FAQ 2
Q: Is SAA sufficiently flexible to measure soil deformation?
A: SAA, in its standard 27 mm PVC casing, has 5% of the stiffness of an inclinometer in 80 mm (2.75”) casing. SAA is 20 times more flexible than the industry standard for measuring soil deformations.
Q: What does AIA do for me?
A: AIA, or “averaging in array” is available with most new SAAs and greatly speeds the acquisition of data from an SAAF. The in-array microprocessors read the sensors at high speed until enough samples are acquired within the array to produce an average of up to 25,000 readings. The shortening of acquisition time is dramatic: over 1000 : 1 for typical arrays.
Q: How do I associate the X and Y data with a geographical direction?
A: By pointing the X mark near the top of an SAA toward a known direction.
Q: Why do you say a vertical SAA measures 3D data?
A: SAA, like inclinometers, reports XYZ data. The distiction for SAA is that it can survive much larger deformations, so that the Z dimension actually can be seen to change. But no, SAA does not somehow “know” if soil has subsided vertically without taking the casing along with it.
A: SAA, in its standard 27 mm PVC casing, has 5% of the stiffness of an inclinometer in 80 mm (2.75”) casing. SAA is 20 times more flexible than the industry standard for measuring soil deformations.
Q: What does AIA do for me?
A: AIA, or “averaging in array” is available with most new SAAs and greatly speeds the acquisition of data from an SAAF. The in-array microprocessors read the sensors at high speed until enough samples are acquired within the array to produce an average of up to 25,000 readings. The shortening of acquisition time is dramatic: over 1000 : 1 for typical arrays.
Q: How do I associate the X and Y data with a geographical direction?
A: By pointing the X mark near the top of an SAA toward a known direction.
Q: Why do you say a vertical SAA measures 3D data?
A: SAA, like inclinometers, reports XYZ data. The distiction for SAA is that it can survive much larger deformations, so that the Z dimension actually can be seen to change. But no, SAA does not somehow “know” if soil has subsided vertically without taking the casing along with it.
