Quantification of the Vertical Load Applied to the Pavement during Braking Maneuver of a Commercial Vehicle

Abstract

Front and rear axle braking performance in a vehicle is a well-documented subject in reference to longitudinal forces, but this statement is not valid for vertical forces. To analyze this behavior, a commercial vehicle (equipped with an anti-lock braking system) was instrumented with strain gauges and one accelerometer for testing in a closed course proving ground located in Brazil. By using the vehicle’s springs as load cells, the vertical load applied to the pavement was evaluated during different braking maneuvers. Using a bidirectional ANOVA and a post hoc Tukey’s honest significant differences (HSD) test, statistical differences of the transferred load were evaluated between the vehicle’s initial speed and brake pedal position. Although it is recommended to repeat the same procedure on different vehicles and varying pavements surfaces, the results indicate that, unlike the brake pedal position, the vehicle’s initial speed does not influence the vertical load applied to the pavement during braking maneuvers.