Geotechnical Projects
Using Westbay System to get vital pore pressure data and water chemistry information on large construction projects that involve slope stability, dewatering and settlement
Engineers and geologists involved in the geotechnical sector have received vital pore pressure data and water chemistry information using Westbay System technology on large construction projects that involve slope stability, dewatering and settlement.
Because fluid pressures and displacements are two of the most important parameters in the study of slope stability, Westbay System has been used on some of the largest landslide and slope stability studies ever undertaken.
These projects include:
- Clyde project slides in New Zealand
- Dutchman's Ridge slide in British Columbia, Canada
- Panama Canal widening project
B. C. Hydro's Bennett Dam project
B. C. Hydro recently used the Westbay System to investigate two sinkholes that appeared in the Bennett Dam 30 years after construction.
The monitoring techniques used on the Bennett Dam could be extended to construct a "curtain wall" of pore-pressure monitoring instruments to automatically record pore pressures and send out an alarm if significant change occurs. Such an array could play an important role in investigating and maintaining the safety of earth dams.
Tunnel construction
When experts anticipate groundwater problems in the design and construction of tunnels, Westbay System becomes invaluable. Boreholes instrumented with the Westbay System placed along the proposed tunnel obtain detailed information on the distribution of fluid pressures and fluid chemistry.
Strings of Westbay Probes are placed in the Westbay System boreholes adjacent to an area where underground excavation activities are occurring. If pressures exceed a settable limit, an alarm activates. Once excavation in an area is complete, the strings of probes are moved to other boreholes to follow construction activity.
Other construction projects
MP system has been used on projects—such as the foundations of bridges and offshore drilling islands—where both pore pressures and incremental displacement measurements are required at multiple levels. Telescopic casing components allow vertical compression or extension of the casing without damaging its ability to provide access to the different monitoring zones.
Get the vital pore pressure data and water chemistry information you need to make the right decision with a Westbay System completion!
Technical papers of interest
- Baker, D.G.: Installation of Multilevel Piezometers in an Existing Embankment Dam.
- Gillon, M. D.: Mitigation of Reservoir Slope Hazards at the Clyde Project.
- Mikkelsen, P. E.: Instrument Innovations for Monitoring Natural Hazards.
- Moore, D. P.: Stabilization of Dutchman's Ridge (1995).
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