Monitoring and warning system including a bi-modulus geosynthetic for the reinforcement of cohesive soil on cavities
Résumé
The use of reinforcement geosynthetics to prevent localized collapses such as cavities is common today. Numerous experimental and numerical studies allow a precise understanding of the geosynthetics behavior related to these applications. Within the REGIC (reinforcement by intelligent geosynthetics on natural or anthropic cavities) research project, an innovative solution has been developed and patented by the Afitexinov company. This solution includes a specific reinforcement geosynthetic coupled with an autonomous and remote warning device to detect a localized collapse or sinkhole. This innovative geosynthetic is an inverted bi-modulus reinforcement geosynthetic equipped with optical fibers. The first modulus at lower strength allows detecting possible deformations before transmitting the load to the second modulus with higher strength. This two-stages reinforcement system guarantees a high degree of safety from the start of the failure.
The new geosynthetic solution presented in this article aims to reduce the costs and time related to the installation of a monitoring system on a construction site. This solution's installation and set-up do not require an expert on-site thanks to a standalone monitoring box. This Preditect® system is able to monitor large critical area for ground deformations and detect potential underground failures. In case of any unexpected event, it will launch an automatic alert.