A new geo-sensing system to monitor seepage effects at transportation infrastructure
Authors: Valyrakis Manousos , Michalis Panagiotis , Koursari Eftychia 
Published: March 2021

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Real-time condition assessment of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;transportation systems&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; is critical&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; considering these&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;have&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; been constructed over the past decades with now outdated designs&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;and in the majority of the cases &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;without taking into account the current climatic variability.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; One of the most vulnerable elements of these &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;infrastructure &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;systems are embankments and geo-structures near water bodies, as flowing water&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; typically has a &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;degradating&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; impact on their performance&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Water-related hazards can increase s&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;eepage effects &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;which &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;can be the main cause for their&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;structural failure&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Floods can&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;also&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;accelerate internal seepage processes occurring inside the body of geo-structures, due to a combined effect of the high permeability of soil and increased hydrostatic pressure,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#160;worsening the&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#160;risks of catastrophic failures&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;[1]&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The difficulty in detecting&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;seepage processes&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;inside the body &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;geo-infrastructure&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;with conventional methods&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;leads&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; to irreversible effects with major disruption and costs to road asset &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;owners, maintainers and users. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The need to obtain real-time information about the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;evolution of geomorphological hazards&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; is&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; therefore &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;considered to be of significant importance considering the ageing infrastructure, constructed near geomorphologically active rivers, and the extre&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;me shifting climatic conditions &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;[2].&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;This study presents the development of a new sensing system aiming to provide advanced information about seepage processes inside the body of geo-structures. The main principles around the sensor's operation are presented alongside with implementation and installation procedures for optimum application. Finally guidelines about their&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;efficient incorporation into existing sensing and management platform&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;s are provided. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The proposed sensing system is expected to enhance&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; the response capabilities of asset owners providing advance&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;d&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; warning&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;s&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; about the condition of infrastructure, increasing&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#160;commutters' safety&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#160;and resilience of transportation systems &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;to climatic hazards.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;References&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;[1] &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Michalis, P.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Sentenac&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, P. and&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Macbrayne&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, D. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;(2016). &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Geophysical assessment of dam infrastructure: The &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Mugdock &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;reservoir dam case study. Proceedings of the 3rd Joint International Symposium on Deformation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Monitoring (JISDM), Vienna,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt; Austria, 30 March&amp;#8211;1 April, pp.1-6.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;[2] &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Michalis, P. Xu., Y. and Valyrakis M. (2020). &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Current practices and future directions of monitoring systems&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;for the assessment of geomorphological conditions at&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;bridge infrastructure&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;. River Flow 2020. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;Proceedings of the 10th Co&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;nference on Fluvial Hydraulics, Delft, Netherlands, 7-10 July. pp. 1-6.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;