Soil Instrumentations

By: Ir. Edayu Bt. Saleh@Aman

 COURSE OUTLINE

Introduction

Purpose of Soil Type of Applications

Instruments Instrument of
Instruments

Summary
 Purposes of Soil Instrumentations
Site Investigation Design Verification Construction
Control

i. To characterize initial i. To verify design i. To monitor the

site conditions. assumptions effects of
ii. To get common ii. To check the construction.
parameters of interest performance is as ii. To help the
such as pore-water predicted. engineer
pressure, permeability determine how
& etc. fast construction
can proceed
without the risk of
failure.
Factors Affecting the Choice of Instruments

Ground
Critical Conditions Instrument
Parameters Life

Complementary Environmental Personnel and

Parameters & Conditions Resources at
Redundant the Site
Measurements
 N

WHY DO WE NEED
INSTRUMENTATION?? It is a useful tool to
supplement what we can not
identify trend of
behaviours & quantify the E
W
changes of the crucial
parameters affecting the
bahaviours in the
observation.

S
 Benefits of Soil Instrumentation

1
3

Design Verification 2
& Optimisation Cost & Time
Saving
Construction &
Operational Safety

If you can not get high quality and reliable data, then better
don’t initiate any instrumentation scheme because it will
create more problems than being advantageous.
 Responsibility

Instrument
Installation

Data
Instruments Cycle related to Collection
Selection High quality
Instrumentation
Scheme

Respons Calibration &

Actions Interpret Data
 Responsibility

• Instrument (hardware & Project Designer

Instrument software) Instrumentation
Procurement • Factory calibration Specialist

• Acceptance tests
Field • Instrument installation
• Establish baseline reading Instrumentation
Instrumentation
• Maintaining & calibrating Specialist
Service instruments regularly
• Data collection, processing &
presentation

• Interpret & report data Project Supervision

Interpretation & • Review need for response actions & team/project
Response instruction designer /
Actions • Timely implementation of response
Contractor
actions
 Accuracy & Precision
REFERENCE
VALUE
ACCURANCY

PROBABILITY
DENSITY

PRECISION

Accuracy High High Low Low

Precision High Low High Low
Acceptance Good Fair Systematic Bad
Error
 Types of Soil Instrumentation
Purposes of instrumentation (design/prediction verification)
SM = Surface marker (to check surface deformation)
SG = Settlement gauge (to check ground settlement)
Piezo = Piezometer (pheumatic or electrical, to check excess pore
water pressure)
INC = Inclinometer (to check lateral deformation of subsoil)
EXT = Extensometer (to check deformation of deeper
compressible stratum)

SG EXT SM

SM
INC

Piezo
Inclinometer
 Inclinometer

i. To monitor lateral earth movements in

slopes and embankments.
ii. Horizontal inclinometers are used to
monitor settlement in foundations and
embankments.
 Inclinometer

Inclinometer System Component Parts

 Inclinometer

Operation & Output

Inclinometer

Application of
Inclinometer

i. Locate Shear zones &

help identify types of
failure
 Inclinometer

Application of
Inclinometer

i. Check stability of retaining

wall. Check that reflection in
retaining wall are within
design limits.
ii. Check ground movement
that may affect adjacent
building.
iii.Check the performance of
struts or ground anchors.
 Inclinometer

Settlement Extensometer
Gauge
Inclinometer Inclinometer
& Surface Marker

Sign of Sign of
Rotational Translation
failure failure

Instrumentation for Embankment

over soft ground
 Piezometer

Piezometers are used to measure pore-water pressure

and ground water levels.

