Development of Measurement Equipment for Measuring Tire Rolling Resistance on Road

In the Laboratory of Automotive Engineering at Helsinki University of Technology measurement equipment for rolling resistance measurements on road was developed. A whole new trailer was not constructed, but the equipment was placed in the noise measurement trailer HUT NOTRA. The measurement device is based on a load cell. The axle of the measurement tire is fastened with a rigid rod and two bearings to an auxiliary axle below it. Bearings allow the axle of the measurement tire to rotate around the auxiliary axle and this one degree of freedom is bound with the load cell that measures the rolling resistance force. Because the force reading is dependent on the alignment of the measurement device and that varies due to the suspension of the trailer, the alignment is monitored using an LVDT. The equipment was tested on different road surfaces. Several unexpected problems were encountered and therefore absolute values of rolling resistance force could not be determined. However, the project provided valuable information on different aspects related to development of a rolling resistance measurement device and that information can be used in forthcoming research projects.