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Procedia Engineering 192 (2017) 52 – 57

TRANSCOM 2017: International scientific conference on sustainable, modern and safe transport

The above-ground weighbridge

Marek Bistáka*, Štefan Medveckýa, Slavomír Hrčeka
a
University of Zilina, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Design and Machine Elements, Univerzitna 2, Žilina 01026, Slovakia

Abstract

This paper presents the layout of the about-ground weighbridge. There is requirement on the implementation of this device in order
to re-measure the weight of the vehicles used for transportation of the steel waste collected to the collecting yard. The weighbridge
is used wherever the vehicles must be weighed in order to not exceed the maximum permissible weight established in the legislation
with regard to the transport of the goods by road. The advanced CAD / CAE systems used in the design and optimization contributed
to carried out a number of modifications of the steel structure, reaching an ergonomic installation, weight saving, greater strength
and rigidity of the structure when loaded.
© 2017
© 2017Published
The Authors. Published
by Elsevier by Elsevier
Ltd. This Ltd.
is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of TRANSCOM 2017: International scientific conference on
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review
sustainable,under responsibility
modern of the scientific committee of TRANSCOM 2017: International scientific conference on sustainable,
and safe transport.
modern and safe transport
Keywords: Weighbridge; Strain gauge; FEM simulation;

1. Introduction

Here introduce the paper, and put a nomenclature if necessary, in a box with the same font size as the rest of the
paper. The paragraphs continue from here and are only separated by headings, subheadings, images and formulae.
The section headings are arranged by numbers, bold and 10 pt. Here follows further instructions for authors.
The weighbridge consists of a strain gauges, evaluation electronics, bridge, drive-up/down ramps. It is usually
implemented as a steel construction with a weight range of 1 to 60 tons and length of 6 to 18 meters. The weighbridge
can be installed above fixed asphalt or concrete roads having sufficient bearing capacity and flatness parameters. In
concrete structure, the concrete footings are pre-prepared as a surface establishment for strain gauges. Sufficient drive-
up ratios in terms of a turn radius of the vehicles should be considered during the installation.

E-mail address: marek.bistak@fstroj.uniza.sk

1877-7058 © 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of TRANSCOM 2017: International scientific conference on sustainable, modern and safe transport
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.06.009
 Marek Bisták et al. / Procedia Engineering 192 (2017) 52 – 57 53

The ground-level weighbridge is installed on the roads especially in confined surfaces due to the surrounding
buildings, as it does not constitute any obstacle. The installation is dependent on the prefabricated base, the layout and
the slope of a road. It is implemented in different versions of length 8-24 m. The weighbridge can be constructed of
steel frame with a maximum capacity of 60 tons or steel shell filled with high strength concrete with a maximum
capacity of 120 tons. [3]

2. Development of the weighbridge

The following requirements must be taken into account in developing the weighbridge:
x measuring range of the weight - maximum 40 tonnes, the maximum dimensions of the weight (WxLxH)
4x10x0,5 [m]
x ergonomic fitting, installation on the reinforced surface with concrete footings
x manufacturability in the production possibilities of the company
x warehouse materials usability and price of the whole project

3. Layout

The above-ground weighbridge is regarded as the most appropriate option for above requirements. A standard
procedure of the composition is used to create a layout. It consists of the following subgroups:

1- Drive-up ramp
2- Strain gauges cover sheet
3- Bridge
4- Strain gauge
5- Drive-down ramp

Fig. 1. Above-ground weighbridge

3.1. Bridge

The basis of the bridge surface (the weigh table) consists of ladder frame of IPE 220 profile on which the steel
plates with anti-skid modification are placed. The bridge is reinforced with UPN 400 ribbed beams sections. The
meshes are welded to the beams sections for the better handling of the bridge. There are welded brackets for the strain
gauges as well. [5]
54 Marek Bisták et al. / Procedia Engineering 192 (2017) 52 – 57

Fig. 2. Bridge

3.2. Weighing system

The system consists of four strain gauges of UTILCELL M740 20t operating in piezoelectric principle. An electric
signal evaluated in the weighing unit called B7 Indicator arises due to the deformation of the elastic member caused
by gravitational force. Consequently, the vehicle weight is indicated in the external display. The bridge must be
secured against movement in the horizontal plane in both directions (maximum allowable backlash 8mm) to prevent
the strain gauges from tilting more than α = 5°, that would result in damage. [4,6,8]

3.3. The drive- up and drive- down ramps

Ramps facilitate run on and run off the scale of the vehicles. Inclination β = 10 ° is chosen according to the available
length of the potential build-up area.

3.4. Technical parameters the above-ground weighbridge

Table 1. Technical parameters of the designed weighbridge

Description Units of measure /characteristic

Weighing 40 000 kg
Accuracy – division 10 kg
Number of verification scale interval 4000
Function weighing (static)
Weighing speed İ4s
Weighing surface size W x L 3 x 6,53 m
Scale size W x L x H 3,5 x 6,53 x 0,43 m
Scale weight 3300 kg
Structure variant steel
Operating temperature standard -10 °C ÷ 40 °C
Operating temperature limits -50 °C ÷ 80 °C
Sending data PC, additional display
Placement Above-ground
Cover IP 68
 Marek Bisták et al. / Procedia Engineering 192 (2017) 52 – 57 55

4. Simulation

The proposed above-ground weighbridge is required to check in the Ansys Worbench 17,2 program prior to
production. The static weighing fully loaded trucks up to 26 t, such as Tatra 148 is simulated by FEM analysis of the
bridge model. The simulation model includes following: mash with the number of 69660 square elements and 6
surfaces representing a contact between the bridge and wheels of front axle and two rear axle of the vehicle. The
surfaces are loaded with forces 2x F= 30000 N (front axle) and 4x F2= 50000 (rear axle). The bearing surfaces of the
two front brackets have fixed support and the surfaces of the other brackets have frictionless support. The analyse
takes into account the bridge weight, gravitational acceleration g= 9,8066 m.s -2 [Figure 3]. [1, 2, 7]
The result of FEM simulation is the maximum deflection of 3.4699 mm, and the voltage in the range of 27-125
MPa generating in the area between the surfaces representing the rear axles of the simulated vehicle Tatra 148 [Figure
4, 5]. The chosen material of IPE 220 and UPN 400 is S235JR with an agreed yield strength of Re min = 186 MPa and
an ultimate tensile strength of Rm = 380 MPa. It follows from the above that the designed weighbridge is considered
as having satisfied the strength requirements.

Fig. 3. Static bridge loading at the weighing of the truck

56 Marek Bisták et al. / Procedia Engineering 192 (2017) 52 – 57

Fig. 4. The resulting elastic deformation of the bridge drawn from loading impact

Fig. 5. The resulting load stress of the bridge drawn from loading impact
 Marek Bisták et al. / Procedia Engineering 192 (2017) 52 – 57 57

5. Conclusion

The above-ground weighbridge as a whole fulfils all the requirements given by the sponsor. The advantage of this
scale is a simple design, installation, and its favorable purchase price. It is able to weigh all expected vehicles whose
distance between end axles will not exceed the length of 6.5 meters.

Acknowledgements

APVV -15-0164, Innovative technologies in the field of calibration verification instrument.

References

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