
8
| INSTRUMENT PROTECTION | GEOKON
3.3
CABLE AND CONNECTOR PROTECTION
The cable should be protected from accidental damage caused by moving
equipment or fly rock. This is best accomplished by putting the cable inside
flexible conduit and positioning the conduit in as safe a place as possible.
(Flexible conduit is available from
GEOKON
.) The conduit can be connected via
conduit bulkhead connectors to the cover plates. (The
GEOKON
cover plate has a
stamped knockout which, when removed, provides a hole for connecting the
conduit connector.)
3.4
PROTECTION FROM CORROSION
It is imperative that installation weld points, if any, be protected from corrosion.
Stainless steel instruments will not corrode, but the substrate can corrode,
especially at weld points, unless they are covered by a waterproofing layer.
GEOKON
recommends you follow this procedure:
1.
Apply several drops of cyanoacrylate adhesive to the edge of all spot
welded mounting tabs. The glue will wick into the gap between the
mounting tabs and the substrate and provide the first line of defense.
2.
Mask off the areas where spot welds are needed.
3.
Spray a coat of self-etching primer (available at any auto parts store) over
mounting tab areas and all exposed bare metal areas. The idea is to protect
substrate weld points. It is important to completely cover mounting tab
edges, paying particular attention to the point where the tab is under the
instrument. Be sure to spray beneath the coil housing, if applicable; do not
worry if the primer also coats the instrument.
4.
Apply a coat of paint over the primed areas.
3.5
PROTECTION FROM ELECTRICAL NOISE
Be sure to install instrument cables as far away as possible from sources of
electrical interference such as power lines, generators, motors, transformers, arc
welders, etc. Cables should never be buried or run with AC power lines. Doing
so will cause the instrument cables to pick up the frequency noise from the
power cable, and this will likely make obtaining a stable reading difficult.
3.6
PROTECTION FROM SUNLIGHT AND TEMPERATURE CHANGES
If attached to a steel structure, the thermal coefficient of expansion of the steel
vibrating wire inside the instrument is the same as that for the structure. This
means that no temperature correction for the measured strain is required when
calculating load-induced strains. However, this is only true if the wire and the
underlying steel structure are at the same temperature. If sunlight is allowed to
impinge directly onto the gauge, it could elevate the temperature of the wire
above the surrounding steel and cause large changes in apparent strain.
Therefore, always shield strain gauges from direct sunlight. Protection from
thermal effects is best provided by covering the gauges with a layer of insulating
material such as Polystyrene foam or fiberglass.
3.7
LIGHTNING PROTECTION
Unlike numerous other types of instrumentation available from
GEOKON
,
vibrating wire strain instruments do not have any integral lightning protection
components, such as transorbs or plasma surge arrestors.
SUGGESTED LIGHTNING PROTECTION OPTIONS:
■
Lighting arrestor boards and enclosures are available from
GEOKON
. These
units install where the instrument cable exits the structure being monitored.