Date of Award
5-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Packaging Science
Committee Member
Gregory Batt, Committee Chair
Committee Member
Robert Kimmel
Committee Member
James Gibert
Abstract
Vehicle vibration presents challenges to a packaged product that are inevitable in any distribution environment. Typically products are tested in only a single, vertical axis, however researchers have shown that there is energy in all six axes of motion. In past work, for a packaging application, the response of a vehicle or product has not been recorded in all six axes. In the current standards, classification of motion and potential multi-axis testing methods are discussed. In this work, we study the recording methods of the six degree of freedom (6 DOF) motion of a transport vehicle. A co-planar sensor array, three tri-axial linear accelerometers, and three angular rate sensors, are mounted in a L shape to calculate the rotational accelerations that occur in the back of a vehicle. Missing from prior work is a scientific study designed to determine the minimum sensor spacing necessary to accurately capture the yaw, pitch, and roll of transport vehicles. A sensitivity study is conducted to determine the effect of the misplacement and misorientation of sensors on the angular acceleration calculation. A laboratory study is used to determine the sensor spacing mounting error that begins to accumulate in the angular acceleration calculation in response to a sinusoidal input. A field study is conducted to calculate the rotational motions of a vehicle on a rough road. It is found that a mounting fixture is valuable in assuring the necessary sensor placement accuracy needed to accurately determine angular accelerations of a truck. Additionally, laboratory and field analysis show that as the sensor spacing location approaches the origin sensor, angular acceleration calculation error increases due to a loss in sensor signal distinctiveness. Sensors can be mounted closer than 76.20 cm and can be mounted as close as 25.40 cm without accumulating significant error.
Recommended Citation
Cocchiola, Gregory Joseph, "The Effect of Sensor Spacing on the Calculation of Angular Acceleration of Vehicles" (2019). All Theses. 3069.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/3069