Definition
Thermocouple – consists of two dissimilar conductors joined at one end to form a hot junction which produces a voltage. As the junction is heated or cooled the voltage changes and is converted to return as temperature. The Thermocouple Temperature Sensor is used in engineering geology for measuring temperature in soil and rock. Simply put thermocouple is a “thermometer” capable of reading the temperature on the rock face or in different depths of the rock mass.
Overview
A large number of slope failures, where no significant trigger was proposed and the rock failure mechanism remained unclear, have been recognized as hazards triggered by meteorological factors. Temperature oscillations produce cyclic thermal strains in rock masses which result in deterioration processes associated with cracking and jointing, in opening/closing of joints/fractures, and in jointed rock masses which in turn may initiate thermally driven displacements from slow creep (block ratcheting in terms of...
References
Bakun-Mazor D, Hatzor YH, Glaser SD, Santamarina JC (2011) Climatic effects on keyblock motion: evidence from the rock slopes of Masada world heritage site. 45th US symposium in rock mechanics. San Francisco, pp 480–487
Gunzburger Y, Merrien-Soukatchoff V (2011) Near-surface temperatures and heat balance of bare outcrops exposed to solar radiation. Earth Surf Process Landf 36:1577–1589
Pasten C, García M, Cortes DD (2015) Physical and numerical modeling of the thermally induced wedging mechanism. Geotech Lett 5(3):186–190
Vlcko J, Greif V, Grof V, Jezny M, Petro L, Brcek M (2009) Rock displacement and thermal expansion study at historic heritage sites in Slovakia. Environ Geol 58:1727–1740
Yatsu E (1988) The nature of weathering: an introduction. Sozosha, Tokyo
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Vlcko, J. (2018). Thermocouple. In: Bobrowsky, P., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_283-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_283-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences