A Tilt, Soil Moisture, and Pore Water Pressure Sensor System for Slope Monitoring Applications

  • Rosanno de Dios University of the Philippines
  • Jason Enriquez University of the Philippines
  • Francis Gabriel Victorino University of the Philippines
  • Earl Anthony Mendoza University of the Philippines
  • Marc Caesar Talampas University of the Philippines Diliman
  • Joel Joseph Marciano Jr. University of the Philippines

Abstract

This paper describes the design, implementation and characterization of a sensor network intended for monitoring of slope deformation and potential failures. The sensor network system consists of a tilt and moisture sensor column, a pore water pressure sensor column and a personal computer for data storage and processing. The tilt sensor column consists of several pipe segments containing tri-axial accelerometers and signal processing electronics. Each segment is joined together by flexible joints to allow for the column to deform and subsequently track underground movement. Capacitive-type sensors for soil moisture measurement are also included in the sensor column, which are used to measure the soil moisture at different depths. The measurements at each segment are transferred via a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, where the CAN master node is located at the top of the column above ground. The CAN master node transmits the collected data from the slave nodes via a wireless connection to a personal computer that performs data storage, processing and display via a Python-based graphical user interface (GUI). The entire system was deployed and characterized on a small-scale slope model. Slope failure was induced via water seepage and the system was demonstrated to ably measure the inclination and soil moisture content throughout the landslide event.

Author Biographies

Rosanno de Dios, University of the Philippines
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute
Jason Enriquez, University of the Philippines
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute
Francis Gabriel Victorino, University of the Philippines
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute
Earl Anthony Mendoza, University of the Philippines
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute
Marc Caesar Talampas, University of the Philippines Diliman
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute
Joel Joseph Marciano Jr., University of the Philippines
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute
SD Front Cover Vol 21 No 1
Published
2010-03-01
Issue
Vol 21 No 1 (2009)
Section
Articles

Keywords

sensor networks; slope monitoring; landslide early warning systems; wireless networks
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