Monitoring of breakwater structure: GPS versus geodetic method

• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Published: 2002
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/9241/

Until recently, we relied exclusively on traditional survey equipments such as EDM/total station/precise levels to determine the horizontal And horizontal movements that occur on large engineering structures such as long span bridges, dams and breakwaters. The GPS technology, however, allows us to measure horizontal and vertical motions much more effectively and conveniently, and it has increased dramatically in the past few years. With satellite information, a GPS receiver can very quickly determine its position to within a matter of meters. On breakwaters, however, an accuracy of a few centimeters is quite important for detecting the build up of stress and pressure caused by sea currents and wave rising toward the ground surface. Typically, we can measure the position of a breakwater benchmarks (monitoring stations) using GPS on a regular basis depending on the activity of the sea current movements especially during the monsoon seasons. GPS offers several advantages compared to breakwater surveys that use typical terrestrial survey instruments, for example, measurements can be made in almost any weather condition and at all time within the required accuracy. This paper therefore highlights the potential use of GPS and conventional geodetic survey methods in breakwater deformation survey. Data collection times were planned to minimize simultaneous logging intervals at redundant stations. The objective was to provide data that would enhance the baseline and network adjustments in the postprocessing of the data. In this paper, the first stage campaign of GPS and conventional geodetic survey method for the Kemaman Port Breakwater are presented.