Work

Development, fabrication, and validation of custom-built accelerometers to monitor wave propagation during vibratory soil compaction

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Historically, accelerometers have been heavily utilized in the geotechnical community for applications such as earthquake ground motion monitoring, centrifuge testing, pile driving analysis, and continuous compaction control of soils. Industrial-grade accelerometers that are commonly used for these types of studies can be expensive for monitoring programs requiring a dense configuration of accelerometers. In the current study, a dense array of relatively inexpensive custom-built accelerometers, previously developed by the authors, were deployed along an earthen embankment and subjected to real-world vibratory soil compaction conditions. Several industrial-grade accelerometers were also installed along the embankment for comparison purposes. This study describes the fabrication, calibration, and installation process of these custom-built accelerometers and compares their performance against the industrial-grade accelerometers. Accelerations recorded by both sensors during compaction were generally consistent with one another ultimately indicating that these custom-built accelerometers could offer a cost-effective option for dense sensor arrays for future geotechnical monitoring programs.

Source: Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring

DOI: 10.1007/s13349-024-00898-3

Authors: William J. Baker, Christopher L. Meehan

Institutions: Federal Highway Administration, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, University of Delaware

Language: English

Topic: Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Mechanics

Subfield: Civil and Structural Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,890