Development of a Slope Monitoring System With Long Distance Signalling

Abstract

This work genuinely demonstrates the application of Micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) technology to solve the slope stability problems using 3-Axis Accelerometers. The device developed here is more emphasized as an indicator or a safety warning system for those dangerously high slopes which are found to be unstable in most probable cases. Until now there are a lot of developments in this field of research only to minimise but not to eliminate this problem of uneven and unstable slope stabilities and all these instruments developed are upto a certain stage are reliable but not in a substantial way.To this date, unfortunately there has been no successful development of ideas that can work as a slope monitoring system as detectors or indicators to prevent slope stability. This paper concentrates thoroughly on the continuous monitoring of slope stability by using a3-Axis Accelerometer and the transmission of this data for a long distance normally ranging upto 200-300m wirelessly using the cutting edge technology of X-Bee.So the icing on cake of this work is the slope stability measurement as well as the transmission part which mainly highlights on the safety of the personnel working in mines as well as the property. The other strong point associated with this work is the inexpensive and the efficiency of the device developed. Even the physical hindrances or the climatic variations won’t interrupt the successful working of this device.An array of 3-axis accelerometer is placed on the slope which is found to be unstable and the continuous monitoring of the accel erometer data takes place. The 3-Axis Accelerometer normally outputs the data in the form of gravity (g=9.8m/s2) and the variation happening in X,Y and Z axis are continually monitored. This data is transmitted to a remote location where the operator updates them in regular intervals and any variation or abrupt change in the accelerometer data indicates or warns about the verge of slope stability happening in the particular field of research. The transmission part is done by using the Xbee modules which are efficient in transmitting the data for a distance of nearly 200-300 meter and depending upon the advanced type of the family of these modules,a distance upto 30 kms can be covered .The Xbee modules normally offer the advantage of long peer to peer communication with increased bandwidth and eliminating the drawback of obstacle interference. The 3-Axis Accelerometers normally offer the advantage of having greater sensitivity, so more precise in the movement detection.The device designed and developed here detects the motion of the soil mass of irrespective conditions and 7+the crux of the matter is that the sensor used for soil movements only detects the variation when there is any tilt movement in the soil mass. So this device can be considered to be very superior to the other conventional methods used like tilt meters, inclinometers etc. The device was tested in the laboratory using a mould made in the form of a bench with different compositions of soil placed and the variation in the data whenever a distur bance occurs was observed and analysed. Graphs were plotted and any fluctuation from the normal behaviour of the data were noted and used to indicate the abnormal behaviour of the slope condition.