Road Roughness Measurements using PSD Approach

K Ramji, Associate Member

A Gupta, Non-member
V H Saran, Member
Prof V K Goel, Fellow
Prof V Kumar, Fellow

The interest of the highway engineer is focused on road roughness in the frequency range of interest, which corresponds to
a wave number range appropriate for the prevailing traffic speed. The effect of road roughness on the design and operation
of road vehicles has been a subject of intensive research since 1960. In the literature considerable effort has been spent on
the investigation of vehicle vibration excited by surface irregularity. Road profile measurement is an important step
preceding vehicle development. The present paper deals with the measurement and analysis technique to evaluate road
roughness in the form of power spectral density (PSD). A profile measuring trailer unit has been designed and developed.
Measurements of road roughness have been taken on five types of Indian roads and one mosaic floor (for academic interest
only) using an on-line system, and results are represented by power spectral density and compared with the standard results
given by the International Standard Organization (ISO) to classify the type of road.

Keywords: Road roughness; Power spectral density; Road profilometer; Bituminous road; Portland cement concrete road

NOTATION INTRODUCTION
With the growing awareness for better highways for an ever
Ak (n) : FFT component
increasing traffic loading and concern for aging highway
C : capacitance systems, the Government of India has established the National
Highway Authority (NHA). The major function of the NHA
fcc : cut off frequency will be the planning of new routes, preparing maintenance
schedules and acceptance or replacement of newly constructed
fs : maximum frequency of measured signals highways. Naturally, appropriate management systems are
K : number of segments needed to make objective assessment of highway quality.
Generally, highway engineers using a response type single
N, Csp : constants wheel trailer unit, eg, Dipstick or Merlin devices, specify road
roughness as the total vertical distance measured by the
P ( fn ) : power spectrum estimate
measuring wheel per kilometer of distance travelled (mm/km).
R : resistance Such specification of road roughness by highway engineers is
convenient for the construction and maintenance of roads, but
Sqr ( η) : power spectral density of road surface profile is not useful for providing input to the vehicle model, for
evaluation of ride index and passenger comfort. These devices
T : sampling interval, s do not yield data to obtain the power spectral density (PSD) of
the road surface roughness, which is essential for evaluation of
Z0 : vertical undulations of the road surface vehicle ride behaviour. The purpose of the present work was to
measure the road profile in PSD form, which can be used as
Z&1 − Z& 0 : relative velocity of trailer frame and the road- input to the vehicle model. Vehicle designers also use road
following wheel roughness data to investigate its effect on vehicle braking and
steering behaviour, as the normal tyre forces are affected by
Z&&1 : frame vertical absolute acceleration road roughness. According to International Standard
Organization (ISO)26311, the ride comfort is specified in terms
of root mean square (RMS) acceleration over a frequency range.
K Ramji is with Mechanical Engineering Department, College of
The pavement surface profile of interest to the highway
Engineering, Visakhapatnam 530 003; A Gupta and Prof V Kumar are
with Electrical Engineering Department and V H Saran and Prof V K engineer covers a wavelength range2 of about 0.01 mm to 100 m.
Goel are with Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department all at This range is too wide to be measured in terms of a single scale,
IIT Roorkee, Roorkee 247 667. but can be described and measured in four scales: micro-texture,
This paper (modified) was received on June 8, 2004. Written discussion on macro-texture, mega-texture and road roughness. The road
this paper will be received till January 31, 2005. roughness usually covers a wavelength from 0.1 m to 100 m.

