Geotechnical instrumentation plays a significant part in every stage of a project and is extremely helpful to engineers. It makes use of a variety of instruments which include inclinometer, tilt meter, pillar sensors, strain gauges and more which are either bought or leased whenever needed. Its applications not only include construction projects but also dams, bridges, landslides, railways, etc. In construction they are useful during the complete lifecycle of the project as follows:
Site Survey – Geotechnical instrumentation helps engineers survey the initial conditions of the site which includes soil, pore- water pressure, slope stability, etc.
Design Assessment – Once the project design is ready, Geotechnical instrumentations verifies the same and if necessary suggest requisite changes in the design that are suitable to the site conditions.
Construction and Quality Control – Geotechnical instrumentation ensures that the quality of workmanship of construction is maintained and also keeps a check if the work is progressing as per the schedule. It also suggests necessary changes so that the work is completed before time without affecting the quality.
Security – If there are any kind of potential failures, geotechnical instrumentation alerts the engineers in advance so that they can take necessary actions to avoid the failure and also manage evacuation if required so that there is minimum casualty.
Geotechnical instrumentation is also useful in dealing with legal issues relating to neighboring properties and more. Thus, beyond just and tool of geotechnical engineering it is a boon to the engineers.
