Soil Inclinometer Accessories

Inclinometer Casing

It can be used in boreholes, fill material, cast into concrete or attached to structures and is designed to move with the ground, material or structure to provide inclination information over a period of time.

As the casing is designed to deform with movement of the ground or structure the useful life of the casing ends when the continued movement of the casing causes deformation of shear so that the inclinometer probe can no longer be placed into the casing. Larger casing generally ensures a longer life.

Where vertical settlement or heave is anticipated to be greater than 2% it is recommended to use telescopic sections to eliminate axial load on the casing which would cause buckling.

A full range of accessories including bottom and top caps, anchors and groutable anchors are available and can be used in conjunction with magnetic targets for combined inclinometer/magnetic extensometers.

Applications:

For use with inclinometer systems for monitoring stability & movement of:

• Slopes
• Embankments
• Diaphragm & sheet piled walls
• Deep foundations
• Tunnelling operations
• Piles Pre-loads
• Deep excavations

There are two different types of casing:

XC (External Coupler) Casing

Geosense® XC (External Coupler) Inclinometer Casing is precision extruded from ABS, with four precise keyways formed at 90 degrees which allow accurate installation of portable and in-place inclinometers. Standard joints are made by using external couplers which are glued to each end of the casing. Telescopic sections are riveted together toallow movement during settlement and sealed with mastic and tape to prevent the ingress of water and grout. Advantages of the XC Inclinometer casing is that it can be cut and rejoined on site allowing maximum flexibility and makes any damage easily repairable.

Features:

• Low spiral
• Fast installation
• Can be cut & repaired on site
• Available in 3 & 1.5 metre lengths
• Made from 100% virgin ABS plastic
• Fully compatible with all probe types
• 70 and 85mm diameters
• Telescopic sections available
• Can be combined with magnetic targets

QJ (Quick Joint) Casing

Geosense® QJ Inclinometer Casing is a quick connecting casing, precision extruded from ABS, with four precise keyways formed at 90 degrees which allow accurate installation of portable and in-place inclinometers. The quick connecting joint makes it faster and easier to install than traditional glue & socket inclinometer casing with external couplers and does not require any special tools or tapes. On deep installations the time saving is very significant.

Features:

• Low spiral
• Fast installation
• No rivets, tape or glue
• Minimises standing time
• Flush connection
• Available in 3 & 1.5 metre lengths
• Made from 100% virgin ABS plastic
• Simple to install & use
• Fully compatible with all probe types
• 70 and 83mm diameters
• Telescopic sections available
• Can be combined with magnetic targets

Spiral Sensor

The MEMS Inclinometer Spiral Sensor is used to determine downhole helical deformation of installed inclinometer casing. Installed casing spiral is a function of the manufacturing process, casing coupling, and installation technique.

Best casing installation practice requires that the casing be installed with the correct azimuth from the start and throughout the installation, with no torque applied either intentionally or otherwise during the installation. Such carefully installed inclinometer casing would typically maintain groove azimuth to within a few degrees over 30 meters. However, for very deep installations, or installations where twist due to installation problems is suspected, the Digital MEMS Inclinometer Spiral Sensor permits measurement of the installed groove azimuth down-hole.

Operation is similar to the Digital Inclinometer, using the same cable, reel, and hand-held readout. It is only necessary to read one data set; no 180 degree second reading set is required. Typically this measurement is only performed once in the life of the hole, as the casing is torsionally restrained by the backfill, typically grout. Inclinalysis™ Inclinometer Software processes the resulting spiral data set.

The Digital Inclinometer Spiral Sensor is supplied in a robust carrying case.

Features

• ‘Hot swap’ capability with Digital Inclinometer System - simply connect the probe to the reel’s connector and prepare for spiral readings on the spot
• No additional software required - Inclinalysis™ Software used for RST’s Digital Inclinometer System doubles as the method of processing spiral data
• Compact and lightweight design ensures spiral surveys in all casing orientations - unlike bulky traditional probes
• The use of an inertial sensor to measure the groove azimuth variation elimates errors due to sensor offset, wheel/groove clearance, friction and magnetic declination

Specifications

TiltArray

The Geosense® TiltArray™ can be used to monitor the magnitude and direction of lateral deformation vertically, and vertical deformation horizontally.

During manufacture the nodes are installed, connected and tested for a correct response and then moulded along a Kevlar cable at set spacing (usually 0.5 m). Their calibration files are recorded and stored on each node internal memory and copied to a nonvolatile memory (SD card) and once the Geosense® TiltArray™ is connected to a data logger or readout unit the data can be downloaded.

Different types of nodes are available to suit the application and magnitude of deformation expected. In addition Piezometer and Barometric nodes are also available.

The installation procedure for the Geosense® TiltArray™ is similar to that of a standard portable or Inplace inclinometer although as the node diameter is only 27mm it can be installed into small boreholes and/or inside old inclinometer casing that has become redundant due to previous landslide movements.

Applications

• Lateral displacement of dams & embankments
• Deflection of bridge piers and abutments
• Deflection of dam membranes, diaphragm and retaining walls
• Stability of tunnels, shafts, underground workings and piled foundations

Features

• Can be used vertically & horizontally
• 3D MEMS digital linear accelerometer
• 2D electrolytic tilt sensor
• 3D magnetic sensor
• Temperature sensor
• Piezometer sensor
• Barometric sensor
• Maximum outside diameter of 27mm
• Waterproofing to 20 bar
• Remote data logging

Software

Inclinalysis software is a powerful companion to the Digital MEMS Inclinometer System.

It allows the user quickly and efficiently to reduce large volumes of inclinometer data into a variety of formats suitable for analysis and presentation. Data is organised in a standard file structure which makes transferring it between the PDA and Inclinalysis simple.

Using a multi-document interface, the user is able to view several data plots simultaneously and intuitive single-click buttons allow the creation of plots within seconds.

In addition to industry standard plot types, Inclinalysis includes the option of time and vector plots which display changes in magnitude and direction for either a specific depth increment or over a userdefined movement zone.

Checksum data can be plotted at the click of a button to gauge data quality.

Inclinalysis software is powerful and easy to use making it simple to plot, manipulate and print data.

Features

• Create graph views, text views, vectors or time plots
• Single click views
• User defined settings fir X and Y axis properties
• Spiral file format
• Movement zone selection for time plot and vector plot
• Bias-shift correction capabilities
• Axis A aziumuth correction
• Collar elevation setting
• Strata layer fill or evacuate
• Print report option allows printing of all open windows in a report