vehicle traversing Weighpad during calibration stage at the

Port Wakefield Rd, Adelaide site

PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6 187

 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
57. As a result of ARRB's initial evaluation, the GRWIMD was chosen to conduct traffic
load surveys on the required pavement test sections. The GRWIMD's portability and simple
installation made its higher inaccuracy as compared to permanent W.I.M systems
acceptable. The mean error of the GRWIMD in measuring gross vehicle and individual axle
masses is 3 percent with a standard deviation of 9 and 17 percent respectively.

58. The GRWIMD performance during the traffic load surveys was very good, operating
satisfactorily 92 percent of the time. Difficulties with the site selection, system installation,
operation and removal posed some problems, but were overcome.

59. During the first few traffic load surveys, the performance of the Golden River Pty.
Ltd. supplied adhesive surface loop kit was unsatisfactory. As a result of a site comparison
test, it was decided to replace the Golden River road loops with Bitumastic tape road loops.
Subsequent surveys resulted in no road loop difficulties.
60. A site calibration methodology was developed for use with the GRWIMD. It was
used throughout the surveys and proved satisfactory.

61. As a result of the traffic load surveys conducted the following recommendations are
made:
The Golden River Manual and Operational Instructions (1986) be corrected of an
inconsistency in Section 5.11 so as to fully reflect the GRWIMD's operation.

The NAASRA vehicle classification scheme or another classification scheme

appropriate to Australian conditions be adopted by Golden River Pty. Ltd. for the
GRWIMD.

The road loop wire connector should be designed as a fully insulated unit.

REFERENCES

GOLDEN RIVER LIMITED (1986). Manual and operational instructions, 560111/1/86.

Oxfordshire, England.

KONIDITSIOTIS, C. and SAMUELS, S.E. (1987). Weighing in Motion - An evaluation of

the Golden River capacitive pad device. AIR 357-4. Australian Road Research Board.

KONIDITSIOTIS, C. (1987). Vehicle speed, length and axle separation measurement - An

evaluation of the Golden River Capacitive Pad Device. AIR 357-8. Australian Road
Research Board.
KONIDITSIOTIS, C. (1988). Evaluation of the Golden River Capacitive Pad Weigh - in -
Motion System. Proc. 14th ARRB Conf., 14(6), pp. 70-85.

KONIDITSIOTIS, C. (1989). Traffic Load Survey Report- Doncaster Road, Victoria.

DN1685. Australian Road Research Board.

SAMUELS, S.E. (1988). Development and Evaluation of Highway Speed Weigh-in-Motion

Systems in Australia. Australian Road Research Board Special Report SR40.

188 PROCEEDINGS 15th ARRB CONFERENCE, PART 6