Washboard road in the lab

Dry sand or gravel roads develop ripples under the action of rolling wheels. This makes for annoying driving conditions. This experiment demonstrates the effect by rolling a small wheel on a bed of sand at the edge of a rotating table.

For more, see
http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/nonlinear/abstracts/TMM07abstract.html

If you have pictures of movies of real washboard road, we are interesting in seeing them.

Movie made at DAMTP, University of Cambridge.

Nicolas Taberlet, Stephen Morris and Jim McElwaine.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• physics
• road
• driving
• experiment
• washboard
• sand
• pattern
• formation

[nlty2000]

shouldn't you have calculated a realistic road speed? this seems so rough.

[smorris123]

These are just the bumps you get for this speed. Its not a matter of calculation. There is a threshold speed above which the bumps appear, which corresponds to a few miles per hour. It depends on various things like the weight of the wheel.

[sciencefairfans]

How is is that you suspend the wheel over the platform of the apparatus? I, along with my science partner, are trying to recreate your experiment, we were wondering how is it that your wheel can be held like that? A speedy response would be preferable. Thank you.

[cpmisalive]

Like my Father used to say, an hour spent in the library saves two months in the lab. Mind you, I am very suspicious of the AppMaths and TheoPhys folks who are probably sneaking out in the middle of the night and destroying the roads in Cambridge ;)