Geotechnical Instruments in Structural Monitoring

Xiaoli Ding
Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Telephone: +852 2766 5965; Fax: +852 2330 2994; Email: lsxlding@polyu.edu.hk
Hui Qin
Department of Architectural Engineering
Wu Yi University, Guang Dong, China
Telephone: +86 750 3352112; Email: internet:fsy@pub.jiangmen.gd.cn

Abstract
Geotechnical instruments are used widely as a complementary tool to geodetic methods in
monitoring natural and man-made structures. This paper provides an overview of
geotechnical instruments used in structural monitoring. The transducers commonly used in
geotechnical instrumentation are first introduced. This is followed by an introduction of the
various types of instruments including their working principles and applications. The
advantages and disadvantages of geotechnical instruments when compared with geodetic
methods in structural monitoring are finally discussed.

1 Introduction
Many natural and man-made structures such as slopes, buildings, dams, bridges and tunnels
need monitored to determine periodically such parameters of the structures as deformations
and the states of stress. The aims of structural monitoring can vary from one project to
another but generally fall into the following:
a) Safety assurance. Many structures can fail under certain conditions. Monitoring is
often one of the most effective ways to understand the safety status of such structures.
b) Validation of design assumptions. Some parameters such as those defining the
properties of soil or rock of a cut slope are often assumed at the design stage based on
some field investigations. Results of monitoring during or after a construction can help
to validate such assumptions so to carry out remedial work if necessary or to improve
future designs.
c) Scientific experiments and research. Results from monitoring measurements may lead
to new discovery or help to expand our existing knowledge.
The parameters of a structure that need monitored are many but the most common ones are
deformation, load, stress, strain, and ground water pressure. A great number of methods are
available for structural monitoring. These methods can however generally be classified into
geodetic (surveying) methods and geotechnical methods. Geodetic methods are mainly used
to monitor deformations while geotechnical methods can be used to determine some other
important parameters beside deformations. The two types of methods complement each
other in most of the times in terms of the types of information that they can obtain. It should
be noted here that the above classification of the monitoring methods is mainly used in the
fields of surveying and geodesy (e.g., Chrzanowski, 1994; Ding, et al., 1995). The engineers

Journal of Geospatial Engineering, Vol. 2, No.2, pp.45-56

Copyright The Hong Kong Institution of Engineering Surveyors

Ding, XL and Qin, H.

and geologists often refer all the methods as geotechnical methods (e.g., Hanna, 1985;
Dunnicliff, 1993).
This paper will provide an overview of geotechnical instruments as used for structural
monitoring. It will first examine the various transducers that geotechnical instruments
employ. The different types of geotechnical instruments will then be reviewed, including
their working principles and applications.
The advantages and disadvantages of
geotechnical instruments in comparison with geodetic methods will be discussed at the end.

2 Transducers Used in Geotechnical Instrumentation

Transducers are the cores of any geotechnical instruments. This section will therefore
briefly look into transducers that are commonly used in geotechnical instrumentation.
2.1 Mechanical Transducers
The two most frequently used mechanical transducers are dial indicators and micrometers.
A dial indicator converts liner movement of a spring-loaded plunger to the movement of a
pointer that rotates above a dial. Typical ranges of dial indicators are about 50 mm while
long-range dial indicators of up to 300 mm can be obtained. The reading resolutions of dial
indicators are generally within +0.025 - +0.0025 mm.
A micrometer measures displacements by measuring the rotation of a finely threaded
plunger when it travels in or out of a housing. Fractional revolutions are measured with the
assistance of a vernier. Accuracies of micrometers are limited to about +0.025 mm. The
range of a micrometer can be extended to 150 mm. Micrometers are more robust than dial
indicators.
2.2 Hydraulic Transducers
Hydraulic transducers are mainly used to measure pressures. There are two basic designs:
the Bourdon tube pressure gages and manometers. A Bourdon tube is made by flattening a
metal tube and coiling it into a C-shaped configuration (Fig. 1). The liquid pressure in the
tube is measured by measuring the changes in the curvature of the tube. Typical accuracies
of Bourdon tubes are +0.1% - +0.5% of the full-scale (FS) reading. A manometer uses a
liquid-filled U-tube (Fig. 2). A pressure on one side of the U-tube is balanced by an equal
pressure on the other.

