Calibration and Validation of S3F Sensor for Measuring Normal and Shear Stresses in Soil

What is it about?

Understanding how soil and structures behave is crucial for safe construction and maintenance. To aid this, our study introduces a new sensor called the Surface Stress Sensitive Film (S3F) point sensor. This sensor can measure the forces within soil and at the points where soil touches structures like foundations or tunnels. The S3F sensor detects how a flexible film stretches or compresses under pressure. A tiny magnetic piece inside the film and a sensor that tracks its position pick up these movements. By calibrating the sensor, we can accurately determine the forces acting in different directions. We tested the S3F sensor under various conditions, including different soil types and stress situations, to see how well it measures these forces. Our results show that the sensor effectively measures normal forces (pushing down or up) and shear forces (sliding). The sensor performed well in different soils, including sands and silts. This new sensor technology could be beneficial for engineers in monitoring the stresses at critical points where soil meets structures, such as foundations, tunnels, pipes, and retaining walls.

Featured Image

Photo by Shane McLendon on Unsplash

Photo by Shane McLendon on Unsplash