5552 / Vehicle drawbar test method with improved measurement and control

Paper presented at the 16th European-African Regional Conference of the ISTVS

https://doi.org/10.56884/TISO6782

Title: Vehicle drawbar test method with improved measurement and control

Authors: Orian Welling, Zach Tomberg, and Mike Stearns

Abstract: In this work, we show a new vehicle drawbar test method that allows simple regulation of a constant vehicle speed through the test while requiring relatively little training or practice from the test vehicle driver. The improved method relies on a capstan winch mounted on a fixed stable point with a controlled release of cable over a 600 foot distance. The winch and cable are capable of sustaining loads up to 20,000lbs at a constant cable speed. The load on the cable is measured with a vehicle mounted load cell. In the paper / presentation, we show a comparison of test data from drawbar tests utilizing a separate holdback vehicle and holdback driver with tests using the new methodology and show that measurement stability is improved and that the target vehicle speed is held much closer to the target point, eliminating error or need to correct for vehicle acceleration.

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