A fundamental experimental approach for optimal design of speed bumps

Abstract

Speed bumps and humps are utilized as means of calming traffic and controlling vehicular speed. Needless to say, bumps and humps of large dimensions in length and width force drivers to significantly reduce their driving speeds so as to avoid significant vehicle vertical acceleration. It is thus that this experimental study was conducted with the aim of determining a speed bump design that performs optimally when leading drivers to reduce the speed of their vehicles to safe levels. The first step of the investigation starts off by considering the following question: "What is the optimal design of a speed bump that will - at the same time - reduce the velocity of an incoming vehicle significantly and to a speed that resulting vertical acceleration does not jeopardize road safety? The experiment has been designed to study the dependent variables and collect data in order to propose an optimal design for a speed bump. To achieve this, a scaled model of 1:6 to real life was created to simulate the interaction between a car wheel and a speed bump. During the course of the experiment, a wheel was accelerated down an inclined plane onto a horizontal plane of motion where it was allowed to collide with a speed bump. The speed of the wheel and the vertical acceleration at the speed bump were captured by means of a Vernier Motion Detector.