An Efficient Methodology for Detecting the Vertical Movement of Structures

Abstract

Details regarding the public safety of engineering structures can be gleaned from measurements and monitoring. The development of a methodology for monitoring and analyzing structures' vertical displacement is explained in this paper. The developed methodology aims to add a new dimension to geometric leveling, and leveling routing, by applying a least squares solution for level network adjustment and performing statistical analysis to assess the change in vertical displacement. To monitor and analyze the vertical deformation of a building in Cairo, Egypt, the proposed methodology was utilized. Twenty monitoring points, five auxiliary points, and three local reference stations were utilized. All the measurements were taken with a geodetic invar staff and an automatic level with an attachment of a parallel plate micrometer. The observations were made for an interval of 81 months. The least squares adjustment technique was applied to obtain the adjusted levels and observations and to generate the required statistical data. The results of the subsequent epochs were compared to the results of the first epoch to determine the vertical movement of the monitoring points for each epoch. In addition, the significance of the present displacement was ascertained by comparing the values of vertical displacement to the determined 95% corresponding confidence intervals. The findings demonstrated that the building remained stable throughout the monitoring period. The case study demonstrates how effectively geometric leveling with least square adjustment can be used to monitor the vertical displacement of structures.

Dynamic Monitoring of Structural Deformations utilizing an Experimentally Validated Efficient Technique

“…Although such demands can be achieved in many ways [1][2][3], it is challenging to find an approach that satisfies all the criteria mentioned above. In the field of structural measurement, topographic techniques that rely on height differences, observed angles, and lengths are often utilized [4][5][6]. For this purpose, total stations, electronic distance measurement instruments, and theodolites are just examples of the various devices used [7][8], while indirect approaches such as single-or multi-intersections and precise leveling traverse are employed for difficult-to-reach locations [6,[10][11].…”

“…In the field of structural measurement, topographic techniques that rely on height differences, observed angles, and lengths are often utilized [4][5][6]. For this purpose, total stations, electronic distance measurement instruments, and theodolites are just examples of the various devices used [7][8], while indirect approaches such as single-or multi-intersections and precise leveling traverse are employed for difficult-to-reach locations [6,[10][11]. Contact sensors can also be used for these observations, such as inclinometers, dial-gauges, pendulums, or extensometers [1][2][3]12], but due to their nature, they cannot be used in the last phases of the destructive loading test but can capture only one-dimensional measurements.…”