All About Inclinometers: Types, How They Work, & Functions
Geotechnical monitoring and instrumentation is a vast field that includes risk management, structural health monitoring, hazard prevention, and early-warning systems using geotechnical sensors. One such geotechnical instrument is the Inclinometer or Clinometer. An inclinometer is a sensor that measures the magnitude of slope, tilt, elevation, or depression of an object with respect to the gravity.
Inclinometer Sensors are of various types and sizes. Here we will discuss about all the different Models of inclinometers that Encardio-Rite has, along with their working principle, construction, specifications, features, and applications.
What are the Different Types of Inclinometers?
Encardio-Rite deals with one of the most advanced MEMS digital inclinometer systems, telecoordinometers, and in-place inclinometers. The Encardio-Rite’s Models of Inclinometers include:
- Model EAN-26M Digital Inclinometer System
- Model EAN-26M-2 Vertical Inclinometer Probe Inclinometer System
- Model EAN-51MV, EAN-52MV Vertical In-Place Inclinometer System
- Model EDS-50/EDS-51 Normal & Inverted Plumb Line with Telecoordinometer
Model EAN-26M Digital Inclinometer System
Encardio-Rite’s Model EAN-26M is one of the most advanced MEMS digital inclinometer systems which utilizes the capability of high computational power and large high-resolution colour display of today’s Android OS based mobile phones as a readout and data storage unit.
The mobile phone uses the wireless Bluetooth connection to communicate with the inclinometer reel unit. Gone are the days of frayed cable and unreliable slip ring connection between the reel and the handheld readout units. The EAN-26M Inclinometer system is much lighter in weight and is very much liked by field personnel who have to carry the system from borehole to borehole for logging.
The digital inclinometer system consists of a traversing type digital tilt sensing probe that is connected to a reel unit kept at borehole top. The reel unit consists of a winding reel that holds the cable and a wireless Bluetooth relay unit that sends the digital probe data to the mobile phone. A rechargeable battery in the reel unit supplies power to the whole system.
How Does Digital Inclinometer System Works?
The digital inclinometer probe has a measuring range of ± 30 degrees with a resolution of ± 10 arc seconds. The probe uses a 24 bit ADC that measures the MEMS sensor output with a resolution of over 1 million counts.
An embedded processor in the probe provides a digital output that gives the horizontal displacement value directly in desired engineering units. The probe data is transferred to the reel over a thin high strength two core cable with a central high strength Kevlar core that makes the cable essentially stretch proof even with intensive use.
The twin core cable carries both data and power supply to the probe from the reel unit. Transmitting data digitally to the reel allows any length of cable to be used without affecting the accuracy of the measurement. A standard commercially available Android OS based mobile phone is used as a handheld unit. The Encardio-Rite Digital Inclinometer application is loaded on the mobile phone to enable it to configure and collect data from the digital inclinometer system.
The mobile phone communicates with the reel unit of the Inclinometer system through its in-built Bluetooth wireless interface. The wireless link eliminates the traditional slip ring and cable connection between the reel unit and the handheld readout that often became unreliable due to frayed cable and slip ring problem.
Encardio-rite Android Digital Inclinometer application..[Continue Reading]
