INCLINOMETER

PREPARED BY :
PROF. N. D. MEHTA
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
POWER ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT,
VISHWAKARMA GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CHANDKHEDA- 382424 1
2 OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
1 What is an inclinometer?

1 • Inclinometer 2 Tyes of inclinometers

2 • Types of Inclinometer
3 How do inclinometers work?

3 • Component of4Inclinometer
Inclinometer installation
Procedure

4 • Working of Inclinometer
5 Applications of Inclinometer

5 • Advantage and Disadvantage

6
6 • Application 2
3 INCLINOMETER

❑An inclinometer or clinometer is an instrument used for measuring angles of slope

(or tilt), elevation, or depression of an object with respect to gravity's direction.
❑An inclinometer is a sensor used to measure the magnitude of the inclination angle
or deformation of any structure in percentage or degrees w.r.t gravity.
❑Inclinometer are used to measure the slope gradient during activities like tunneling,
excavation and de-watering as such activities affect the ground that supports the
structure.
❑Each inclinometer system requires a combination of equipment and sensors to
measure and collect data.
4 INCLINOMETER
Manual Inclinometer/Digital Inclinometer : A manual inclinometer system is composed of the
following components:
5 TYPES OF INCLINOMETER

• Types of Inclinometers
❑Inclinometers are broadly divided into two categories:
❑Inclinometers that use a gravity-actuated pendulum or other indicators
❑Inclinometers that use a spirit vial
• Modern inclinometers use various technologies.
• The following are some examples of inclinometers in combination with other
technologies:
6 TYPES OF INCLINOMETER

▪ Electronic inclinometer – This enables very precise readings of angles. This

type of inclinometer uses an internal gyroscope to measure the direction of
gravity's pull. The gyroscope remains in one position, no matter the
orientation. A solid object is placed along the gyroscope, and the angle
between the gyroscope and the object is determined via the inclinometer and
displayed on an electronic readout.
▪ Mercury inclinometer – Similar in operation to an electronic inclinometer,
but instead of the gyroscope, mercury liquid is used.
7 TYPES OF INCLINOMETER

▪ Manual Inclinometers – This is an older model of inclinometer also called

the gas bubble type. The instrument contains a glass tube with liquid and an
air bubble inside. As the instrument moves, the bubble stays level. Its
position indicates the incline angle on a scale.
8 TYPES OF INCLINOMETER

• Gravity inclinometer - One of the most practical gravity inclinometer was

invented by William B. Melick in 1889. His instrument consists of a rotating
scale and fixed pointers.
• The scale is driven by an internal pendulum weight. The weight is fastened to
the back and suspended from a bearing, which is supported in the front by a
diagonal cross-piece.
• There are two buttons on the instrument that can be pressed so as to lock the
scale firmly in place to enable easy reading. This instrument is considered to
be a sturdier and more practical design because whatever the orientation, the
weight is kept down by gravity, while the scale moves.
9 COMPONENT OF INCLINOMETER

• An in-place Inclinometer consists of the following components:

• Bottom wheel assembly

• In place Inclinometer sensor
• Spacer tubing (length: need to specify a s per the requirement)
• Placement tubing (Topmost part)
• Suspension kit
• Protective cover
• Junction box
• Data Logger: ESDL-30
10 COMPONENT OF INCLINOMETER

· Traversing Inclinometer Probe

❑The traversing inclinometer probe consists of a couple of gravity-sensing

accelerometers in a stainless steel carriage.
❑It contains two sets of spring-pressured wheels that guide the probe accurately
at any depth in the casing.
❑The spacing between the wheels is usually 0.5m. The measurements are done in
the A-axis i.e. in the direction of the wheels and B-axis i.e. perpendicular to the
A-axis.
❑The probes for horizontal casing are made differently. The sensors are mounted
to measure the vertical displacement while keeping the bottom-tracking
wheels fixed.
11 COMPONENT OF INCLINOMETER

· Inclinometer Casing

❑ The inclinometer casing is used to guide the probe within the casing with four longi- tudinal
wheel grooves, spaced 90° apart.

❑ Out of these, only one set of the opposite grooves in the expected direction of the
displacement is used.

❑ The casing is generally installed in the ground, within drilled holes and the annular space
grouted. However, there are other installations where the casing is embedded in concrete
structures.

❑ The casing connection seals out soil, grout, and other material while keeping the grooves
clean.
12 COMPONENT OF INCLINOMETER

· Inclinometer Cable Reel

❑ The inclinometer cable reel is attached to the slope gauge probe and readout device. It is used
to transmit electrical signals during measurements and serve as a precise, repeatable depth
control for theprobe.

❑ The cable has a distinct design and is constructed to provide long-term longitudinal
stability.