Vol 85, November 2004 193

Since, road profiles are random in nature, these are better
described by statistical techniques. One such statistical
characterization that has been found useful in describing the
road roughness is power spectral density. Road surface
irregularities are statistically classified by frequency and
amplitude distribution by Macaulay3, ie, one can perform a
frequency analysis to make an estimate of the amplitudes for
various wavelengths present. One method of analyzing random
data by Bendat and Piersol4 and Stearns5 is in terms of its power
spectral density (PSD), which is a measure of its mean squared
value distribution within a frequency band. It is therefore
necessary to measure the road profile and then compute the
power spectral density from these data as it will help in the
analysis of ride behaviour of vehicles.
Wambold6, using a quarter car model to represent the vehicle
and using ISO 26317 as the model of subjective response,
predicted that car passengers should be most sensitive to
pavement disturbances within the special frequency range of
approximately 0.23 cycles/m to 0.66 cycles/m. On the other
hand, Janoff8 presented results that indicated that the car
passengers respond most strongly to pavement disturbances at
spatial frequencies in the range of approximately 0.36 cycles/m
to 2.3 cycles/m. These values, translated to temporal
frequencies at a travel speed of 80 km/h, give corresponding
ranges of approximately 5 Hz to 15 Hz and 8 Hz to 50 Hz,
respectively. Hayhoe, et al 9 explained the reason for anomalies
in the relationship between the ride quality and the profile
characteristics. They found that the profiles contain a large
number of pulses — like disturbances and these pulses
contribute a significant portion of the energy in the profiles at
high frequencies. They argued that the presence of pulses in
pavement profiles could be a significant factor in subjective
response to road roughness.
The ISO10 and Wong11 have proposed a road roughness
classification (A-H) based on the power spectral density.
Various types of road roughness measuring devices and
different kinds of surface roughness along with their
measurement criteria have been discussed by Hegmon2, ISO10,
Wong11 and Van Deusen12.
Road elevation profiles can be measured either by performing
close interval rod and level surveys described by Wambold,
et al 13, or by using high-speed profilometers discussed by
Spangler and Kelly14; Hudson15; Darlington and Milliman16. An
inertial profilometer concept implemented at General Motors
Research (GMR) laboratories in the 1960 and later developed in
1966, has been widely used for highway evaluation and
application by Spangler and Kelly14; Hudson15; Darlington and
Milliman16. In the present scenario, the laser based road profile
measuring systems given by Prem17; Mimuro and Maemura18;
Mimuro, et al 19 are being used to measure vertical undulations
of roads in most of the developed countries.
On surveying the literature, very few publications discuss the
measurement of road undulations for Indian roads. Karuppaiah,
et al 20, Tamboli and Joshi21 have made an attempt to measure
road roughness for Indian roads in terms of power spectral
194
density. The PSD of the actual road vertical undulations/
excitations have been represented in the form of an exponential
form given by Tamboli and Joshi21 for urban Indian roads and
non-urban highways. Several research works12,20-23 have addressed
the effect of road roughness on vehicle behaviour and have also
described mathematical modelling of power spectral density of
road surface profiles.
The present paper deals with the development of a profile
measuring trailer unit. Measurements of road roughness have
been taken on five types of Indian roads and one mosaic floor
(for academic interest only) using a PC (personal computer) —
based on line data recording system. The results have been
presented in the form of a power law equation, which could be
used as a road input in vehicle models for evaluation of ride
behaviour.
ROAD PROFILOMETER
A prototype road surface profilometer with three-wheels
shown in Figure 1 has been designed and developed by the
authors at IIT, Roorkee. The front wheel is a caster wheel while
the rear wheels are the driving wheels. The road-following
wheel is a solid rubber wheel (another wheel), which maintains
contact with the road surface by a spring and dashpot unit. The
specifications and dimension of the trailer frame, solid rubber
wheel (road following wheel), caster and other rear wheels are
given below:
l The trailer frame is made of angle iron 35 mm × 35 mm
size and 6 mm thickness for sufficient rigidity.
l The road following wheel has a metal rim with a solid
rubber tyre of 120 mm dia. The small diameter wheel
with large radial stiffness facilitates measurements of
low and middle frequency road surface irregularities
with good accuracy.
l The three wheels including the caster wheel of the
trailer unit are 3.50 × 10, 4 PR pneumatic tyres, each of
372.5 mm dia.
The trailer unit is instrumented with a transducer to measure
relative velocity ( Z&1 − Z& 0 ) between the trailer frame and the
road surface (road-following wheel). The accelerometer,
mounted on the frame just above the road-following wheel,
measures the vertical acceleration ( Z&&1 ) of the frame, the
integration of the signal gives the frame vertical velocity ( Z&1 ) .
The velocity signal is then added to the relative velocity signal
of the frame and the road-following wheel, the resulting signal is
integrated to yield the road undulations (vertical displacement,
Z0 ) profile. The measurement approach followed in this paper,
ie, the single integration of relative velocity between the wheel
and frame, rather than merely double integrating the
acceleration of the solid rubber wheel, ensures wide
acceptability in the measurement of road roughness. The road-
following wheel is a solid rubber tyre of 120 mm dia moulded
on metal rim. It acts as a mechanical filter, which transmits low
and middle frequency road surface undulations but attenuates
high frequency (low wavelength) road surface values.
IE (I) Journal—CV
 Velocity and acceleration
transducers

