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Abstract
This paper describes the set-up, calibration and performance of the local instrumentation that measures the deformation response of the test-specimen in a new hollow cylinder apparatus (HCA). Customised, single- and double-axis inclinometers measure the axial and twist deformations of the outer specimen wall surface. Proximity transducers in the cell chamber and the specimen bore cavity measure the radial wall‐surface displacements and precision gearing allows the relocation of the transducers from outside the pressure-cell. The inclinometers were modified (reduced gauge of 45 mm) to suit the smaller-sized test specimen and the more compact pressure cell of the HCA. The instruments were calibrated using an optical table and laser distance-measurement system to achieve the necessary accuracy for strain measurements over the pseudo-elastic range. The calibration in water data for the proximity transducers was non-linear and strongly influenced by the specimen wall curvature. Equations are presented to compute the true torsional shear strain response from the measured inclinometer tilt angle, specimen dimensions and deformation response. External measurements include significant errors due to apparatus compliance, specimen end-restraint and bedding effects, inaccuracies in measuring volume changes and the fact that the deformations are calculated assuming that the entire specimen deforms as a right cylinder.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Tom Widdis and Professor Eugene O'Brien (University College Dublin) for their support during the course of this research. The authors would also like to acknowledge the many informative discussions with Mr. Steve Ackerley (Imperial College, London). The paper was written by the first author while on sabbatical leave at the Urban Institute Ireland, University College Dublin. The first author is also grateful for funding through the Pierse-Newman Scholarship in Civil Engineering during the course of this research at University College Dublin.