❑ It is made essentially to serve as a measuring tape. In other words, it is made to be durable,

waterproof, non-stretch, non-shrink with a high torque resistance

· Mobile Readout Unit

• The mobile readout unit is used to record the data at each depth interval. It is capable of storing
multiple data sets and can perform field checks to verify the validity of the measurements.
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13 COMPONENT OF INCLINOMETER

• In-place inclinometers are further divided

into two types - Uniaxial and Bi-axial. The
• biaxial in-place tilt indicators consist of
a couple of MEMS sensors attached at
90°.

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14 ACCELEROMETER

• The inclinometer probes are built using two

types of accelerometers:
❑Servo-Accelerometer
❑The force-balanced sensing elements
housed in an inclinometer probe detect the
change in tilt (from reference).
❑The probe consists of a couple of biaxial
servo-accelerometers. It is fitted with two
sets of spring-pressured wheels to guide the
probe along the longitudinal grooves of
the inclinometer casing.
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15 ACCELEROMETER

• The force-balance accelerometer is shown below where a pendulous, high-magnetic

permeability mass is hung from a hinge as shown. The "down" or "null position" is
detected by the null detector and the counterbalancing force is provided by a magnetic
coil.
• If acceleration is applied to this assembly, a force is exerted on the mass and it will
attempt to move from the null position. When the null detector detects motion, the coil
current is increased by means of a servo amplifier to maintain the null position.
• The coil current provides the restoring force required to maintain the null position and
this current will be in direct proportion to the applied acceleration.
16 ACCELEROMETER

• Highly-precise null detectors can be easily fabricated as the total range of this deflection is
extremely small, in fact, increasing null detector resolutions will result in proportionately
improved acceleration resolution. Since the active member of the force-balance accelerometer
does not substantially displace in normal operation, the hysteresis performance of this type of
sensor is extremely low and is due more to electrical hysteresis in the circuitry than to actual
mechanical hysteresis. Damping of the seismic assembly is accomplished both electrically and
mechanically with silicone oil.
• The servo accelerometer is physically large relative to strain gauge accelerometers but provides
microgravity resolution with high zero-hertz stability and low thermal errors. The large size of
the inertial mass results in large forces during high shock events, and even though overrange-
ilmiting stops may be incorporated, this type of sensor is not suited to high shock environments.
17 ACCELEROMETER

• Early force balance sensors were provided with piezoelectric or magnetic "dithering" mechanisms to
reduce stiction effects by constantly oscillating the bearing slightly to keep the coefficient of bearing
friction in the lower dynamic range. Recent designs, utilizing high-resolution null detect systems,
eliminate the bearing altogether replacing it with a simple quartz flexure. The superb mechanical
characteristics of crystalline quartz, used as a pivot, provides essentially-zero hysteresis performance
due to the fact that the mass does not deflect significantly.
• The typical useful flat (±5%) frequency response bandwidth of the servo accelerometer is generally
less than 100 Hertz. Based upon a closed-loop control network, recovery time of a servo
accelerometer from an overrange input can be lengthy relative to the strain-gaged open-loop
accelerometer designs. In fact, the recovery time of the sensor, after an over-ranged input, is a direct
function of the total power available to the restoring force mechanism. Typical force balance sensors
are usually current-limited to 50 or 100 ma of input drive current thus "energy limiting" the restoring
force mechanism resulting in typical overrange recovery times of 100 milliseconds.
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18 ACCELEROMETER

• The diagram shows how the servo force-

balance concept can be applied to fabricate
extremely-high-precision pressure sensors
based upon the above concepts. The force-
balance pressure sensor is generally large,
and typically not suited to dynamic pressure
measurements or physically-hostile
environments, but is admirably suited to the
high-precision and high-resolution
measurement of pressure in more benign 18

physical environments.
19 MEMS ACCELEROMETER

• MEMS Accelerometer
❑Such clinometers are termed a s MEMS Inclinometers.
❑Currently the MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) technology is being used to
build the tilt sensor probe.
❑The MEMS consist of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators and electronics on a
common silicon substrate through microfabrication technology.
❑Acceleration causes deflection of the proof mass from its centre position. There are 32 sets
of radial fingers around the four sides of the square proof mass.
❑Each finger and pair of fixed plates make up a differential capacitor.
❑The deflection of the proof mass is determined by measuring the differential
capacitance.
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20 MEMS ACCELEROMETER

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21 MEMS ACCELEROMETER –APPLICATION

