Measuring wheel for vehicles

Motor vehicle manufacturers are investigating ways of reducing rolling resistance and weight to improve fuel consumption of cars of the future. The new S615 6-component measuring wheel from Kistler Instruments is optimised to measure load spectra for durability, vehicle dynamics and power train investigations on the small, light vehicles currently under development.

The new measuring wheel weighs more than 800 g less that the S625 four sensor wheel, a reduction achieved by combining the three-sensor concept with extensive use of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP). The new RoaDyn S615 is designed for a maximum vertical load of 15 kN, which is more than needed for small, light vehicle applications.

The CFRP/aluminum composite wheel consists of an aluminum rim and a CFRP wheel disk. The CFRP inner part of the wheel provides the connection with the hub and the three load cells connect the rim to the inner part. To minimize local stresses all of the relevant components were optimized using finite element analysis.

The RoaDyn S615, mounted on the vehicle as a complete wheel, measures the three forces Fx, Fy, and Fz and the three torques Mx, My and Mz on the rotating wheel. Electronics built-in to the wheel convert the output from the sensors into digital format for transmission to the on-vehicle system. The system provides an analog or digital output, which is fully compatible with the rest of the Kistler RoaDyn family of products.