Technology today has penetrated into all the industries to such an extent that there is no on-site problem that cannot be solved. Right from reconnaissance to final touches, every activity across all industries rely on various equipment to guide them to do a good job. Especially in the construction industry where the stakes are high, using precision equipment to ensure safety of the structure is a highly important job. It is important also to determine safety of the soil on which construction is to be done – things like settlement and movement can collapse a building easily. To understand mobility characteristics of soil, extensometers are used. In this blogpost, you will get to know about working of extensometer and its applications.
How does extensometer work?
Most extensometers work on the principle of measuring displacement directly with the help of flanges and a telescopic rod. Extensometers consist of two flanges connected with a telescopic rod, which contains a measuring scale. These flanges are meant to be inserted into the soil in which displacement is to be measured. As soil moves more and more, the distance between both the flanges increases, which causes the telescopic rod to start showing measurement of the displacement in standard units.
Applications of extensometers
These instruments find applications across many activities in the construction industry, for example:
- Settlement monitoring in excavations, embankments and foundations
- Monitoring embankment spread
- Monitoring underground conduit convergence
- Monitoring rock slide, wall and abutment movement
- Monitoring soil consolidation
- Monitoring tunnel and mine subsidence
Soil extensometers are wonder devices that allow monitoring safety of a lot of operations during construction.
Papworths Construction Testing Equipment (PCTE) 