Pressure measurement films are an efficient tool to validate the shape and size of wheel-rail contact patches predicted by numerical simulations. However, accurate measurements are only possible if the alteration caused by the presence of the film between contact partners is considered. This work investigates the effect of several influential factors on the resulting deviation and presents a procedure to estimate the measurement error in wheel-rail contact.

This work describes a method for accurate and dynamic payload estimation for mobile hydraulic excavators. It comprises of a base analytical model that expresses the payload as a function of joint torques and motion parameters, complimented using a machine-learning model that uses a data-driven approach to significantly increase the accuracy of the overall payload estimate. Measurements performed on a target excavator validate the accuracy of the method under real world conditions.