Figure 1 Bourdon tube hydraulic transducer (after Hanna, 1985)

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Geotechnical Instruments in Structural Monitoring

Figure 2 Schematic of U-tube mercury manometer (after Hanna, 1985)

2.3 Pneumatic Transducers
Pneumatic transducers measure pressures through the measurement of gas pressures. There
are different designs of pneumatic transducers. Fig. 3 shows the design of a so-called
normally closed pneumatic transducer where there is no gas flow between the inlet and the
outlet tubes normally. During a measurement, the gas pressure in the inlet tube is gradually
increased. When the gas pressure reaches P, the measured pressure, the diaphragm deflects
and the gas starts to flow from the inlet tube to the outlet tube. The recorded gas pressure at
that point equals P.
2.4 Electrical Transducers
There are a large number of different types of electrical transducers used in geotechnical
instrumentation. The following is a brief sample of the major ones:

Figure 3 Schematic of normally closed pneumatic transducer (after Dunnicliff, 1993)

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Ding, XL and Qin, H.

Electrical resistance transducers

Electrical resistance transducers use the basic property of an electrical conductor that the
resistance of the conductor changes in direct proportion to the change in the length of the
conductor:
R L
=
GF
R
L
where

(1)

R
L
is the relative resistance change;
is the relative length change; GF is the
R
L

gage factor. Output from electrical resistance gages is normally measured using a
Wheatstone bridge circuit.
Linearly Varying Displacement Transducers (LVDT)
A linearly varying displacement transducer, also called linear variable differential
transformer, consists of a movable magnetic core passing through one primary and two
secondary coils (Fig. 4). When an AC voltage, called the excitation voltage, is applied to
the primary coil, an AC voltage in each secondary coil is generated, with a magnitude
depending on the relative position between the magnetic core and each of the secondary
coils. The displacement of the magnetic core can therefore be measured by measuring the
changes in the voltages of the secondary coils.
The requirement of the AC power supply can be avoided by using DC power together with
an amplitude regulator. Most LVDTs used in practice use this approach since it is often
troublesome to get AC power supply in the field.
Potentiometer
A potentiometer consists of a fixed resistance strip and a movable slider that makes
electrical contact along the resistance strip (Fig. 5). The measured resistance or voltage
changes with the position of the contact point.
Vibrating wire transducers
A steel wire is clamped at its two ends (Fig. 6). The frequency of vibration of the wire
changes with its tension. Small displacements between the ends of the wire can therefore be
measured by measuring the frequency changes. The frequency of vibration of a tensioned
wire in terms of the wire stress is (Hawkes and Bailey, 1973),

Figure 4 Schematic of a LVDT (after Dunnicliff, 1993)

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Geotechnical Instruments in Structural Monitoring

+
-

Vibrating
wire

Electrical
coil

Receiver

Figure 5: Schematic of potentiometer

Figure 6: Schematic of vibrating wire transducer

f =

1 g
2L

(2)

where, f is the natural frequency; L is the length of the vibrating wire; is the stress in the
wire; is the density of the wire material; and g is the acceleration due to gravity.
The electrical coil usually serves two purposes, plucking the wire and sensing the vibration
of the wire in the same time. Some vibrating wire transducers can continuously carry out
the measurement while the others measure only at discrete times.
Force Balance Accelerometer
Force balance accelerometer consists of a mass suspended in the magnetic field of a position
detector (Fig. 7). When the mass is subjected to a force along its sensitive axis, it tries to
move. The motion induces a current change in the position detector that is fed back to a
restoring coil. The coil generates an electromagnetic force to the mass to balance the
initiating force. The current change going through the restoring coil is measured from
which the acceleration is calculated.

Figure 7 Schematic of a force balance accelerometer (after Dunnicliff, 1993)

There are many other types of electrical transducers, such as variable reluctance transducers
and electrical levels. They will not be covered here due to the space limit.

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3 Instruments for Measurement of Deformations

There are a variety of geotechnical instruments that have been developed for deformation
measurements. These include extensometers, inclinometers, tilt meters, pendulums and
inverted pendulums.
3.1 Extensometers
Extensometers are used to measure the relative movements between points (e.g., Caswell,
1992; Sheppard and Murie, 1992; Joass, 1993). They can be applied, e.g., to measure the
movements across a crack, inside or on the surface of a slope, as shown in Fig. 8.
Extensometers are made of various types of material, such as steel tapes and wires,
tensioned or untensioned steel rods, and fiberglass, for different conditions of application.
Extensometers usually use mechanical micrometers, electrical resistance and variable
reluctance transducers.
Most extensometers currently in use have a digital readout. Readings can be taken by site
personnel, or can be stored in an electronic data logger and transferred to a computer
afterwards. A small number of mines have established telemetry systems in order to log and
check the readings in real or near-real time.
Measurement ranges of the available extensometers vary from a few centimeters (crack
meters) up to around 180 m (tensioned rod extensometers). Most in-wall extensometers
extend to about 30-40 m. Accuracies of better than 0.1 mm can be achieved, though the
effects of temperature and wind can have adverse impact on the accuracy of an individual
reading.
Extensometers are commonly used for slope stability monitoring. They can be used either
on the surface or inside a slope, and very easily linked to a data logger and alarm system.
For example, for a typical open pit mine in Australia, 5 to 30 extensometers of various types
are employed to monitor slopes formed in open pit mining.

