Cyclical Sensor Array for Axial and Lateral Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inclinometers and ShapeAccelArrays (SAA) are limited in measuring axial deformation, lateral deformation, and three-dimensional shape changes in soil and civil structures, particularly in horizontal paths, due to their inability to compress or expand axially, and their reliance on gravimetric measurements that do not account for rotations within the horizontal plane.
Innovation Solution
A non-straight sensor array with rigid bodies and flexible joints that allow for two degrees of freedom, enabling extension and compression along a medial axis while maintaining the path length, and utilizing MEMS accelerometers to measure tilt and vibration, allowing for improved fit and measurement of lateral deformation and three-dimensional shape changes within a gravity field.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional inclinometers or SAA are used with straight paths, then the instrument structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the system cannot measure axial deformation or lateral deformation of the media
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor array is divided into multiple rigid bodies separated by joints with flexibility, allowing each segment to independently measure local deformation while the entire array captures axial and lateral changes. This segmentation enables the system to measure both axial compression/extension and lateral deformation simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from straight one-dimensional sensor paths to two-dimensional and three-dimensional cyclical paths that cyclically surround a medial axis. This dimensional change allows the sensor array to capture lateral deformation and axial compression in multiple directions, overcoming the limitations of conventional straight-path instruments.
2Measurement precision
If gravimetric measurement is used to determine tilt, then the measurement method is simple, but rotations within the horizontal plane cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
By arranging sensors in cyclical two-dimensional and three-dimensional paths rather than straight lines, the system enables detection of rotations within the horizontal plane. The cyclical configuration around a medial axis provides geometric reference that allows gravimetric measurements to capture horizontal plane rotations that would be invisible to straight-path instruments.
3Reliability
If the sensor array follows a straight path, then installation is simple, but the array cannot conform to cylindrical surfaces or maintain intimate contact
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor array is configured to follow two-dimensional and three-dimensional cyclical paths that can conform to cylindrical and curved surfaces. This curvilinear geometry allows the array to maintain intimate contact with the surface being measured, improving measurement reliability while the modular rigid-body construction keeps installation manageable.
4Manufacturing precision
If the path length is kept constant, then the array structure is stable, but extension and compression along the medial axis cannot be measured
Solution Approach 1:
The array is segmented into rigid bodies connected by joints with flexibility, allowing the overall path length to remain constant while individual segments can extend and compress along the medial axis. This segmentation enables measurement of axial deformation while maintaining structural stability through the constrained joint design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables precise measurement of two-dimensional and three-dimensional shape changes, including lateral deformation and axial compression, with improved security and accuracy, overcoming the limitations of prior technologies by allowing the sensor array to conform to cylindrical surfaces and maintain intimate contact, even in horizontal deployments.
Implementation Method 1
Both conventional inclinometers and SAA rely on gravimetric measurement of tilt. Measurement of tilt amounts to determining the portion of the gravity vector acting upon a mass supported by springs in a reference frame, as the axis of the reference frame is tilted.
Implementation Method 2
rigid tubes (rigid bodies) fitted with tilt sensors, the tubes separated by built-in bendable joints resistant to twist
Implementation Method 3
Measurement of tilt amounts to determining the portion of the gravity vector acting upon a mass supported by springs in a reference frame, as the axis of the reference frame is tilted
Data Source
AI summary
A non-straight sensor array within a gravity field, within a surface and cyclically surrounding a medial axis. The sensor array includes rigid bodies holding gravimetric tilt sensors, the rigid bodies being connected by flexible joints. The flexibility of the joints is constrained to two degrees of freedom. The shape of the path, the surface, and the medial axis are measured in at least two dimensions, using the tilt sensor data and the geometrical constraints of the joints. The cyclical geometry permits simultaneous measurement of lateral and axial deformations in deployments varying from axially vertical to axially horizontal, as well as improved fit of the array to surrounding surfaces. The field of use includes geotechnical measurements of soil and civil structures.