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Calibration of Earth Pressure Sensors

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Abstract

Economic and optimum design of retaining structures, silos, buried pipes, etc. mainly depend on earth pressures acting on the structure and its variation. Earth pressure sensors are being widely used to measure these pressures, and calibration of these sensors plays a vital role in precise assessment of earth pressures. In the present study, calibration of two types of pressure sensors is performed by dead weight calibration (DWC) and fluid calibration methods. Two diaphragm type earth pressure cells (DEPCs), viz. 40 and 30 mm diameter, and a tactile pressure sensor (TPS) of size  25 mm × 25 mm × 2 mm thick are used in this study. Two set-ups are developed for DWC of DEPC and TPS. Pneumatic calibration chamber (PCC) is developed to perform fluid and soil calibration of pressure sensors. PCC tests facilitate application of pressure uniformly on the entire area of sensor compared to DWC method. From fluid calibration trials, a drop in full scale output of 40 mm DEPC after 3 years of usage is observed. Dead Weight and Pneumatic Calibration tests on TPS revealed non-linear response with applied pressure. Soil calibration of 30 mm diameter DEPC using PCC tests exhibited consistent results compared to that of DWC method.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support received from the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India [MoES/P.O(Seismo)/1(118)/2010], to carry out the research.

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  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India

    Vinil Kumar Gade & S. M. Dasaka

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  1. Vinil Kumar Gade
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  2. S. M. Dasaka
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Correspondence to S. M. Dasaka.

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Gade, V.K., Dasaka, S.M. Calibration of Earth Pressure Sensors. Indian Geotech J 48, 142–152 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-017-0223-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-017-0223-0

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