Wireless Pore Water Pressure and Soil Moisture Sensor

Inadequate drainage is of concern to many construction sites, road embankments, retaining walls, dams and, for this proposal, railroad roadbeds. Soil stability and ability to withstand stress is affected by pore water pressure and soil moisture content but these quantities can be monitored by sensors. The specific needs of a roadway (or highway) installation is a pore pressure sensor capable of dynamic measurements because the pressure varies as vehicles pass. The aim of this project is to develop a wireless communication and sensor package which can measure pore water pressure and soil moisture dynamically. The measurements will be used to assess potential drainage effects on infrastructure support layer under various saturation conditions and detect potential damage in advance. Because the test sites are widely spaced the sensor data communication will be wireless (GSM cellular or smart phone).