Tactile Pressure Sensors for Geotechnical Compression Testing
Tactile Pressure Sensors for Geotechnical Compression Testing
When standardized oedometer tests do not fulfil the geometrical prerequisites for certain soil samples, larger compression tests may be performed. However, this calls for consideration of wall friction effects on the effective stress distribution within the sample. Well-established measuring devices, such as Tactile Pressure Sensors (TPS), could be useful to investigate such boundary effects. Especially thanks to their thin structure and high resolution, such sensors have been extensively used to investigate stress quantification and distribution, mostly in centrifuge testing, since their introduction to geotechnical testing in the late 1990s. This paper provides insights into the application of TPS in 1D compression testing to experimentally determine the effect of wall friction. After describing the experimental setup, sensor preparation and calibration, the key findings are presented. The application of TPS to evaluate the quantitative impact of wall friction has provided valuable insights into the test results. In addition, it was possible to demonstrate the effect of the calibration method on the obtained results and identify the optimal approach.
Julian Schleicher; Simone Alber; J. Matthias Rebhan; Andre Arnold; I. Anastasopoulos; Franz Tschuchnigg
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Session 1: New facilities, new equipment, and measuring techniques
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-342