INSTRUMENTATION

Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring is a geotechnical engineering discipline concerned with monitoring and instrumentation. Geotechnical Instrumentation is a term that describes a variety of sophisticated devices used to monitor geotechnical structures, sites and the environment.

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Geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring is critical to the success of any construction project. Geotechnical monitoring can be carried out for short-term and long-term safety of the structure and to determine the strength of the soil, accurate measurements are needed so that the soil used as a construction site remains stable.

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Instrumentation that is generally needed include:

1. Inclinometer
An inclinometer (or clinometer), is an instrument used to measure the angle of inclination/tilt and elevation/depression of an object with respect to gravity. The resulting measurement is given an angular measurement (degrees, minutes, seconds, etc.) or as a percentage with reference to the zero level field.

2. Vibrating Wire Piezometer
Pore water pressure is measured in soil, earth/rock fill foundation, and concrete structures using a vibrating wire piezometer. The level and pattern of groundwater flow is determined by measuring the pore water pressure. It is also used to find out how water flows in soil/rock heaps & concrete dams, as well as the carrying capacity of soil or rock.

3. Settlement Plate
Settlement Plate is a tool commonly used for making slope embankments, excavations and measuring land subsidence. In addition, this tool can also be used to monitor the settlement of foundations on bridges, towers, high-rise buildings and towers.

4. Extensometers
An extensometer is a high-precision instrument used by geologists and civil engineers to determine the length of material under pressure. This device is ideal for tensile tests. It can also calculate, among others, yield strength, tensile strength, yield point elongation, strain hardening exponent, and strain ratio.

5. Strain Gauges
Strain gauge is a type of electrical sensor. Its main use is to measure force or strain. The resistance of a strain gauge changes when a force is applied and this change will give a different electrical output. Strain gauges use this method to measure pressure, force, weight and stress.

6. AWLR
Automatic Water Level Recorder (AWLR) is an automatic way to measure the water level using a device mounted on a river water level monitoring post. AWLR can measure the water level continuously with the measurement results in the form of a hydrograph.