A simple and inexpensive vertical deformation measurement system for soil compression tests

Abstract

A simple and low cost system to measure vertical deformations during soil compression tests was successfully developed. It consisted of a vertical deformation sensor, a signal conditioner, an analog to digital converter (ADC), a microcontroller, and a display. The vertical deformation sensor was made from a rotary potentiometer. The deformation was converted to an analog voltage output by the rotary potentiometer. A signal conditioner was required to make the analog voltage output ready for being used by the ADC. The ADC then converts the analog voltage output into digital one. The digital data was later processed by the microcontroller and finally readout by the display. The resolution of the developed system was about 0.038 mm. The calibration was done by comparing the vertical deformations obtained from the potentiometer with those measured by a micrometer. It was found that the developed system can measure a maximum vertical deformation of about 40 mm.