Belt tension measurement and monitoring of load securing straps by using resistive stitch-based strain sensors

Abstract

This paper focusses on the evaluation of stitch-based strain sensors suitability for the belt tension measuring and monitoring of load securing straps in road freight transportation. Formerly developed stitch-based strain sensor applications were embroidered on a commercial load securing strep, compliant with established industrial standards for load security in the Federal Republic of Germany. The applications were tested in lashing experiments, simulating the securing of a dummy load in road freight transportation. The experiment results showed that they are capable of measuring and monitoring applied amounts of belt tension with a computable change in stitch-resistance. However, cyclic belt tensioning causes strain wear on the stitched applications, resulting in resistance and sensitivity drift.