Computer for data

recording

Trailer

Optocoupler unit

Road profiling
wheel

Figure 1 Experimental test set-up for measurement of road roughness

The schematic operations of data acquisition are shown in

Figure 2. The data (analog signals) obtained from the
( Z&1 − Z& 0 ) ( Z&&1 ) transducers are stored in digital form on microcomputer
mounted on the trolley for data processing later on. In this
system, the transducer signals, ie, acceleration and relative
velocity are sampled and converted to digital values for use in
profile computation. The sampling and computation of the
road profile are performed as a function of distance instead of
time, which makes the measurements independent of trailer
speed and easier to handle. For this purpose an optocoupler,
which gives pulses at regular interval of distance travelled, has
been mounted on the rear axle, of the trailer.
TRANSDUCERS AND DATA PROCESSING
The acceleration of the trailer frame is measured using a strain
gauge type accelerometer, suitable for measuring low
frequency vibrations of low magnitude, ie, from 0 g to 5 g.
Z&1 − Z& 0
Transducers of this type are used in applications requiring
Z&1 small size, small mass and measurement of low frequency (0 Hz
– + - 200 Hz). An internal signal conditioner conditions the signal of
the sensing element to a user-friendly voltage. The strain gauge
type accelerometer pickup was manufactured by Bruel and
Kajer and has been already calibrated to International
standards. However, before beginning of the experiment, the
accelerometer was checked by holding it in hand in horizontal
position and rotating it by 90 ° (upside down position), to yield
a signal of 1 g on an oscilloscope. At present sensitivity of 1.39 V/g
was used. More details of acceleration transducer are given
below.
Rated output, µ V/g : 553
Figure 2 Schematic operation of road profilometer Strain, µ : 110.6

Vol 85, November 2004 195

 Frequency response, Hz
Non-linearity
Input resistance, Ω
Output resistance, Ω
Safe temperature, ° C
: 0–240 magnetic fields being picked up. A 12-bit ADC card (ACL-8112)
: 1% of rated output featuring eight differential inputs, 16 digital inputs/outputs and
one timer has been used for data acquisition from transducers.
: 122.8 The signals obtained from the transducers are properly filtered
: 122.8 using hardware filter before being taken to ADC card, (Figure 2).
The hardware filter was a low pass third order ‘RC’ filter with
: 0–50 cut off frequency given by

Safe excitation, V : 5
The relative velocity pick-up is a cable-activated transducer of
5V/m/s sensitivity, that produces a voltage proportional to the
relative velocity between the trailer frame and the road-
following wheel. A product of ASM (Automatic Sensorik
Messtechnik) of Germany, the unit is precalibrated to
International Standards. Internal signal conditioner conditions
the signal of the sensing element to user-friendly voltage,
current or digital pulse. More details of velocity transducer are:
Model : WGS5-500-10V-T5-L10-HG
Function designation : Position and relative
velocity transducer
Range : 0 V-10 V dc signal
conditioner
Sensitivity : 5 V/m/s
Linearity : 0.1% of measured value
Maximum acceleration : 60 g
Max velocity : 10 m/s
Sensor component : Tachogenerator
Accuracy : 0.1 %
It has been described earlier that the vertical undulations
(profile) of the road surface are recorded as a function of
distance travelled by the trailer unit, which is measured by a
single perforated disc mounted on the rear axle of the trailer
unit along with an optocoupler. The optocoupler consists of a
gallium arsenide infrared emitting diode and a silicon photo-
transistor mounted in closed proximity. The two are optically
coupled but electrically insulated from each other. Whenever
an infrared ray from the diode passes through the perforation in
the disc, a pulse is generated. The three pneumatic tyres
(3.50 × 10, 4 PR) of the trailer including the caster wheel are
each of 372.5 mm φ . Therefore, the linear distance covered in
one wheel rotation is 1170 mm. The optocoupler unit has a
perforated disc with 10 equidistant holes on its circumference.
Therefore, the distance travelled by the trailer unit between two
adjacent holes, which corresponds to two consecutive pulses is
117 mm (or 0.117m), which is also evident from the raw data of
bituminous newly laid road given in Table 1. With a 10-hole
disc, the distance travelled between two consecutive pulses is
0.117 m.
The signals from the two transducers, ie, relative velocity pick-
up and acceleration pickup are taken to ADC card (8112 HG)
using shielded cable, to prevent noise from external electric and
1
f cc = (1)
2π RC
The values of C and R were taken as 0.47 µF and 17 kΩ ,
respectively, which gave the cut off frequency as 20 Hz. Filtered
acceleration signal is integrated using a software integrator
based on trapezoidal rule. The integrated acceleration signal is
again filtered using a band pass filter. In the absence of filtering,
any offset present can cause numerical overflow. Filtered
velocity pick-up data are subtracted from integrated
acceleration data and signal is again integrated to get the
roughness profile. This roughness data (vertical undulations) is
used to obtain power spectral density. The scheme of
operations is shown in Figure 2. The sampling and computation
of the road profile are performed as a function of distance
instead of time, which makes the measurements independent of
trailer speed and easier to handle. For this purpose an
optocoupler, which gives pulses at regular interval of distance
travelled, has been mounted on the rear axle of the trailer.
In any experimental test program proper care needs to be taken
in order to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the test data.
Signals obtained from the transducers through ADC card are
processed to obtain useful information. The first requirement is
to sample the transducer signals and filtering the signals to
remove any electrical noise. The accelerometer signals are
integrated by software employing the trapezoidal rule to obtain
velocity signals.
The road surface profile of wavelength of 100 mm or more are
normally encountered on typical highways and are of interest
to vehicle dynamicist. The profile data was acquired by
normally towing the trailer unit at a speed of nearly 1 m/s.
Thus, the maximum frequency of measured signals fs was about
10 Hz. Therefore, the minimum sampling frequency, known as
the Nyquist rate should be 2 fs or 20 Hz in order to prevent
aliasing. Sampling at points which are too far apart will lead to
confusion between the low and high frequency components in
the original data and is called aliasing. Before choosing the
sampling frequency one more important factor, ie, the lowest
frequency of interest must be considered, which was chosen as
0.1 Hz.
The fast Fourier transform (FFT) is efficient and fast method
for computing the discrete Fourier transform (DFT).
Computation of DFT required M2 complex operations
(addition and multiplication) and hundred of hours of machine
time prior to 1965. In 1965, a method for computing the DFT
was given by Cooley and Tukey24 that requires approximately
Mlog2M operations where M is power of 2. This method of
computing Fourier Transform which requires a number of