Piezometer measurements help engineers to:

 Control placement of fill

 Predict slope stability
 Piezometer

TYPES OF PIEZOMETER

 STANDPIPE PIEZOMETER

 HYDRAULIC PIEZOMETER

 PNEUMATIC PIEZOMETER

 VIBRATING WIRE PIEZOMETER

 Standpipe Piezometer

Casagrande Standpipe
Piezometer
and
Water Level Meter/
Dipmeter
 Standpipe Piezometer

Limitations
• Often very slow to respond to
changes in Pore Pressure particularly
Advantages
in low permeability soils
• Economical
• Prone to damage at the surface
• Simple to install
• Limited to long term pore pressure
• Simple to monitor
monitoring and ground water level
• Normally reliable due to simplicity
monitoring
• Can be up-graded to ADAS if
necessary
 Hydraulic Piezometers
Operating principle

Advantages
i. Simple buried components
ii. Reliable and respond quickly
to pore pressure changes if
well maintained
iii. Checking facility built into
the system
iv. Can be used to confirm
permeability
Hydraulic Piezometers
Limitations
i. Complicated terminal equipment
required
ii. Regular maintenance essential
iii. Complex to upgrade to ADAS
iv. Terminal structure essential
v. Tubing can be damaged by
rodents
Pneumatic Piezometer

Advantages
i. Low volume change
therefore rapid response to
pore pressure changes
ii. Simple terminal equipment
less prone to damage
iii. Portable readout equipment
iv. Reading station is remote
from work area and does not
interfere with construction
activity
Pneumatic Piezometer
Limitations
i. Tubing vulnerable to damage
ii.Nitrogen gas supply required
iii.
Readout maintenance essential
iv.Readouts sometimes require
experienced operators to get
repeatable data from
instruments with long tube
lengths
v. Complicated and expensive to
automate readings
Vibrating Wire Piezometer
Settlement Plate / Settlement Marker
 Settlement Plate
5

3
Cumulative Settlement(m)/Ht.of Fill(m)

Series1
1
SG27

-1

-2

-3
-200 -100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Time (days)
 Magnetic Probe Extensometer

Instruments for
Monitoring Settlement
or Vertical
Displacement
Magnetic Extensometer

Magnetic
Extensometer
System
 APPLICATION OF GEOTECHNICAL INSTRUMENT IN
CONSTRUCTION CONTROL
• Change in Pore Water Pressure > 0.7
Increase in Embankment Pressure

• Maximum Lateral Movement > 0.5

Maximum Vertical Settlement

• Maximum Surface Heave > 0.2

Maximum Vertical Settlement
SG SM

SM
INC

Piezo
 APPLICATION OF GEOTECHNICAL INSTRUMENT IN CONSTRUCTION CONTROL

• Change in Pore Water Pressure > 0.7

Increase in Embankment Pressure

• Maximum Lateral Movement > 0.5

Maximum Vertical Settlement

• Maximum Surface Heave > 0.2

Maximum Vertical Settlement
Matsuo Plot
 JKR MALAYSIA
Project:
Matsuo Plot
(Filling Control)
5.0

4.5

4.0

3.5
Settlement ρt (m)

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

Ratio: Displacement / Settlement, δ/ρt

PORE WATER PRESSURE INDUCED BY EMBANKMENT
LOADING (PARRY & WROTH 1981)
APPLICATION OF PIEZOMETER IN CONSTRUCTION
CONTROL ( RATE OF FILLING WORK)
 Summary: Application & Instruments
Pore Water Reason For Monitoring Instruments used:
Pressure i. Determine safe rates of fill i. VW Piezometer
ii. Predict slope stability ii. Pneumatic
Piezometer
iii. Standpipe
Piezometer

Lateral Reason For Monitoring Instruments used:

Deformation i. Evaluate the stability of slopes & i. Inclinometer
embankments. ii. Rod
ii. Determine the need & timing for Extensometer
corrective measures.
iii. Verify the performance & safety
of structures such as retaining
walls & embankments.
 Summary: Application & Instruments
Vertical Reason For Monitoring Instruments used:
deformation i. Verify that soil consolidation is i. Settlement
proceeding as predicted. marker
ii. Predict & adjust the final grade ii. Settlement
of an embankment. Plate
iii. Verify the performance of iii. Magnetic
engineered foundations. Extensometer
iv. Determine the need & timing for iv. Horizontal
corrective measures. inclinometer
THANK YOU