What are In-Place Inclinometers?
In-Place Inclinometers (IPIs) are geotechnical instruments used to measure the inclination or tilt of structures and the subsurface. It is often to monitor ground movements and structural deformations over time. Unlike traditional inclinometer systems, which typically require manual insertion and removal of a probe to take readings, in-place inclinometers are installed semi-permanently in the ground or within a structure.
The installation process of most In-Place Inclinometers involves drilling boreholes to the required depth. Once the borehole is complete, IPI rods are inserted into the inclinometer casings and lowered to the required depth.
Sight Automation, the monitoring brand of ground investigation company Central Alliance, provide a complete in house drilling, instrumentation and data hosting service for IPIs. Depending on specification, the team can instrument a full borehole with sensors, or target specific depths of interest with a positional approach.
Image of Sight Automation gateway installation on the A6024 using In-Place Inclinometers to measure ground movement in the carriageway.
Sight Automation Portal of time plots requested by our client to show movement on an embankment to monitor an active slip. The client used IPIs with ground pressure, water level sensors and a weather station, all installed by Sight Automation, to provide a full insight into events which are increasing the rate of failure.
Alternative Uses
In-Place Inclinometers have also been installed within piling structures by Sight Automation to monitor movement during construction projects. The Sight Automation solution proved successful for sites where access for monitoring engineers attending isn’t suitable.
Sight Automation Solution
For In-Place Inclinometers, Sight Automation can create alerts for movement in boreholes and piles at the point where it passes a certain defined threshold or when movement occurs within short time scale. This provides security for clients giving them confidence with data to make decisions. Utilising the flexibility of our flagship Sight Automation portal, we can design and create a personalised online data environment to to suit the specific requirements of your site.
Sight Automation can also provide vertical plots and host historical and new data from installations. Contact us to discuss how our instrumentation and hosting can revolutionise your data collection.
Vertical Inclinometer plot hosted on Sight Automation to provide data within one easy to access location.