196 IE (I) Journal—CV

Table 1 Vertical undulations for newly layed road

Distance Vertical undulations, Distance Vertical undulations, Distance Vertical undulations, Distance Vertical undulations,
travelled, mm/m travelled, mm/m travelled, mm/m travelled, mm/m
m SEC1 SEC2 m SEC1 SEC2 m SEC1 SEC2 m SEC1 SEC2

0.000 –0.423 0.402 5.850 –0.245 3.149 11.700 –2.766 –0.188 17.550 –0.117 0.502

0.117 0.090 0.553 5.967 –1.768 4.341 11.817 –2.440 –0.124 17.667 1.109 1.045

0.234 0.157 –0.388 6.084 –4.348 3.992 11.934 –3.081 –0.562 17.784 0.509 1.289

0.351 0.535 –0.677 6.201 –3.830 4.634 12.051 –2.466 1.102 17.901 –0.626 1.626

0.468 1.789 0.382 6.318 –4.864 3.164 12.168 –1.812 1.917 18.018 0.298 1.296

0.585 1.361 –0.540 6.435 –5.854 2.883 12.285 –1.978 1.083 18.135 0.029 1.186

0.702 1.643 –1.759 6.552 –5.033 2.654 12.402 –1.364 –0.066 18.252 0.546 1.055

0.819 2.444 –1.325 6.669 –5.932 1.406 12.519 –1.061 –0.725 18.369 –0.108 3.199

0.936 1.487 –1.056 6.786 –5.028 2.084 12.636 –2.302 –2.093 18.486 –2.005 3.344

1.053 0.739 –2.557 6.903 –3.600 1.751 12.753 –2.474 –5.441 18.603 –0.244 1.074

1.170 1.919 –1.516 7.020 –4.861 3.295 12.870 –3.875 –6.683 18.720 –1.434 1.901

1.287 0.697 –0.454 7.137 –3.759 2.552 12.987 –1.265 –6.503 18.837 –1.099 0.718

1.404 1.684 –0.887 7.254 –2.492 2.357 13.104 –1.381 –2.050 18.954 0.891 1.343

1.521 1.934 0.155 7.371 –2.290 –0.358 13.221 –1.564 4.335 19.071 0.434 2.352

1.638 0.406 1.694 7.488 –0.748 –1.335 13.338 –0.769 5.148 19.188 1.121 1.246

1.755 1.256 0.772 7.605 –0.325 –1.913 13.455 –2.547 5.120 19.305 1.279 1.039

1.872 2.099 –0.936 7.722 –1.475 –2.451 13.572 –2.537 3.049 19.422 2.348 2.249

1.989 0.650 –0.198 7.839 –3.435 –0.997 13.689 –2.020 0.324 19.539 3.429 2.258

2.106 1.149 –1.116 7.956 –4.675 –0.524 13.806 –3.778 1.992 19.656 1.978 –0.062

2.223 2.247 –1.772 8.073 –4.002 –1.768 13.923 –3.365 1.583 19.773 2.880 –0.246

2.340 2.318 –0.879 8.190 –3.274 –2.109 14.040 –3.220 0.090 19.890 4.053 0.588

2.457 2.344 –0.327 8.307 –3.021 –0.728 14.157 –5.322 0.253 20.007 4.493 0.590

2.574 4.001 –0.503 8.424 –4.009 –2.157 14.274 –4.221 1.983 20.124 5.836 1.423

2.691 2.929 –0.918 8.541 –3.351 –2.807 14.391 2.545 1.964 20.241 –2.290 1.388

2.808 2.695 0.986 8.658 –5.645 –2.435 14.508 –4.165 2.454 20.358 –5.859 2.048

2.925 3.799 0.250 8.775 –4.374 –2.576 14.625 –4.286 4.026 20.475 — 1.937

3.042 3.718 0.184 8.892 0.776 –2.632 14.742 –3.798 5.574 20.592 — 2.835

3.159 3.081 1.121 9.009 0.856 –3.331 14.859 –2.276 5.303 20.709 — 0.302

3.276 3.240 0.418 9.126 1.721 –2.494 14.976 –2.720 5.548 20.826 — –0.063

3.393 0.019 –0.672 9.243 1.056 –3.000 15.093 –1.404 4.259 20.943 — –2.559

3.510 0.153 0.133 9.360 1.681 –3.272 15.210 –1.855 6.397 21.060 — –2.599

