Wireless shape-acceleration array system for local identification of soil and soil structure systems

Soil and soil structure systems are massive multiphase particulate systems characterized by the development of localized response mechanisms under extreme loading conditions. Identification and analysis of such systems on the basis of inverse boundary value problem formulations and sparse measurements are generally indeterminate. An alternative local inverse problem technique using measurements from the newly developed wireless shape-acceleration array (WSAA) system is presented. Local identification analyses of the constitutive behavior of water-saturated soil and soil structure systems are performed with acceleration and pore pressure records provided by a cluster of closely spaced sensors. The developed novel technique does not require the availability of boundary condition measurements or the solution of an associated boundary value problem. The constitutive behavior at a specific location of a soil or soil structure system is analyzed independently of adjacent response mechanisms or material properties. Numerical simulations and centrifuge tests of a soil-retaining wall system were used to demonstrate the capabilities of this local system identification technique. The combination of the developed WSAA and local identification technique constitute a major step toward autonomous monitoring technology and analysis tools capable of providing a realistic picture of large deformation and acceleration response or failure of soil and soil structure systems.