1. MEMS sensors are being used in latest mobile phones and gaming joysticks as step counters, user
interface control, and also for switching between different modes.
2. Used in mobile cameras as a tilt sensor so as to tag the orientation of photos taken.
3. To provide stability of images in camcorders and also to rotate the image to and fro when you turn
the mobile.
4. A 3D accelerometer is used in Nokia 5500 so as to provide easier tap and change feature by which
you can change mp3’s by tapping on the phone when it is lying inside the pocket.
5. Used to protect hard disk drives in laptops from getting damaged when the PC falls to the ground.
The device senses the free fall and automatically switches off the hard disk.
6. Used in car crash airbag sensors, where it senses the sudden negative acceleration and determines the
correct time to open the airbag.
7. Used in real-time applications like military monitoring, missile launching, projectiles, and so on.
22 WORKING OF INCLINOMETER

❑By this method, both dynamic acceleration (i.e. shock or vibration) and static
acceleration (i.e. inclination or rotation) can be sensed.

❑Signal conditioning is carried out within inclinometers so that a simple output signal is
obtained.

❑This output can be used in conjunction with a calibration sheet to easily calculate the
amount of tilt that has occurred.
23 INSTALLATION OF INCLINOMETER

• Inclinometers can be installed in two ways: Vertically

❑Vertical inclinometers are used for measuring relative horizontal displacements affecting
the shape of a guide casing, embedded in the ground or structure.
❑A near-vertical gauge well is constructed by installing the clinometer casing in a borehole,
embedding in an earth/rockfill or concrete structure during and post-construction.
❑The clinometer probe is then passed through the entire length of the gauge well from
bottom to top, taking readings at fixed pre-determined intervals.
❑A probe consisting of a couple of precision accelerometers senses the inclination of the
access tube 90° to each other.
❑The bottom end of the guide casing serves as a stable reference (datum) and must be embedded
beyond the displacement zone.
❑Relative displacement over time is determined by repeating measurements at the same depths
and comparing data sets.
24 INSTALLATION OF INCLINOMETER

• Horizontally
❑Horizontal inclinometers are installed to monitor the profiles of settlement or heave under
storage tanks, embankments, dams, andlandfills.
❑The horizontal inclinometer probe consists of a force-balanced servo-accelerometer which
measures inclination from horizontal in the plane of the probe wheels.
❑A change in tilt angle is noted and this indicates that the movement has occurred.
❑The movement is calculated by finding the difference between the current inclination reading
and the initial reading while converting the result to a vertical distance
25 INSTALLATION OF INCLINOMETER

• Monitoring retaining structure's performance

❑The performance of retaining structures, such as sheet pile walls, soldier pile walls or
Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) systems is adversely affected by lateral
pressures or ground movements.
❑Deformations in retaining structures could occur during and after construction. The
inclinometer system is designed to measure the magnitude of tilt and differential
deformation behind or within the wall face.
❑The casing can be installed vertically in boreholes, adjacent to the wall face or can be added
within structural elements.
❑Traversing-type inclinometer probes are usually used to determine the relative shape of the
retaining structure and changes in it over a while.
26 APPLICATION OF INCLINOMETER

• Monitoring slope stability

❑Slopes in cuts or fills embankments can be monitored for stability during and after
construction. In such cases, the inclinometer casings are installed inside the bore- holes,
similar to landslide monitoring.
• Monitoring Excavations
❑The impact of excavations is monitored to study its effect on nearby structures, utilities, and
other critical facilities.
❑In such cases, inclinometer casings are placed inside the vertical boreholes located between
the excavation boundary and thenearby facilities.
❑The inclinometer casing can also be installed in the excavation system.
27 APPLICATION OF INCLINOMETER

• Monitoring during tunnel drilling

❑Inclinometers can be used to monitor stress relief ground movements and possible
displacement of rock blocks during the construction of tunnels and shafts.
❑Gradient meters are used to verify the adequacy of ground supports, detect potential flaws in
the construction approach, and serve as a warning system for potential ground failure.

• Monitoring pile and drilled pierperformance

❑Inclinometers can be used to measure the deformation of deep foundations subject- ed to
large lateral loads. The level meter/tilt sensor casing can be embedded within or attached to
structural elements.
28 APPLICATION OF INCLINOMETER

• Determining the angle of Earth’s Magnetic field with respect to horizontal plane.
• Showing a deviation form the true vertical or horizontal.
• Surveying, to measure an angle of inclination or elevation.
• Alerting an equipment operator that it may tip over.
• Measuring angles of elevation, slope or incline e.g. of an embankment.
• Measuring slight difference in slopes, particularly for geophysics. Such inclinometers
are , for instance, used for monitoring volcanoes or for measuring the depth and rate of
landslide movement.
• Measuring movements in walls or the ground in civil engineering projects.
29 OPEN DISCUSSION
OPEN DISCUSSION
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