3.627 1.881 –0.139 9.477 –1.151 –2.523 15.327 0.922 6.572 21.177 — –1.697

3.744 2.640 –0.458 9.594 –1.277 –2.396 15.444 –0.244 3.741 21.294 — –1.605

3.861 2.040 0.272 9.711 –0.148 –4.642 15.561 –0.232 3.292 21.411 — 0.327

3.978 0.853 0.510 9.828 –1.015 –4.646 15.678 0.531 3.547 21.528 — 0.921

4.095 0.498 –0.528 9.945 –0.850 –2.878 15.795 –0.656 1.739 21.645 — 0.668

4.212 0.954 0.533 10.062 –0.13 –4.387 15.912 –0.818 1.931 21.762 — 2.062

4.329 –0.969 2.612 10.179 –0.633 –3.931 16.029 1.349 2.555 21.879 — 0.915
Table 1 Cond

Vol 85, November 2004 197

Table 1 Vertical undulations for newly layed road (Cond)

Distance Vertical undulations, Distance Vertical undulations, Distance Vertical undulations, Distance Vertical undulations,
travelled, mm/m travelled, mm/m travelled, mm/m travelled, mm/m
m SEC1 SEC2 m SEC1 SEC2 m SEC1 SEC2 m SEC1 SEC2

4.446 0.264 3.182 10.296 0.833 –0.333 16.146 0.853 2.336 21.996 — 0.065

4.563 1.376 4.113 10.413 1.630 –0.616 16.263 1.051 2.207 22.113 — 0.144

4.680 –2.286 1.653 10.530 2.146 0.641 16.380 1.596 2.886 22.230 — 0.036

4.797 –3.480 1.510 10.647 –3.186 –0.773 16.497 –0.386 2.958 22.347 — –1.187

4.914 –4.799 0.552 10.764 –7.994 0.933 16.614 –0.079 2.322 22.464 — –1.548

5.031 –4.202 –0.037 10.881 –1.373 –1.049 16.731 –0.868 2.175 22.581 — –1.284

5.148 –3.030 –0.540 10.998 3.429 0.816 16.848 –0.993 1.688 22.698 — –1.400

5.265 –0.944 1.466 11.115 –2.638 –0.458 16.965 –0.298 1.514 22.815 — –2.778

5.382 –0.456 2.437 11.232 –1.742 –1.824 17.082 –1.629 1.345 22.932 — –2.839

5.499 –0.702 2.768 11.349 –1.273 –0.444 17.199 –1.022 1.582 — — —

5.616 –0.381 3.451 11.466 –13.093 –0.419 17.316 –0.533 1.635 — — —

5.733 –1.986 3.300 11.583 –8.608 –0.950 17.433 –0.020 1.810 — — —

operations equal to Mlog2M become known as Fast Fourier
Transform. The FFT developed by Cooley and Tukey24 in 1965
is significantly less computationally intensive method for
evaluating the DFT and thus particularly attractive for real time
spectral analysis using digital signal processing (DSP)
technology. The FFT algorithm used for computing DFT has
been taken from Samuel and David25. The FFT algorithm
requires the number of samples to be an integral power of 2.
Since, 29 is equal to 512, with proper adjustment of the delay, a
sampling rate of 61 Hz was chosen which gives a resolution of
0.12 Hz in power spectral density, which is acceptable.
Magnitude
Finite impulse response and magnitude response of band pass
filters and low pass filters are shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) and
Figures 4(a) and 4(b), respectively.
The signal so obtained after filtering, were further processed, to
bring it to a useful form. The accelerometer signal is to be
integrated to obtain the velocity and displacement signals.
0.30
Series 1
0.25
0.20

