An Innovative Approach for the Installation of Vibrating Wire Piezometers

Vibrating wire piezometers, described hence forth as VWPs, are high precision geotechnical instruments installed into the ground to electronically monitor pore water pressures over extended periods of time. These instruments have use in a variety of geotechnical engineering settings such as: slope stability; basement excavation; consolidation under embankments and reclamations; and the performance of hydraulic structures e.g. dams. The piezometric data are useful for the design of these structures and for monitoring the performance during construction and in service. VWPs are traditionally grouted into drilled bore holes in a process that produces waste spoil and requires the use of additional materials for back filling. This paper discusses and reviews two case studies of an innovative, low impact and high-quality approach for the preparation and direct push installation of the VWPs. This installation approach eliminates the production of spoil, is fast and therefore low cost, completed with low impact plant and most importantly has a very high success rate using a locally manufactured push in adaptor and off the shelf VWPs.