Distance, Tough Environments, Intrinsic Safety… Not a Problem

As a leader in the area of remote data collection,Stress Engineering Services (SES) has raised thebar by combining data from multiple sensors withGPS. Continuous monitoring results in a detailedpicture of extended duration trips which maycover thousands of miles and last several weeks.A wide range of sensors can be used includingstrain gages, accelerometers, thermocouples, loadcells and pressure transducers, just to name a few. When required, the entireequipment package can be made intrinsically safe.

Collect Real Time In-Transit Data On Any Vehicle… Any Cargo… Anywhere

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For understanding damage to a product or package being transported or a failure occurring on a vehicle (truck, train, airplane, ship) duringtransit, SES can collect a broad range of data documenting every foot of the journey, almost anywhere in the world.

Instrumentation Based on Data Requirements

Instrumentation packages are customized and as many sensors as necessary can be monitored. The resulting data sets can contain hundreds of millions of data points. In addition to collecting the data, SES is experienced atprocessing and analyzing the data in order to interpretresults and make recommendations.

For example, failure assessment or fatigue calculations mayrequire cycle counting based on strain gage data, whilepower spectral density calculations are usually appropriatefor vibration data from accelerometers. In the example ofthe railcar shown in Figure 1, data was collected on a 15-daytrip that covered 2500 miles.

Hitting the Streets for Data

When vibration problems in a vocational truck (Figure 2)resulted in cracking and equipment failure, the ability to collect and examine data from a full day of operation provided a solution. Six data channels were used to collectmeasurements from strain gages along with three channelsof accelerometer data measuring vehicle vibration. GPS provided continuous tracking of vehicle movement aroundthe city during a 12-hour duty cycle (Figure 3).

When the resulting data was analyzed (Figure 4) it provid-ed a detailed explanation for the problem and SES was ableto recommend a path to a cost-effective solution.

figure 1: Installation of strain gages atcritical locations on a rail car

figure 2: Vibration data being collected on a vocational truck

Monitoring Individual Product Shipments & Unit Loads

Sometimes the measurement challenge extends beyond just the vehicle to include a need for information about the products that are being transported. Developing cost-effective packaging, or addressing packaging problems,often requires a detailed understanding of the specific dis-tribution environment a product is experiencing. SES hasinstrumented individual packages as well as unit loads andcustom shipment racks.

Measurement environments can include small parcel ship-ment, truckload and LTL (less than truckload), intermodal,warehouse and cross-dock handling using fork trucks,clamp trucks and automated handling equipment amongothers. Long term monitoring can also be useful for under-standing the warehouse storage environment and the effect of product unit load stacking and environmental conditions.

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figure 3: (left) GPS documentation of vehicle movementthrough the city

figure 4: Measurement of dynamic forces while in motion

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on the web at www.stress.comCincinnati • Houston • New Orleans • Baton Rouge • Calgary

© 2011 Stress Engineering Services, Inc.

For More Information AboutIn-Transit Data Collection

CapabilitiesCall SES today at 513-336-6701

Custom Transportation Measurement Tools

One of the greatest challenges associated with the charac-terization of transportation forces is the availability of asensor or micro-scale data acquisition system to make the measurement. SES has a long history of solving thisproblem by developing custom instrumentation packages.

Examples of this are the microdaq and minidaq devicesdeveloped by SES. These data acquisition devices weredesigned for situations with severe space constraints, andcan be integrated with strain gages, pressure transducersand accelerometers (Figure 5).

The most expedient, non-intrusive approach for makingtransportation force measurements is sometimes to turnthe product or package into the sensor itself. In Figure 6,strain gages were installed directly onto a plastic pail. Thisdevice was used to measure transportation loads related to

product distribution in third world countries.

If your vehicle or its cargo is experiencing damagethat cannot be understood and corrected by after-the-fact observation, SES can tell you where it happens,how it happens and under what circumstances.

figure 6: A plastic pail instrumented to measure forces during transportation

figure 5: Data acquisition devicesdeveloped by SES