Figure 8 Typical applications of extensometers (Courtesy of

Geotechnical Systems Australia Pty. Ltd.)

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Inclinometer

Inclinometer casing

Figure 9: Profile measurement with inlinometers

3.2 Inclinometers
Inclinometers are used to measure the subsurface lateral displacement of soil or rock. An
electrical probe is usually lowered through a guide casing to the base of a near vertical
borehole (see Fig. 9). The probe is then pulled up while the inclination information of the
probe in two orthogonal planes is registered at certain intervals. From this information,
profiles of the borehole in the two planes can be derived and reviewed graphically. The
lateral displacements of the borehole can be determined by comparing the measured profiles
of the borehole obtained at different times. Boreholes of up to 200 m in depth can be
measured using inclinometers.
In practice it is usual to extend a borehole into stable ground in order to have a common
reference point to compare borehole profiles for determining displacements. Inclinometers
can also be placed permanently at important locations to log data continuously. In this
situation the inclinometer is acting as a tilt meter.
Servo-accelerometers are usually used as the sensors in an inclinometer probe. Very high
resolutions can be achieved with these devices. For example, a sensitivity of 0.02 mm per
500 mm casing is offered by the 50325M model of Slope Indicator's Digitilt sensor. The
system accuracy of the inclinometer is around 6 mm per 25 m of casing.
Inclinometers are ideal to measure the lateral displacements occurring within a slope.
However, it is difficult to fully automate the process of measurement with inclinometers.
A significant number of open pit mines in Australia employ inclinometers for pit
deformation measurements (e.g., Joass, 1993), although there are fewer applications of
inclinometers than extensometers.
3.3 Tilt meters and Electrolevels
Tilt meters are available for measuring the rotational deformation at specific locations on a
structure. For example, Applied Geomechanics produces an electronic clinometers with

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Ding, XL and Qin, H.

specified resolutions of 1.75 - 0.01 microradian (0.36 - 0.002 arc seconds). However the
high cost of these instruments mean that they are not widely adopted.
3.4 Pendulums and Inverted Pendulums
A pendulum (Fig. 10 (a) achieves a plumb line by using a weight at the lower end of a wire.
A near vertical duct is required to set up the system. The weight is usually kept in a liquid
(such as oil) tank to stabilise the pendulum. The relative horizontal movement between the
anchor point and the lower ground can be determined by reading the scales in two
orthogonal directions. Inverted pendulum uses a float in a liquid tank to keep the wire
tensioned and vertical (Fig. 10(b)). The relative horizontal movement between the anchor
point and the ground surface is determined by reading the scales located on the ground
surface. Inverted pendulums are more suitable for situations where access to the bottom end
of the system is not readily available. The instruments are commonly used in embankment
dam deformation monitoring (e.g., Marsland, 1973).
Pendulums and inverted pendulums can offer an accuracy of +0.5 mm by using a steel
measuring scale or +0.03 mm by using travelling vernier microscopes (Dunnicliff, 1993).
The reading process can also be automated by using some sensing devices such as an optical
vision system.
Liquid and float

Stable anchor point

Reading scale

Plumb line
Plumb line
Reading scale

Weight and
dampening liquid

(a)

Stable anchor point

(b)

Figure 10: Schematic of pendulum (a) and inverted pendulum (b)

4 Instruments for Measurement of Load, Stress and Strain

Instruments for measuring load, stress and strain all rely on the use of transducers to sense
the usually small extensions or compressions caused by the load or by the deformation of
the monitored object.
Load cells, also referred to as dynamometers, are usually interposed in a structure in such a
way that the structural forces pass through the cells. Depending on the types of transducers
used in the load cells, there are, e.g., mechanical load cells that use dial gages, hydraulic
load cells that have a flat liquid-filled chamber connected to a pressure transducer, electrical
resistance load cells that rely on electrical resistance strain gages, vibrating wire load cells
that use vibrating wire transducers. Most of the load cells have an accuracy of about 2-10%
FS. Load cells are widely used to monitor loads in testing piles, rockbolts and drilled shafts.

