Applications
Inclinometers
Inclinometers are used to monitor lateral earth movements in land-
slide areas and embankments. They are also used to monitor the de-
flection of retaining walls and piles under load. Horizontal
inclinometers, which are discussed in a separate section, are used to
monitor settlement in foundations and embankments.
Reasons for installing inclinometers include:
Site Investigations Geotechnical site investigations involve evaluations of soil strength
and stability. Inclinometers monitor movement, a direct measure of
stability, so they are often used in site investigations. Installed at the
proposed site for a dam, an inclinometer might detect movement at a
sub-surface shear plane. The shear plane could cause problems later
when the reservoir behind the dam is filled and pore-water pressure
along the shear plane increases.
Verification of
Design Assumptions
Inclinometers may be installed to check that actual movements of a
structure correlate to those predicted during the design phase. For
example, an inclinometer may be installed behind a retaining wall to
check that it deflects no more than 7.5 cm when fully loaded. If the
inclinometer detects deflections greater than that, the designer may
modify the design for future sections of the wall.
Determining the Need for
Corrective Measures
Inclinometers are installed to monitor the magnitude, direction, and
rate of movement. This information helps engineers determine the
need for corrective measures. For example, a highway department
may know of many landslides that put highways at risk, but may not
have the funds or the manpower to stabilize all of them. By monitor-
ing the landslides with inclinometers, engineers can identify the
worst threats and prioritize stabilization measures.
Monitoring
Long-Term Performance
Inclinometers are installed for long term monitoring to detect
changes in ground conditions or in the structure itself. For example,
a contractor refurbishing a highway retaining wall may inadvertently
block its drainage system, causing pore-water pressure behind the
wall to rise. A routinely monitored inclinometer may detect move-
ment in the ground behind the wall before it is visible in the wall
itself.
Safety Monitoring Inclinometers, particularly in-place inclinometers that are monitored
continuously, can provide early warning of catastrophic failure. Such
systems may be installed near highways, railroads, and pipelines that
pass through landslide areas.
Rembco Geotechnical Contractors specializes in
slope stabilization,
soil nail wall,
foundation repair
and support,
grouting,
shoring,
micropile
construction,
rock drilling, and we remediate
sinkholes. We use a
problem-solving approach in the geotechnical portions of buildings, bridges, water plants, sewage plants, tunnels,
installing caisson bottom, and roads. We are experienced in these applications:
micro piles,
sinkhole repair,
permeation and
pressure
grouting,
soil nails,
cement grouting,
chemical grouting,
micropiles,
compaction grouting, and
rock anchors.
Rembco techniques apply when adding new structures: especially
rock anchor,
microfine cement,
soil nailing, and
micropile
installations for foundation support. Our specialties are
soil nails,
rock anchor,
chemical and
compaction grouting,
mini piles,
sinkhole repair,
micropiles, and
soil nailing.
