Integrated Sciences, Inc.

Charles R Carrington

Carl Fisher, Jr

George A Grant

Apparatus is disclosed for failure prediction of earth structures. The apparatus is intrinsically safe with all necessary electronics contained in a portable central unit except for a sensor and a preamplifier which are positioned contiguous to an earth structure to be monitored and are connected through an electrical cable to the central unit. The entire apparatus is powered by a six volt battery power source also contained in the central unit with electrical isolation being featured. The apparatus monitors the selected earth structure and predicts failure through analysis of determined microseismic emissions arising from changes in mechanical loading of the selected earth structure. In the central unit, microseismic emissions from the sensor and preamplifier are continuously received, conditioned and then utilized to form event and energy counts which are supplied to a computer that is controlled in such a manner so as to analyze the incoming data and determine therefrom imminent failure of the monitored earth structure with such detected failure being automatically immediately indicated. The apparatus is particularly useful in harzardous environments and in close proximity to personnel whose safey depends upon the relative stability of the earth structure, and is therefore particularly useful in underground mines to predict earth structure failures such as roof falls.

Growing community of inventors

Longmont, CO, United States of America

Charles R Carrington