sensors for Critical road surface condition detection
High performance passive,active & non-invasive sensors for road weather information systems, runway & railway ice warning systems.
Lufft's UMB (Universal Measurement Bus) technology with open protocol, offers lean modular strategy that will communicate with any 3rd party hardware, Variable Message Signs (VMS), Traffic Control Centres and OEM system intergration.
Calculates freeze point temperatures, water film height up to 4mm, & now "friction" (Grip) measurement in addition to other surface condition status such as wetness, ice, snow, hoar frost & freeze point temperature & residual salt.
Benefits of using non invasive measurement:
Automatic calibration according to surface construction (concrete or asphalt).
Automatic recalibration during dry periods (surface conditions)
No need to adjust the unit according to the distance between installation point & surface.
All sensors are configured using the free UMB-Config software tool.
See further down this page for actual measurement comparrison between embedded road sensor (puck) with non-invasive technology.
A quick summary of each model is given below, but if you need further information, please request a copy of the product data sheet, either by phone (01767 692692) or emailing us.
- Freezing temperature curves for up to 10 types of de-icing materials
- Road condition (dry/damp/wet/ice or snow/residual salt/freezing point)
Optional 1 or 2 deep temperature sensor versions.
ARS31-UMB Intelligent active road/runway sensor:
Calculates the freezing temperature by actively cooling and heating of the sensor surface. The freezing temperature measurement is independent of de icing mixture.
By installing a combination of both passive & active sensors, freeze point detection can be measured + all other metrics independant of de-icing material used.
New NIRS31-UMB non invasive road condition sensor
NIRS31-UMB in action:
The Lufft NIRS31-UMB non invasive road surface condition sensor determines the layer thickness on the spectroscopic "top down" principle. In contrast to an installed sensor, the Lufft NIRS31-UMB can determine the difference between the proportions of water and ice on the the road surface.
In the example shown below, the road surface is wet (a single layer of water only).
The result provided by the IRS31 is 323 microns; the NIRS31 measures 324 microns.
The NIRS31 spectroscopic measurement of road conditions differentiates between the following information:
- dry, the water layer is less than 10 micrometers
- damp/humid, the water layer is less than 100 micrometers (above 10 micrometers)
- wet, the water layer is above 100 micrometers
- all thresholds are adjustable
- critical wetness, it is not dry & the surface temperature is below 0°C
- snow/ice (frost/black ice), there are ice particles identified & it is critical.
The speed rate of drops is registered with a 24 GHz doppler radar system. By comparison between the speed rate & droplet size, the quantity of rain or its intensity will be registered. The precipitation type (rain/snow/snow-covered rain/freezing rain/hail) is determined thanks to the droplet speed. Resolution up to 0.01mm. The principle is that of an electronic tipping bucket.
Visibility/Fog Detection sensor VS20-UMB
Using the "Forward Scatter" measurement process, the road visibility sensor measures visibility up to 3000M. For applications in the traffic engineering, a measuring range up to 1000M is sufficient. Two interface options:4-20 mA analogue interface & an RS485 digital interface to connect to UMB modules. A calibration platewith a defined visibility & software is available as an option.
Snow deptht measurement
A compact laser sensor for determining snow depths.
Snow depth 0...15m (0...50ft)
UMB Technology
New technology for recording
environmental data.
The modular system
excels due to easy commissioning, free
firmware updates & data transfer over
RS232, RS485 or GPRS modem.
An
industrial PC with the Windows-CE operating
system.
The following interfaces
are available for communication purposes:
- USB
- CDMA modem (RS232)
- Party line modem (RS232)
- UMB bus (RS485)
Conversion to the following standard
protocols can be made in combination
with the UMB technology:
TLS
NTCIP
TLS over IP with GPRS (Asfinag)
DGT
XML (Asfinag)
Synop (in planning)
Road Weather Camera
"Virtual eye on site"
in conjunction with measurement
data:
- Creates trust & visually illustrates
measurement data
- Recommended combination especially
in conjunction with ice warning systems
to limit patrols to the greatest possible
extent
- Images of road condition day & night
in real time with infrared spotlight (option) & GPRS transmission.
Infrared Spotlight
For use in combination with the Road Camera above to give 24 hour scene vision in real time.
SOFTWARE Collector/SmartView3
Functions:
Web based visualisation & data
collection software for Lufft
data loggers/transmitters
Please contact us if you require any further details or to request a brochure.
