Limitation of Measurement System in Application of Angular Distortion Criterion to Structure Near Road Embankment

Angular distortion due to differential settlement is one of the critical factors which influences on the stability and serviceability of a structure. The angular distortion criterion proposed by Bjerrum is generally used in practice. However, the measurement system used in field especially a road embankment site did not properly represent the angular distortion of a structure. The problem was related to the shortage and not proper installation of measurement gauges, and the incorrect understanding of the basic concept of angular distortion in interpretation of measurement data. These things were reveled by analyzing the measured data in the road embankment site. An improved measurement system has been suggested as a so-called “relative displacement measurement system” between columns with automatic measurement.