Monitoring of CFA pile test using three dimensional laser scanning and distributed fiber optic sensors

The results obtained during a pile test are dependent on a number of factors. However, conventional monitoring systems like vibrating wire strain gauges and the extensometers can only measure the variations of strain and displacement at discrete locations at which they are installed in a pile. In order to identify the behavior of Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) pile, the distributed fiber optic monitoring system and three-dimensional laser scanning collected the strain and point clouds data during the pile test with conventional vibrating wire strain gauges, extensometers. Based on the Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR) fiber optic strain profile, the profiles of axial load, skin friction, displacement can be obtained. The fiber optic monitoring system was compared with conventional systems, and it was found that the ability to measure the full strain profiles is highly advantageous in determining the performance of the pile and in detecting the behavior of CFA pile. The displacement of the pile was measured by the LVDT at the top of the pile and the results were compared with the laser scanning results. In this study, the negative skin friction was detected by BOTDR fiber optic strain profile near the top of the CFA pile. It was not able to define the reason of the negative skin friction from the other monitoring systems but the laser scanning results show that the ground movement due to the pull-out force of the anchor pile affects the negative skin friction. Although laser scanning is not able to measure the real-time data during the pile test, the extensive information can be taken into account by the monitored data from three-dimensional laser scanning.