Sep 21, 2018

Reusable instrumentation: A key part of work on Montreal’s Jarry tunnel water main upgrade

Tyler Morency
6 years ago

Reusable instrumentation: A key part of work on Montreal’s Jarry tunnel water main upgrade

Where the Tunnel Boring Machine goes, GKM Consultants and ShapeArray follow. Reusability allows the contractor to move ShapeArray along a 4 km tunnel drive.

When the City of Montreal started work on a $64 million project to add 4.1 km of aqueduct pipe to help modernize the city’s municipal water system in 2015, they selected GKM Consultants and ShapeArray to monitor the work of a 2.3 m diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM).

The project’s contractors followed strict conditions because the TBM’s planned 4.1 km path ran near densely populated residential areas, numerous commercial structures, and important municipal infrastructure, including a highway overpass.

Reusable instrumentation part of comprehensive monitoring strategy

GKM Consultants deployed a comprehensive geotechnical monitoring strategy that included multipoint borehole extensometers, noise and vibration monitoring, and Measurand ShapeArray. This strategy allowed engineers to use the tunnel construction technique rather than trench excavation for the project, which ensured one lane of traffic in each direction on Jarry Street remained open throughout the work and the impact to the public was limited.

To monitor ground subsidence and lateral displacement, GKM Consultants installed 18 ShapeArrays in boreholes of either side of the TBM’s path. As the TBM advanced, GKM took advantage of ShapeArrays re-usability, moving 10 of the 18 installations to other locations further down the TBM’s path. GKM Consultants’ thorough monitoring strategy allowed continuous, real-time monitoring of the TBM’s movement and successful completion of the project.

Read more at GKM Consultants.

  • 1993

    The Beginning

    Measurand is established in Fredericton, New Brunswick
  • 1994

    Bend sensor development

    Measurand develops and patents fiber optic bend and position sensors for the medical and automotive sectors

    U.S. Patent 5,321,257

  • 1995

    Canadian Space Agency

    Receives funding from the CSA to develop sensor technology that ultimately leads to invention of ShapeTape

    U.S. Patent 5,633,494

  • 1999

    Patent on fiber optic sensor

    Measurand receives patent for "Fiber Optic Bending and Positioning Sensor" issued June 29, 1999

    Canadian Patent 2,073,162

  • 2001

    ShapeTape & ShapeHand debut

    Measurand designs and develops innovative motion capture technology

    U.S. Patent 6,127,672, 6,563,107

  • 2002

    Measurand Attends the ICPMG

    First contact with the geotechnical sector at the International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG)
  • 2004

    ShapeArray

    Design patent application sent about a new product designed to meet the specific needs of the geotechnical industry

    U.S. Patent 6,127,672, 6,563,107

  • 2005-08

    ShapeWrap

    Measurand debuts ShapeWrap motion capture technology for the film and animation industry

    U.S. Patent 7,296,363

  • 2006

    Malibu installation

    ShapeAccelArray installed for ground monitoring for the first time​ in Malibu, CA

    Canadian Patent 2,472,421

  • 2007

    ShapeMRI

    Suite of instrumentation developed for motion capture within Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines

    U.S. Patent 7,296,363

  • 2011

    SAAScan launched

    Built for rapid deployment and repeated use

    Canadian Patent 2,472,421

  • 2014

    SAAX launched

    Purpose-built for heavy-duty horizontal installation

    Canadian application 2,815,199 & 2,815,195

  • 2017

    SAAV launched

    The only geotechnical instrument with a patented cyclical installation method

    Cyclical Sensor Array, Canadian application 2,815,199 & 2,911,175