Tactile Pressure Sensors for Soil-Structure Interaction Assessment
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 11
Abstract
This paper provides an assessment of tactile pressure sensors for geotechnical applications. A tactile pressure sensor is an array of small sensing units, called sensels, embedded in a polymeric sheet or pad that measures the magnitude and distribution of stresses normal to the sheet surface. Methods for minimizing the effects of shear on sensor measurements are discussed and the efficacy of these methods are demonstrated by laboratory experiments. The time-dependent characteristics of the sensors are evaluated and recommendations are provided for measurements that account for time-dependent effects. Tactile pressure sensor measurements in response to vertical loading and unloading and to lateral loads on full-scale pipelines affected by large horizontal ground movements are compared with independent measurements of the loads. Sensor measurements are used to show the distribution of normal stress on pipelines subject to large lateral soil movement.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported primarily by the George E. Brown Jr. NEES Program of the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NSFCMS-0421142. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This project is part of a collaborative project involving full-scale buried pipe tests at Cornell University and companion centrifuge tests at Rensselaer. The writers thank Mr. Tim Bond and Mr. John Davis of the Cornell University Civil Infrastructure Lab and Mr. Joe Chipalowsky and Ms. Qinge Ma of the Cornell University NEES equipment site for their valuable assistance in the setup and performance of the tests. The writers also recognize Cornell University Ph.D. candidate Jeremiah Jezerski for his assistance in performing the tests on the sensors.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 11 • November 2009
Pages: 1638 - 1645
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 7, 2008
Accepted: May 7, 2008
Published online: Oct 15, 2009
Published in print: Nov 2009
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