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CEE 8104-Homework 4 November 11, 20003 Brian Devine: Microgravity
CEE 8104-Homework 4 November 11, 20003 Brian Devine: Microgravity
Microgravity
While gravity is often considered a constant in engineering practice, changes of
elevation as well as ground density cause variations of up to 5 cm/s2. Gravimetric
variations can also be the result of void or changes in density within a soil profile.
Microgravity is the measurement of the variations in the earths gravitational pull.
Detailed analysis of microgravity readings can identify the size and shape of voids as
well as soil thicknesses to bedrock.
How it works
A Microgravity sensor measures gravimetric variations in units of micro gals, or
1*10-8 m/s2, meaning that average gravitational pull is 980,000,000 micro gals.
Variations caused by void generally constituted up to 200 micro gals of change.
Readings are taken by using stationing of varying distances depending on the situation.
The readings create a grid of varying gravitational pull, an example of results from a
microgravity survey is shown in Figure 1. The variations between yellow and orange
represents changing depth of bedrock as they gradually change as the bedrock might.
The blue constitutes a dramatic change in gravitational pull, and is most likely the
result of a void space. The diagram shows where the void is located and an analysis of
the bedrock depths around the void could yield an approximate depth of the void.
Appropriate Uses
Microgravity can be utilized to determine the following variable:
Depth to bedrock
An Example
A national oil company looked to expand its refinery on an island in the Persian
Gulf. The engineering firms site investigation included a microgravity survey to
determine the presence of sinkholes, as well as the impending coastal erosions. The
limiting factor on the site was the topography as shown in Figure 2. Steep grades around
the site prevented other intrusive methods. The engineering firm produced 2000
microgravity data points, shown by blue marks in Figure 3. Figure 4 shows the
gravitational map before analysis. Each point was then corrected for elevation changes
and brought to a base value so that a comparison would reveal the negative gravity
anomalies. The final result of the survey is shown in Figure 5, the areas where sink holes
might exist were then explored using conventional boreholes. Ultimately the variations
were caused by changes in the bedrock, and there were no potential sink holes, and
construction progressed.
References
http://www.technos-inc.com/Surface.html#I23
http://www.qualitygeophysics.com/adobe/Geophysical%20choices%20for%20Karst%20PrePublication.pdf
http://www.dyetracing.com/company/geophy.html
http://www.microgravity.co.uk/html/what_is_microgravity.html
http://www.microgravity.co.uk/html/middle_east.html