Reliability, long-term stability and gage performance of vibrating wire sensors with reference to case histories

Recent evolution of automatic data acquisition system and data interpretation has enabled readings to be taken automatically on instruments. This emphasizes the need for reliable instruments to monitor in real time the behaviour of structures. The use of vibrating wire sensors in the field of geomechanics is particularly considered for these applications where long-term monitoring is expected. The paper describes some experiences about long-term stability and reliability of different kinds of vibrating wire instruments such as pressure sensor, strain gage and displacement transducer. Special tests are described to verify the influence of artificialy aging the sensor during manufacturing. The accuracy over time…