Obtaining and Utilizing Recorded Data for Vehicle Development

Demands for quick, sure answers to field problems; shorter development times; an ever-increasing amount of social and political pressures; and increasing foreign competition present a tremendous challenge to construction equipment engineers. To meet this challenge, we must economize by more fully and effectively using developed technology. One area where considerable improvement can be made is in obtaining and utilizing recorded instrumented data.

This paper first discusses the types of instrumentation that are being used to record data; then gives practical examples of how the data can be used in establishing loadings for full-scale structural fatigue testing and laboratory component testing, or in establishing test courses for complete vehicles. Emphasis is placed on the team effort required to obtain, analyze, and use recorded data successfully for vehicle development.