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Performance Analysis of Piezo-Ceramic Elements in Soils

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Abstract

The application of piezo-ceramic elements for measuring shear and compression wave velocities in the soil mass is increasing day-by-day. Depending upon the configuration and polarity, these elements can either be used as benders or extenders, which can transmit and receive shear and compression waves, respectively. Though, several researchers have successfully employed these elements for characterizing the soil mass based on the shear and compression wave velocities, determination of the “time lag” between the input and output waves remains debatable. Even, the existing literature does not clearly present the response of these elements with respect to the frequency of excitation and the type of the material to be characterized. With this in view, extensive investigations were made to capture the performance of piezo-ceramic elements by changing their (a) wiring configuration (i.e., series or parallel) and (b) polarization (i.e., same or opposite) in the compacted soils of different characteristics (i.e., moisture content, dry density and type of the soil). Details of the methodology are presented in this paper and special attention has been paid to address various problems (i.e., wave attenuation, crosstalk phenomena, near field effect and overshooting of transmitting waves) that are associated with signal interpretation and may yield misleading results.

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Abbreviations

ν:

Poisson’s ratio

λ:

Wave length

τ :

Time shift between the two signals

Δh :

Shear deformation of the piezo-ceramic element

CC XY :

Cross correlation function between X and Y waves

d :

Piezo-electric charge constant

d 50 :

Average grain size

E max :

Young’s modulus

f :

Frequency of excitation

G max :

Small strains shear modulus

h :

Thickness of the piezo-ceramic element

l :

Free length of the piezo-ceramic element

L tt :

Tip-to-tip distance between the transmitter and the receiver

t :

“Time lag” between the input and output waves

t 1 :

Thickness of the central electrode

T :

Total time length of the signal

V :

Applied voltage

V p :

Compression wave velocity

V s :

Shear wave velocity

W :

Width of the piezo-ceramic element

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering Division, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400 076, India

    A. Patel, D. N. Singh & K. K. Singh

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  1. A. Patel
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  2. D. N. Singh
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  3. K. K. Singh
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Correspondence to D. N. Singh.

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Patel, A., Singh, D.N. & Singh, K.K. Performance Analysis of Piezo-Ceramic Elements in Soils. Geotech Geol Eng 28, 681–694 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-010-9328-2

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