Instrumented pile load testing with distributed optical fibre strain sensor

Abstract

An instrumented pile load test was conducted for a 1.2m diameter bored pile at Putrajaya to verify pile performance towards geotechnical design. This test pile was instrumented with new monitoring technique using distributed strain sensing known as Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA) and compared with conventional sensors, i.e. vibrating wire strain gauge, LVDT (linear variable differential transformer) and dial gauge. This manuscript includes the description of subsurface conditions consisting of weathered granitic residual soils, test pile installation and instrumentation setup of Maintain Load Test (MLT). Field measurement results such as the load transfer response and average unit shaft resistance using the distributed fibre optic strain sensor were well matched with the results using the conventional sensors. However, the distributed fibre optic strain sensor has the added advantage of detecting the localized defect such as pile necking, bending, and overall behaviour of bored pile effectively.