Sensor-enabled geosynthetic material and method of making and using the same
First Claim
1. A method of measuring geometric strains of a structure, comprising the steps of:
- selecting a measuring location of a structure to measure a geometric strain in the structure, wherein the structure is selected from the group consisting of geogrids, geomembranes, geotextiles, geonets, geosynthetic clay liners, geofoams, and geocomposites and is fabricated from a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material; and
determining the geometric strain of the structure at the measuring location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material for use in geosynthetic structures and geosyntapes, a method of making the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material and the geosyntapes, and a method of measuring geometric strains of a geosynthetic product made from the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material. The sensor-enabled geosynthetic material includes a polymeric material and an electrically conductive filler. The polymeric material and an electrically conductive filler are combined to provide a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material. The sensor-enabled geosynthetic material having a predetermined concentration of the electrically conductive filler so as to provide the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material with an electrical conductivity and a strain sensitivity within the percolation region or slightly above it.
31 Citations
52 Claims
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1. A method of measuring geometric strains of a structure, comprising the steps of:
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selecting a measuring location of a structure to measure a geometric strain in the structure, wherein the structure is selected from the group consisting of geogrids, geomembranes, geotextiles, geonets, geosynthetic clay liners, geofoams, and geocomposites and is fabricated from a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material; and determining the geometric strain of the structure at the measuring location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A structure constructed from a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material, comprising:
a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material constructed from (1) a polymeric material and (2) an electrically conductive filler combined with the polymeric material, the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material having a predetermined concentration of the electrically conductive filler so as to provide the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material with an electrical conductivity and a strain sensitivity within its percolation region, and wherein the structure is selected from the group consisting of geogrids, geomembranes, geotextiles, geonets, geosynthetic clay liners, geofoams, and geocomposites. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of making a sensor-enabled structure, comprising the steps of:
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combining a polymeric material and an electrically conductive filler to form a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material, the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material having a predetermined concentration of the electrically conductive filler so as to provide the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material with an electrical conductivity and a strain sensitivity within a percolation region; and forming a sensor-enabled structure from the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material, the sensor-enabled structure selected from the group consisting of geogrids, geomembranes, geotextiles, geonets, geosynthetic clay liners, geofoams, and geocomposites. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of measuring a geometric strain in a geosynthetic product, comprising the steps of:
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selecting a measuring location of a geosynthetic product to measure a geometric strain in the geosynthetic product, wherein the geosynthetic product has a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material attached to the measuring location thereof, and wherein the geosynthetic product is selected from the group consisting of geogrids and geomembranes; and determining a geometric strain in the geosynthetic attached at the measuring location. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A geosynthetic product, comprising:
a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material comprising (1) a polymeric material, and (2) an electrically conductive filler combined with the polymeric material, the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material having a concentration of the electrically conductive filler which provides the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material with an electrical conductivity and a strain sensitivity within its percolation region, wherein the geosynthetic product is a geogrid or a geomembrane. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method of measuring a geometric strain in a geosynthetic product associated with a geosynthetic structure for monitoring a mechanical behavior in the geosynthetic structure, comprising the steps of:
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selecting a measuring location of the geosynthetic product, wherein the geosynthetic product is selected from the group consisting of geogrids, geomembranes, geotextiles, geonets, geosynthetic clay liners, geofoams, and geocomposites and comprises a sensor-enabled geosynthetic material fabricated from (1) a polymeric material, and (2) an electrically conductive filler combined with the polymeric material, the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material having a concentration of the electrically conductive filler which provides the sensor-enabled geosynthetic material with an electrical conductivity and a strain sensitivity within a percolation region; and measuring the geometric strain at the measuring location of the geosynthetic product to monitor a mechanical behavior of the geosynthetic structure. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification