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Asset Management

Cover of Weigh-in-motion Management and Operational Manual
Weigh-in-motion Management and Operational Manual
  • Publication no: AP-T171-10
  • ISBN: 978-1-921709-52-4
  • Published: 10 December 2010

A weigh-in-motion (WIM) workshop held in Hobart in March 2008 identified a knowledge gap in regard to the management and operation of WIM equipment and associated data. Austroads Project AT1482 aims to fill this gap through establishing national best practice guidelines on WIM system management and data analysis.

This manual identifies current and future applications of WIM data and technologies and provides guidance for determining the most appropriate systems and network coverage. The focus of the manual is on three main WIM technologies in use in Australia and New Zealand: Culway, plate-on-road (bending plate and capacitance) and piezoelectric WIM. The principles and methods for operation and management of WIM systems incorporating these technologies are illustrated, including site selection, system installation, system calibration and site maintenance. This is followed by sections on data quality management, data reporting and data integration. This Manual is a complementary report to the Austroads Guide to Asset management and provides the background information to the Guide. It is independent of the Guide and should not impact upon the contents of the Guide.

  • 1. INTRODUCTION
    • 1.1. Background
    • 1.2. Scope of this Manual
    • 1.3. About the WIM Users’ Website
  • 2. WIM DEFINITION
    • 2.1. Vehicle Mass
    • 2.2. WIM Definition
    • 2.3. Components of WIM Systems
      • 2.3.1. Mass Sensor
      • 2.3.2. Vehicle Classification and/or Identification Sensor
      • 2.3.3. Processor and Data Storage Unit
      • 2.3.4. User Communication Unit
      • 2.3.5. Pavement
    • 2.4. The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) Specifications
    • 2.5. COST 323
  • 3. APPLICATION OF WIM DATA
    • 3.1. Asset Management and Pavement Design
    • 3.2. Road Safety and Enforcement
    • 3.3. Freight Management
    • 3.4. Traffic Management and Network Operations
    • 3.5. Integration of WIM Technologies with Other Applications
    • 3.6. On-board Mass (OBM) and the Intelligent Access Program (IAP)
  • 4. NETWORK COVERAGE OF WIM SITES
    • 4.1. WIM Site Types
    • 4.2. WIM Network Strategy
      • 4.2.1. WIM System Evaluation
      • 4.2.2. WIM Systems Costs
    • 4.3. Current Practices
  • 5. OVERVIEW OF CURRENT WIM TECHNOLOGIES
    • 5.1. Overview of WIM Technologies in Australia and New Zealand
      • 5.1.1. Culway
      • 5.1.2. Plate-in-road – Bending Plate
      • 5.1.3. Plate-in-road – Capacitance WIM
      • 5.1.4. Piezoelectric WIM
    • 5.2. WIM Data Accuracy and System Life Span
    • 5.3. Selection of WIM Technologies
    • 5.4. Examples of WIM Data Logging and Classification Systems
      • 5.4.1. ViperWIM Classifier
      • 5.4.2. RAKTEL 8010 Universal Traffic Event Logger
      • 5.4.3. Hi-Trac 100 High-speed Traffic WIM and Classification System
  • 6. SITE SELECTION
    • 6.1. General Principles and Procedures
    • 6.2. Culway Site Selection Criteria
      • 6.2.1. Road Geometry
      • 6.2.2. Pavement Conditions
    • 6.3. Bending Plate Site Selection Criteria
      • 6.3.1. Road Geometry
      • 6.3.2. Pavement Conditions
      • 6.3.3. Other Considerations for Site Selection
    • 6.4. Capacitance WIM Site Selection
      • 6.4.1. Road Geometry
      • 6.4.2. Pavement Conditions
    • 6.5. Piezoelectric WIM Site Selection Criteria
      • 6.5.1. Road Geometry
      • 6.5.2. Pavement Conditions
  • 7. SYSTEM INSTALLATION
    • 7.1. General Principles
    • 7.2. Culway Installation
      • 7.2.1. Design Criteria for Culvert
      • 7.2.2. Culvert Selection
      • 7.2.3. Unit Influence Line (UIL)
      • 7.2.4. Construction Criteria
      • 7.2.5. Pavement Considerations
      • 7.2.6. Road Surface Treatment
      • 7.2.7. Installation Guidelines
    • 7.3. Bending Plate Installation
      • 7.3.1. Pavement Considerations
      • 7.3.2. Installation Planning
      • 7.3.3. Equipment Preparation
      • 7.3.4. Installation Procedures
    • 7.4. Capacitance WIM Installation
    • 7.5. Piezoelectric WIM Installation
      • 7.5.1. Installation Procedures
      • 7.5.2. Testing after Installation
  • 8. SYSTEM CALIBRATION
    • 8.1. General Principles
    • 8.2. Culway Calibration
      • 8.2.1. Culway Calibration Procedures
      • 8.2.2. Time-dependent Drift between Calibrations
      • 8.2.3. Normalisation of Culway WIM Data
    • 8.3. Bending Plate Calibration
      • 8.3.1. Calibration Techniques
      • 8.3.2. Common Data Errors
    • 8.4. Capacitance WIM Calibration
      • 8.4.1. Equipment Needed
      • 8.4.2. Methodology
    • 8.5. Piezoelectric WIM Calibration
  • 9. SITE MAINTENANCE TIPS
    • 9.1. General Principles
    • 9.2. Culway Site Maintenance
    • 9.3. Bending Plate Site Maintenance
    • 9.4. Capacitance WIM Site Maintenance
    • 9.5. Piezoelectric WIM Site Maintenance
  • 10. WIM DATA PROCESSING AND REPORTING
    • 10.1. Data Quality Checks and Validation
    • 10.2. WIM Data Output
    • 10.3. Examples of WIM Data Reports
    • 10.4. WIM Data Integration
    • 10.5. Correlation of Traffic Composition and WIM Data
  • 11. FURTHER READING
    • 11.1. Useful WIM Documents
    • 11.2. Useful Websites
  • REFERENCES
  • APPENDIX A GLOSSARY
  • APPENDIX B METADATA FOR WIM DATA
  • APPENDIX C STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF FIVE TYPES OF HIGH SPEED AND LOW SPEED WIM TECHNOLOGIES
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