0.15
The signals obtained from transducers are properly filtered and 0.10
long wavelength components are attenuated before the data is
0.05
processed to evaluate road roughness profile. Two types of
0
filters, hardware filters and software filters are used for filtering
–0.05 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
the signals. Software filters are used to remove noise present in
transducer signals. Signals from velocity pick-up are filtered –0.10
using a low pass filter (0 Hz-10 Hz), while the signals from –0.15
Time, s
acceleration pick-up are filtered using a band pass filter (0.3 Hz-
10 Hz). Figure 3(a) Finite impulse response of a band pass filter (0.3 Hz-9 Hz)

The signals obtained from the transducers are properly filtered

and long wavelength components are attenuated before the data 1.2
is processed to evaluate road roughness profile. Along with the 1.0 Series 1
software filter a low pass, third order hardware filter with cut
0.8
off frequency of 20 Hz has also been used. A filter based on the
Magnitude

window method of finite impulse response (FIR) has been 0.6

designed, using the Fourier series method given by Britton26. 0.4
The Fourier series method of FIR filter design is based upon the
fact that frequency response of a digital filter is periodic and is 0.2
therefore representable as a Fourier series. A desired target 0
frequency response is selected and expanded as a Fourier series, 0 10 20 30
–0.2
which is truncated to a finite number of terms that are used in
Frequency, Hz
Fourier coefficients. The resulting filter has a frequency
response that approximates the original desired target response. Figure 3(b) Magnitude response of band pass filter (0.3 Hz-9 Hz)

198 IE (I) Journal—CV

 0.35 K segments of length L. For each segment of length L, a
Series 1
0.30 modified periodogram is calculated. That is, a window W ( j ),
0.25 j = 0, 1, . . . . . . . . . . , L – 1 is selected and the sequences X1 ( j )
W ( j ), ... ... ..., Xk( j ) W( j ) are formed. The finite Fourier
0.20
Transforms A1 (n), A2 (n) ... ... ... ... ... , Ak (n) of these sequences is
Magnitude

0.15 taken. Here

0.10
1 L −1
− 2 πijn / L
0.05 Ak ( n) = ∑ Xk ( j ) W ( j ) e (3)
L j=0
0
–0.05 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 The spectral estimate is the average of these periodograms, ie,
–0.10 L K 2
Time, s P ( fn ) = ∑ Ak ( n) (4)
UK k = 1
Figure 4(a) Finite impulse response of a low pass filter (0 Hz-9 Hz)
where
1.2
Series1 1 L −1 2
1.0 U = ∑ W ( j) .
L j=0
0.8
Magnitude

0.6 EVALUATION OF ROAD ROUGHNESS

0.4 Profile data for Indian roads have until recently been
unavailable and it is of interest to examine some of their
0.2 characteristics. Recently Karuppaiah, et al 20 and Tamboli and
0 Joshi21 have published limited information on profile data of
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Indian roads but no comparisons were made with data available
–0.2
for international roads. Tamboli and Joshi21 have represented
Frequency, Hz
the Indian road profile data in an exponential form, which may
Figure 4(b) Magnitude response of low pass filter (0 Hz-9 Hz) be computationally more convenient to handle. It has been
found in the literature11,12 that the relationship between the
Numerical integration is resorted to when the analytical power spectral density Sqr ( η) and the spatial frequency ( η) for
evaluation of integration is either difficult or impossible and different ground profiles is usually represented in power law,
when the function to the integration is available at discrete which generally approximates as
points. However, when it is possible to obtain closed form
solution by analytical integration, it must be preferred for its S qr ( η ) = C sp η− N (5)
exactness.
Consider the integral where η is spatial frequency in cycles/m; Sqr ( η) , power
spectral density of road surface profile in m2/cycle/m. N is a
z
b
dimensionless constant whereas Csp is an empirical constant
I= f(t ) d t (2)
a whose dimensions vary with the value of N.

where f (t) is continuous function of t over a ≤ t ≤ b , and the RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
integral may be evaluated using equal or unequal intervals. In
In the present work, the road tests were conducted on five
the present work, the integral has been performed based on the
different roads and one mosaic floor using the road
Trapezoidal rule employing equal intervals, which is chosen
profilometer designed and developed in Vehicle Dynamics
because of its simplicity and reduced errors at high sampling
Laboratory (VDL), IIT, Roorkee. Using power series analysis,
rate. This particular integration technique has poor response
best-fit curves were obtained for each road profile yielding
characteristics near the Nyquist frequency but presents no
different values of Csp and N, which are given in Table 2. Five
difficulty in this application, as the frequencies contained in the
different types of road surfaces consist of four bituminous roads
signal, are typically less than 10 Hz, well below the Nyquist
from serial number 1 to 4, one Portland cement concrete (PCC)
frequency. The signal corresponding to road surface undulation
road at serial 5 and one mosaic floor (similar to very smooth
is obtained which is further processed for power spectral
surface) at serial number 6 are evaluated in this study. The tests
density.
were performed at slow speeds by pushing the trailer unit on
Welch27 gave a method for estimation of power spectra by using these road surfaces and the mosaic floor with test lengths
FFT algorithm. It involves sectioning the record, taking varying from 21 m to 60 m. The measured data was recorded by
modified periodograms of these sections, and averaging these a microcomputer, mounted directly on the road profilometer,
modified periodograms. The data sample X ( j ) is divided into which computed the power spectral density values.