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Figure 11 Vibrating wire strain gages (courtesy of Rocktest Ltd., Quebec, Canada)
Strain gages are often attached to the surface of a structure or embedded within the
structure. There are also mechanical, vibrating wire and electrical resistance strain gages
beside some other specially designed ones. There are also different designs within each
category. For example, there are five basic types of electrical resistance strain gages:
bonded wire resistance strain gage, unbonded wire resistance strain gage, bonded foil
resistance strain gage, semiconductor resistance strain gage, and the weldable resistance
strain gage. The measurement ranges, sensitivities and accuracies of the strain gages vary
from one design to another.
Stress in soils or rocks can be measured using pressure cells and stressmeters that use, e.g.,
vibrating wire transducers. It is also common to measure stresses directly by measuring
deformations.
Fig. 11 shows the SM-5 series of vibrating wire strain gages from Rocktest Ltd. The
resolution of the instruments is 0.1 strain with a measurement range of 3,300 strains.

5 Instruments for Measurement of Ground Water Level and Pore Water

Pressure
Ground water level can usually be measured through the use of a standpipe (Fig. 12).
Various instruments that are based on the use of mechanical, electrical, acoustic and
pressure sensing gages can be used for this purpose. The commonly used ones include steel
tape, electrical dipmeter, audio reader, and piezometers.
Piezometers are instruments for the measurement of ground water pressures. They are
usually used in an open standpipe, sealed in filled embankment, or driven into ground. The
central part of a piezometer is a pressure gage, either a mechanical, electrical, hydraulic or
pneumatic transducer. Therefore, we have the vibrating wire piezometers, twin-tube
hydraulic piezometers, pneumatic transducers, electrical resistance piezometers, etc.
Multipoint piezometers can also be used to measure water pressures in different strata of the
ground. Fig. 13 shows an example of such an arrangement.
Piezometers are commonly used in monitoring slopes, dams and underground constructions.
For example, a large number of piezometers have been installed in slopes in HK. Hillman
(1993) and Joass (1993) presented examples of using piezometers in monitoring open pit

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Ding, XL and Qin, H.

mine slopes. Little (1973) described test results of using hydraulic, electrical and pneumatic
piezometers in dam monitoring.
Cap
Standpipe

Backfill

Seal

Sand
Seal

Figure 12 Open standpipe for ground water level and water pressure measurement

Fig. 13 Schematic of a multipoint piezometer (courtesy of Sol Experts, Zurich)

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Geotechnical Instruments in Structural Monitoring

6 Comparison with Geodetic Methods

When compared with geodetic methods for structural monitoring, geotechnical instruments
have the following advantages:
a) Whist geodetic methods are usually limited to deformation measurement, geotechnical
instruments can determine many other types of useful parameters such as load, stress
and ground water pressure beside deformation measurement.
b) Most geodetic methods can only measure surface deformations, or in another word the
deformations at places where the operator can access or at least can see. Geotechnical
instruments are not limited by this. This feature of geotechnical instruments make them
very useful for such applications as slope monitoring where information on the
deformation inside a slope is often more important.
c) Most geotechnical instruments can output electrical signals and therefore be easily
linked to an automatic monitoring system. A number of such systems have been
demonstrated (e.g., Chrzanowski and Kurz, 1982; McAuey and Smith, 1983; Ding, et
al., 2000).
d) Very high measurement accuracy can often be achieved using geotechnical instruments.
Geotechnical instruments also have their limitations:
a) Most deformation measurement instruments such as extensometers and inclinometers
can only measure relative displacements within limited ranges.
b) Most geotechnical instruments need careful and sometimes complicated and expensive
installations by experienced personnel before they can be used. The time delay in
installation can also be lengthy. Besides, if an instrument malfunctions, it may be
difficult to get it repaired or replaced. Therefore the reliability of a geotechnical
instrument is a very important factor to consider when choose the instrument.
c) If manual reading mode is used, the operator often need to physically get to the site each
time when data is collected.
It is often advantageous to integrate the two types of monitoring techniques in practical
applications.

7 Conclusions
There are basically two main types of techniques for structural monitoring, the geodetic and
the geotechnical techniques. This paper has provided an overview of the currently available
geotechnical instruments used for structural monitoring. The principals of the basic
transducers used in geotechnical instrumentation, the various types of geotechnical
instruments and their applications, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of
geotechnical instruments when compared with geodetic methods have been discussed. It has
been seen from the discussions that geodetic and geotechnical techniques are
complementary in many aspects and it is often advantageous to integrate the two in practical
applications.

Acknowledgements
The research was partly supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region (Project No. PolyU 5051/98E).

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