Laser profilometers

Laser profilometer

The device is used to measure the road surface profile and the macro / mega texture. It consists of a beam with a desired length and a laser instrument installed in a "car" automatically driven by an electric motor. As a result the surface profile is measured and shown on the display of a Laptop or a Notebook PC. Naturally the results are also stored in the memory. The beam is also provided with an inclinometer.

Range of use

Laser profilograph can be used for several purposes:

  • Research of the wear resistance of surfacings
  • The wearing process of road and street surfacings
  • Traffic noise research

Measuring principle

The laser unit is automatically driven by 12V electric motor. The profile is measured with a laser instrument at desired intervals, e.g. 1 or 2mm. The measuring process is controlled from the laptop pc by giving operation orders such as the starting and end points, measuring interval, the name of the measurement, the date, start order etc. When started the device makes a measurement and returns back to the starting point.

The power is taken from a separate 12V car battery or directly from the vehicle.

Technical information

Beam length Usually 1.5 or 4m
Measuring interval 1mm (macro texture)
Resolution of laser 0.05mm (micro / macro texture)
Measuring time 1min / 20s

Definitions

Texture class Wave length Note
Micro texture 0-0.5mm Practical range 0.05-0.5mm
Macro texture 0.5-50mm
Mega texture 50-500mm
Roughness IRI 0.5-30m Measuring range 0.5-8m with 4m beam length
IRI4 0.5-4m