Manufacture, development, and application of sensor-enabled geosynthetics: state-of-the-art review

Abstract

Abstract The long-term in situ monitoring of transportation infrastructure is a key necessity for intelligent traffic management, which requires the monitoring methods to have good performances on the distributed measurements, durability, robustness, and convenience. To offer an alternative for intelligent monitoring of transportation infrastructures, this paper introduces the development and application of an innovative material named sensor-enabled geosynthetics (SEG) derived from the tensoresistivity of conductive polymers. Unlike other monitoring media, the unique feature of the SEG is its two-fold function: in situ reinforcement and monitoring. The manufacturing process of SEG is introduced and the basic properties of SEG are investigated by laboratory tests. The corresponding constitutive models are established and employed in the theoretical analysis of SEG interacting with soil. Based on the experimental and theoretical approaches, a positioning, precursor identification and early warning method for the internal failure of subgrade is proposed and incorporated into the safety monitoring and early warning system for geotechnical engineering involving SEG. According to the application cases of SEG and the system in highway engineering, SEG is proved to perform excellently in terms of the durability, distributed measurements, wide measuring range, and negligible installation effect. Thus, it is considered as an innovative and reliable alternative for long-term in situ monitoring of transportation infrastructures particularly in subgrade engineering.