Vol 85, November 2004 199

Table 2 C sp and N values for power spectral density functions for Spatial frequency, cycles/m

Power spectral density, m2/cycles/m

various roads 1.00E+00
0.1 1 10
1.00E–01 Sec 1
S Description of Institute road International road 1.00E–02 Sec 2
y=2.17E-07x –2.07E+00
No road surface data data 1.00E–03 y=2.28E-07x –1.98E+00
C sp N C sp N 1.00E–04
1.00E–05
1 Newly layed 2.2 × 10 − 07 2.0 2.7 × 10 − 07 2.1
1.00E–06
surface road 1.00E–07
(Runway road 1.00E–08
type of 1.00E–09
NACA-TN-3305)
Figure 6 PSD as a function of spatial frequency for bituminous newly
2 Smooth road 1.0 × 10 − 06 2.4 2.4 × 10 − 06 2.1
layed road
(Smooth runway
type of at the origin to about 0.1 m towards right. The PSD data for
NACA-TN-3484) different road surfaces are reported in Table 2, which indicates
3 Rough road 4.9 × 10 − 06 2.2 4.4 × 10 − 06 2.1 drop in amplitude with wave number. The rate at which
(Highway with amplitudes decrease with wave number is characterized by the
gravel) value of N, the larger the value of N, the more steep the decrease
in amplitudes. Therefore, measurements were taken on mosaic
4 Smooth highway 3.5 × 10 − 07 2.1 4.8 × 10 − 07 2.1
floors and values of Csp and N are found to be 2.2 × 10 − 7 and 2.2,
road
respectively. The roughness values were found to be nearly the
5 PCC Road 5.5 × 10 − 07 1.7 6.4 × 10 − 07 1.9 same as that for runway road type NACA-TN-330512. As per ISO
(Runway road specifications, such surfaces could be treated as a good surface.
type of
NASA-TND-510) SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Measurements of the actual road roughness profiles, using
6 Mosaic floor 2.2 × 10 − 07 2.2 — —
indigenously designed and developed road profilometer, is
presented for five different institute roads and one mosaic floor.
Several test runs were carried out along the width of a given road The road roughness is represented in terms of power spectral
surface like section 1 (SEC 1) and section 2 (SEC 2) and average density as a function of spatial frequency and compared with
values of PSD have been reported here. Figure 5 and Figure 6 the data of international roads.
show vertical undulations and power spectral density values, Based on ISO surface roughness classification, the roads in IIT,
respectively for a typical institute bituminous road. This was a Roorkee could be classified between average, good and very
newly constructed road surface and is similar to air port runway good roads. PSD data for Indian roads will provide additional
road (NACA-TN-3305)12. The amplitude level Figure 5, input for highway engineers in India to develop better
indicates the roughness level; higher amplitudes would mean management systems for objective assessment of highway
quality and an essential input for vehicle designers for achieving
rougher roads. The wave number (or spatial frequency) in
better vehicle ride behaviour. It is hoped that this study will
Figures 5 and 6 corresponds 0.1 cycles/m to 10 cycles/m or to a
stimulate further research on effect of road roughness on the
wavelength (inversely proportional to spatial frequency) of 10 m vibration behaviour of Indian vehicles and rider sensitivity to
vibrations.
10
Sec 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Sec 2
5 The research work reported here was carried out under a
Undulations, mm

research scheme financially supported by the Department of

0 Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi. The
0 5 10 15 20 25 financial support is gratefully acknowledged.
–5
REFERENCES
–10 1. ‘ISO 2631 Mechanical Vibration and Shock Evaluation of Human
Exposure to Whole Body Vibrations — PART I.’ General Requirements,
Measured road distance position, m
–15 1997.

Figure 5 Vertical undulations against measured road distance of 2. R R Hegmon. ‘Some Results from Ongoing Research on Road
bituminous newly layed road Roughness.’ Vehicle, Tyre, Pavement Interface ASTM STP 1164, 1992, pp 14-31.

