Dynamic torque measurement for automotive application

This work presents a system for the measurement and monitoring of the torque transmitted to the wheel of a moving vehicle. The transducer was built on the aluminum alloy wheel and the electronic system installed right on the center of the wheel assembly. The whole system spins with the tire, commanded by the power sent by the engine. The designed beam load cell was milled on an aluminum radial spoke and strain gauges were attached to the points of maximum deformation. The signal from the strain gauge bridge, was amplified and filtered. Then it was sent to an analog to digital converter built on a wireless ZigBee transmission module. The receptor ZigBee module was connected to a notebook inside the vehicle. A static calibration has been conducted with calibration weights and the results show features like linearity, sensibility and noise rejection. Finally, preliminary dynamic experiments run on a flat road, have shown so far, that the device is able of measuring and monitoring the direct torque developed on the vehicle´s wheel during real conditions on the road.