Monitoring ground movement using fibre optic sensors

Project Title:

Monitoring ground movement using fibre optic sensors

Supervisor(s):

Gayan Kahandawa

Contact person and email address:

Gayan Kahandawa Appuhamillage Email: g.appuhamillage@federation.edu.au

A brief description of the project:

Quantifying local and regional ground movements is an essential requirement for the assessment and mitigation of risks of injury and structural damage in many ground engineering applications.  While surface movement monitoring systems have been extensively developed, only limited advances have occurred in the area of subsurface movement monitoring.  In-ground monitors for measuring vertical and lateral movements in boreholes are available but their deployment is expensive where relative movements of the ground laterally are the major concern.  Direct measurement of lateral subsurface movements has proven to be a less tractable problem. This project will develop a novel technique using optical Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors to measure subsurface ground strain and displacement. The project will benefit mainly the mining industry as well as other ground engineering applications including cut and fill road/rail works, river flood control embankments and construction excavation. Technique also can be applicable for damage assessment in natural disasters such as earthquake.