Infrastructure

Infrastructure, and in particular Linear Infrastructure involves the construction and maintenance of roads, railways and pipelines which include embankments, cuttings and tunnels that often need to be monitored.

Their monitoring both during and post-construction, allows design verification and optimisation, improved safety and cost savings. They are often constructed in areas of challenging environments and their long-term integrity is critical for safe operation and subsequent danger to life involved with failure.

Instrumentation for embankments especially on soft ground is frequently used to monitor progress of consolidation and to determine whether the foundation is stable so that construction schedules can be determined. Where vertical drains are installed, instrumentation is used to evaluate whether it is effective in accelerating consolidation.

The occurrence of geohazards such as landslides, slope movement or rock falls are the main causes of damage along linear infrastructures. Instrumentation also provides a warning of any instability, allowing preventive or corrective measures to be implemented before critical situations arise.