200 IE (I) Journal—CV

3. M A Macaulay. ‘Measurement of Road Surfaces, Advances in
Automobile Engineering — Part I.’ G H Tidbury, (ed), Pergamon Press,
Oxford, England, 1963.
4. J S Bendat and A G Piersol. ‘Random Data: Analysis and Measurement
Procedures.’ Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1971.
5. S D Stearns. ‘Digital Signal Analysis.’ Hayden Book Company INC,
Rochelle Park, New Jersey, 1975.
6. J C Wambold. ‘Road Roughness Effects on Vehicle Dynamics,
Measuring Road Roughness and its Effects on User Cost and Comfort.’
ASTM STP 884, 1985, pp 179-196.
7. ‘International Organization for Standardization, Guide for the
Evaluation of Human Exposure to Whole Body Vibration.’ ISO 2631-
1974(E), 1974.
8. M S Janoff. ‘Pavement Roughness and Rideability Field Evaluation.’
NCHRP Report 308, TRB, National Research Council, 1988.
9. G F Hayhoe. ‘Spectral Characteristic of Longitudinal Highway Profiles
as Related to Ride Quality.’ Vehicle, Tire, and Pavement Interface ASTM STP
1164, 1992, pp 32-54.
10. ‘ISO Reporting Vehicle Road Surface Irregularities.’ TC108/SC2/WG4
N57, 1982.
11. J Y Wong. ‘Theory of Ground Vehicle.’ John Wiley and Son Inc, Canada,
1993.
12. B D Van Deusen. ‘Analytical Techniques for Design Riding Quality
into Auto Motive Vehicles.’ SAE Transactions, vol 76, 670021, 1968.
13. J C Wambold, L E Defrain, R R Hegmon, J Mcghee, J Reichert and E
Spangler. ‘State-of-the-art of Measurement and Analysis of Road
Roughness.’ Transportation Research Record, vol 836, 1981, pp 21-29.
14. E B Spangler and W J Kelly. ‘GMR road Profilometer — a Method for
Measuring Road Profile.’ Highway Research Record, vol 121, Washington,
DC, 1966, pp 27-54.
15. W R Hudson. ‘High-speed Road Profile Equipment Evaluation.’
Highway Research Record, vol 189, Washington, DC, 1967, pp 150-163.
16. J R Darlington and P A Milliman. ‘Progress Report on the Evaluation
and Application Study of the General Motors Rapid Travel Road
Vol 85, November 2004
Profilometer.’ Highway Research Record, vol 214, Washington, DC, 1968,
pp 50-67.
17. H A Prem. ‘Laser Based Highway-speed Road Profile Measuring
System.’ Proceedings of the Tenth IAVSD Symposium on The Dynamics of
Vehicle on Roads and Tracks, Prague, 1987, pp 300-304.
18. T Mimuro and T Maemura. ‘Road Profile Measuring System using
Laser Displacement Sensors.’ JSAE Review, vol 11, no 4, 1990.
19. T Mimuro, T Maemura and H Fujii. ‘Development and Application of
the Road Profile Measuring System.’ SAE Transactions, 930257, 1993, pp 291-298.
20. N Karuppaiah, C Sujatha and V Ramamurthi. ‘Model and Vibration/
stress Analysis of a Passenger Vehicle by FEM.’ Symposium on International
Automotive Technology, January 13-16, Pune, India, 1999.
21. J A Tamboli and S G Joshi. ‘Optimum Design of a Passive Suspension
System of a Vehicle Subjected to Actual Random Road Excitations.’
Journal of Sound and Vibration, vol 219, no 2, 1999, pp 193-205.
22. A J Healey, E Nathman and C C Smith. ‘An Analytical and
Experimental Study of Automobile Dynamics with Random Roadway
Inputs.’ Transactions of ASME, Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and
Control, vol 99, no 4, 1977, pp 284-292.
23. K Ramji and V K Goel. ‘Coupled Vertical — Lateral Dynamics of
Three-wheeled Motor Vehicles.’ Presented at the Seventeenth IAVSD
Symposium, Technical University of Denmark, August 20-24, Copenhagen
(Lyngby), Denmark, 2001.
24. J W Cooley and J W Tukey. ‘An Algorithm for the Machine
Calculation of Complex Fourier Series.’ Math Comp, vol 19, 1965.
25. D S Samuel and R A David. ‘Digital Signal Processing Algorithms.’
Prentice Hall Inc, Englewood Cliff, New Jersy, 1988.
26. R C Britton. ‘Digital Filter Designer’s Handbook.’ McGraw Hill,
New York, 1988.
27. P D Welch. ‘The use of Fast Fourier Transform for the Estimation of
Power Spectra: a Method Based on Time Averaging over Short, Modified
Periodograms.’ IEEE Transactions on Audio and Elctroacoustics, AU-15, vol 2,
1967, pp 70-73.
201