A Method for Correcting Field Strain Measurements to Account for Temperature Effects
Christopher L. Meehan1; Majid Talebi2
1Bentley Systems Incorporated Chair of Civil Engineering & Associate Professor, University of Delaware, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
301 DuPont Hall, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A.
E-mail: cmeehan@udel.edu (corresponding author)
2Graduate Student, University of Delaware, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 301 DuPont Hall, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A.
E-mail: mtalebi@udel.edu
Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 2017, Volume 45, Number 4, pp. 250-260
Abstract
Measurements of deformation and strain are of critical importance for the structural health monitoring of geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) structures. For some commonly used wiring configurations and sensors, field strain measurements can exhibit apparent strains that are caused by changes in wire temperature or changes in gauge temperature, which do not correspond to changes in actual strain in the geosynthetic. Correcting for these effects is important for separating out real structural behavior from wiring and sensor issues, and is imperative for avoiding false trigger warnings in automated instrumentation reporting systems. The current paper consequently presents a method for correcting field strain measurements to account for temperature effects. Data collected from sensors embedded in a heavily-instrumented GRS abutment over a two-year monitoring period is presented. The distributed thermistor array embedded in the GRS abutment is shown to be particularly useful for understanding temperature effects on the measured foil strain gauge data. The presented approach and associated framework for data correction are useful for practicing engineers and other researchers, as the general concepts from this study can be applied to data collected from many instrumented geosynthetic field projects.
Keywords
Geosynthetics; Geosynthetic reinforced soil; Foil strain gauge; Wire; Temperature effects; Thermistor; Wheatstone bridge
Reference
Meehan, C. L. and Talebi, M. (2017). “A Method for Correcting Field Strain Measurements to Account for Temperature Effects.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Elsevier, 45(4), 250-260. (doi:10.1016/j.geotexmem.2017.02.005)