Evaluating the ride quality of unpaved roads using smartphones

Xinyi Yang; Hafiz U. Ahmed; Liuqing Hu; Raj Bridgelall; Leonard Chia; Ying Huang; Pan Lu

doi:10.1117/12.2557113

13 May 2020 Evaluating the ride quality of unpaved roads using smartphones

Xinyi Yang, Hafiz U. Ahmed, Liuqing Hu, Raj Bridgelall, Leonard Chia, Ying Huang, Pan Lu

Proceedings Volume 11379, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2020; 113790L (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2557113
Event: SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in 2012, there were 1,357,430 miles of unpaved road in the United States, accounting for almost 35 percent of the more than 4 million miles of roadway in the Nation. Maintaining unpaved roads in good condition requires frequent evaluation of their ride quality. Common methods of ride quality evaluation such as the international roughness index (IRI) and profilograph index (PrI) are applicable for paved roads only. They require special types of equipment that are expensive and time-consuming to use. Hence, agencies cannot afford to extend the capabilities of existing equipment to monitor the ride quality of unpaved roads. This paper evaluates the use of smartphones on regular vehicles as an alternative. The method used a road roughness index called the road impact factor (RIF) to quantify the ride quality. Field experiments showed that the method provides consistent measurements and, therefore, is an attractive alternative for monitoring the ride quality of all unpaved roads in the Nation.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Xinyi Yang, Hafiz U. Ahmed, Liuqing Hu, Raj Bridgelall, Leonard Chia, Ying Huang, and Pan Lu "Evaluating the ride quality of unpaved roads using smartphones", Proc. SPIE 11379, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2020, 113790L (13 May 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2557113

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