Geophysical Sensor Sleeve with Heating Element for Ice Retrieval
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Geophysical sensors and recording nodes deployed in semi-soft ground surfaces, ice, and similar environments often become difficult to locate and retrieve due to freezing, consolidation, or covering by materials like ice, sand, or mud, leading to potential loss.
Innovation Solution
A woven high-strength fiber sleeve with an integrated electrical heating element and insulated conductors allows for the deployment and retrieval of sensors, enabling heat generation to melt ice and facilitate removal with minimal tension, while also providing communication and power capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If geophysical sensors are deployed in semi-soft ground surfaces or ice, then signal detection capability is improved, but retrieval difficulty increases due to freezing or material consolidation
Solution Approach 1:
An extension member is attached to the sensor assembly before deployment, protruding from the housing to extend beyond the sensor. This preliminary configuration ensures that when the sensor is deployed into ice or semi-soft ground, the extension member remains accessible outside the material, enabling future retrieval operations without requiring the sensor to be pulled from deep within the substrate.
Solution Approach 2:
The extension member acts as an intermediary element between the sensor assembly and the external environment. It provides a connection point that extends through the ice or ground material, allowing retrieval equipment to access and retrieve the sensor without directly interacting with the sensor housing itself, thus solving the retrieval difficulty while maintaining detection reliability.
2Measurement precision
If sensors are deployed deep into ice or ground material, then detection accuracy is improved, but location and retrieval become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The extension member is pre-configured on the sensor assembly before deployment, ensuring it protrudes from the housing. This preliminary setup guarantees that even when the sensor is embedded deep into ice or ground material for accurate detection, the extension member remains accessible outside the material, serving as a reliable indicator for location and a handle for retrieval.
Solution Approach 2:
The extension member may be configured with visual characteristics that make it easily detectable from a distance. By providing a visible protruding element that extends beyond the sensor housing, operators can easily locate the deployment position and track the sensor's position in the field, solving the location difficulty associated with deep deployments.
3Stability of the object's composition
If sensors are embedded in ice or soft ground, then measurement stability is improved, but retrieval requires excessive force that may damage the sensor
Solution Approach 1:
The extension member is attached to the sensor assembly before deployment, creating a mechanical advantage point. When retrieval is needed, force can be applied to the extension member rather than directly to the sensor housing, distributing the stress and reducing the risk of damage to the sensor while still providing sufficient force to extract it from the ice or ground.
Solution Approach 2:
The extension member serves as a mediator between the retrieval force and the sensor assembly. It allows retrieval equipment to engage with the sensor system without directly applying excessive force to the sensitive sensor components, thereby maintaining measurement stability during operation while enabling safe retrieval when needed.
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 effectively prevents sensor loss by allowing for easy retrieval from challenging environments, ensuring reliable data acquisition and system maintenance through efficient ice melting and secure signal communication.
Implementation Method 1
A woven high-strength fiber sleeve with an integrated electrical heating element... enables heat generation to melt ice
Data Source
AI summary
A geophysical sensor deployment sleeve includes an electrically non-conductive fiber woven into a shape of a tube open at one end and closed at the other end. The fiber has a tensile strength such that upward force applied to the open end of the tube is capable of removal of a sensor or sensor recording node disposed in the tube in a hole below a ground surface irrespective of consolidated materials infiltrating and/or covering the tube below ground level.