Load Cells are better known as transducers that are used to convert physical forces into electrical signals. They are embedded in almost every road and bridge across the world and they work together with weigh-in-motion technology.

 

If you have ever traveled across on an interstate highway, then you have probably seen toll roads and weigh stations for over the road tractor trailers. The embedded technology within the road is what alerts the authorities to the weight of your vehicle and knows how many axles for which to charge when going through a toll booth.

 

For truck drivers, embedded Load Cells enable them to drive over the weight scales, never having to stop their trucks unless, of course, there is a problem with the weight distribution in the truck. In the weigh stations, there are open parking lots that are used to allow the truck driver to distribute the weight without having to get out and do it by hand.

 

You will often see them gaining speed and slamming hard on the brakes, they do not have a run away truck but undistributed weight. The position of the weight on the axles of the truck is what causes wear and tear on the roadways and with the given technology, allows transportation departments to know how heavily the road is traveled providing statistical data to engineers in the planning of new roads and bridges. This is why it is critically important to have truck weight distributed correctly so it will not throw off the statistics.

 

Load Cells are also found embedded in roadways where there are statistically higher traffic fatalities than anywhere else and they are used to monitor speed. These are the horizontal white strips of pavement you see on the highways. The technology clocks the weight of the vehicle traveling over the strip and sends electrical timers displaying at which point the vehicle crosses the second strip.

 

The data transfers into seconds and divides it by the speed limit of the road. For example, traveling at the posted rate of speed, your vehicle should take about six seconds to travel from one strip to the next. If your vehicle gets there in three seconds, the technology records that information and transmits it to local law enforcement patrolling the area at the time.

Article submited by Jeff Crooley, the views and opinions expressed in this article may not reflect the views of eilersen.com