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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7921730 | Downhole rock scratcher and method for identifying strength of subsurface intervals Disclosed are a tool and method for identifying the relative strength of subsurface intervals through which a borehole has been drilled. The tool includes a tool body capable of being moved through a borehole. The tool body has pads mounted on movable arms. Preferab... | 04/12/2011 |
| 7762143 | Penetration-type pipe strain gauge A penetration-type pipe strain gauge easily transportable and easily installable in various places at low cost in a short period of time to measure strain produced in a shallow layer of the ground. Strain gauges are attached to the outer peripheral surface of an inn... | 07/27/2010 |
| 7440852 | Stochastic analytical solution to quantify the earth's subsurface heat flow An analytical closed form solution to mean and variance in heat flow is obtained by solving the stochastic heat conduction equation incorporating randomness in the thermal conductivity. The method has a wide range of applications in quantifying the thermal state of ... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7398696 | Method and device for determining deformations A method for determining deformations of a body by which the effect of forces on the body is analyzed, including determining the way an equilibrium of forces between internal and external forces for a whole body or a part of it dependent on the material properties a... | 07/15/2008 |
| 7388190 | Fiber Bragg grating sensored segmented deflectometer for ground displacement monitoring The invention provides a monitoring device mainly for sensing ground displacement, including the fiber Bragg grating sensored deflectometer and the signal interrogator/computer system. The device uses a segmented design that consists of a flexible tube (referred to ... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7380462 | Apparatus and method for measuring supporting force of large diameter ferroconcrete piles An apparatus measures a supporting force of ferroconcrete piles by means of a bi-directional front end oil pressure loading apparatus using a high pressure loading system capable of measuring a supporting force, a sinking amount and an axis load distribution on the ... | 06/03/2008 |
| 7368827 | Electrical assembly for monitoring conditions in a combustion turbine operating environment An electrical assembly for use in various operating environments such as a casing of a combustion turbine 10 is provided. The assembly may include an electrical energy-harvesting device 51 disposed in a component within the casing of the turbine to con... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7353714 | Method and apparatus for automatic load testing using bi-directional testing The subject invention pertains to a method and apparatus for testing the static load-bearing capacity of a pile. In an embodiment, one or more load devices for applying a test load can be disposed within a pile such that a pile element can be above the load device, ... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7331212 | Sensor module A sensor module is provided having a compact housing containing a sensor. A low temperature co-fired ceramic substrate is located on the housing. The sensor and signal processing circuitry are located on the low temperature co-fired ceramic substrate. The sensor mod... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7324007 | Instrumented rock bolt, data logger and user interface system A rock bolt includes a hollow body and a gap along a length of the hollow body. At least one strain gauge is affixed to an inner surface of the rock bolt and is accessible from the gap. The rock bolt may include a data logger within the hollow body and coupled to re... | 01/29/2008 |
| 7299686 | System and method for testing the compaction of soil A device for determining soil compaction includes a control member fitted with one or more sensors that measure the response of the control member during co-action between the control member and a soil surface. In one embodiment, this response can be flexure as char... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7296475 | Displacement instrument for determining the modulus of a material A novel displacement instrument that can be used to measure the density or modulus of an aggregate pier upon which a multistory building or parking garage can be built. The aggregate piers are often 35 feet or deeper. These aggravate piers are constructed by adding ... | 11/20/2007 |
| 7284431 | Geophone An improved system for sensing ground motion is provided. The system generally comprises a shell and a case within the shell and connected by a suspension. The mass of the case is greater than the mass of the shell. An electrode within the shell detects relative mot... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7284445 | Strain waveform control apparatus, strain waveform regulating member, strain waveform control method by using strain waveform control apparatus, and strain waveform control program A strain waveform control apparatus of the present invention is adapted to horizontally supporting a printed circuit board over a trestle and cause strains on the printed circuit board by a dropped rigid ball with buffer blocks being located on both surfaces of the ... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7275864 | Wireless, solar-powered, pavement temperature sensor An improved roadway temperature monitoring system is designed to be powered by solar energy for measuring and transmitting sensed roadway surface temperatures over a wireless link to remote workstations comprises a module housing fabricated from a light-transmissive... | 10/02/2007 |
| 7240743 | Soil probe insertion arrangement and method of use This invention relates to probes used in the ground for the collection of data relating to soil conditions and in particular to a construction and method of insertion of probe bodies that will house such probes. A probe body insertion apparatus comprises a tool for ... | 07/10/2007 |
| 7234362 | Subsurface material property measurement Subsurface material property measurements, such as soil or chemical properties, are obtained in situ by a direct push method that includes rotating a ring bit at the end of a casing to drill through subsurface materials, lowering a measurement probe through the adva... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7226246 | Apparatus and method for building support piers from one or successive lifts formed in a soil matrix An apparatus and method for forming a support pier having a single or multiple compacted aggregate lifts in a soil matrix, wherein the apparatus includes a vertical, hollow tube with a bulbous leading end or head element that is forced into the soil matrix. The holl... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7222540 | Wireline extensometer A new and useful wireline extensometer is provided that uses a tensioned cable extending between a supply spool and an anchor (e.g. of a type connected to a slope mass), measures movement of the cable to reflect movement of the anchor (e.g. due to movement of the sl... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7216533 | Methods for using a formation tester A method of testing a downhole formation using a formation tester on a drill string. The formation tester is disposed downhole on a drill string and a formation test is performed by forming a seal between a formation probe assembly and the formation. A drawdown pist... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7207397 | Multi-pole transmitter source Methods and apparatus facilitating logging-while-drilling (LWD) using a multi-pole acoustic transmitter source. The multi-pole transmitter source enables measurement of formation velocities, including shear wave velocities through formations that are slower than vel... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7201060 | Apparatus and method for determining pore fluid and soil properties using multi-sensor measurement systems An apparatus and methods for determining in situ pore fluid and soil properties at a particular subsurface location are disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a penetrating tip member configured to penetrate soil. The apparatus further comprises an at... | 04/10/2007 |
| 7191663 | Testing apparatus and method of deriving Young's modulus from tensile stress/strain relationships A method of testing and a tester apparatus to determine the axial stress and strain of cements under the temperature and pressures encountered by cement during use in wellbore environments. Using these stress and strain measurements, the Young's Modulus may be estab... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7142123 | Method and apparatus for detecting moisture in building materials A moisture sensor system is described. In one embodiment, the system provides an adjustable threshold level for the sensed moisture level. The adjustable threshold allows the moisture sensor to adjust to ambient conditions, aging of components, and other operational... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7073374 | Soil compaction measurement on moving platform An apparatus and method are provided for the in-situ measurement of the stiffness of a surface. The apparatus includes a platform, which is movable relative to the surface. A stiffness measurement device is supported by the platform in a stationary position relative... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7040156 | Flexible membrane encapsulated strain measurement instrument and method of manufacture A flexible membrane for use in test cells includes instrumentation within the thickness of the membrane to accurately measure a property of a material including stresses, strains, deformation, temperature, moisture potential and moisture content of the sample. A tes... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7028554 | Instrumented deep tillage implement An instrument and method for variable depth tillage is provided. A soil engaging implement has a pair of load cells and at least one strain gauge set mounted thereon. The load cells are used to determine a linear trend of topsoil resistance pressure change with dept... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7006920 | Activity data capture system for a well service vehicle The present invention is directed to incrementing a well service rig in such a manner that activity-based and/or time-based data for the well site is recorded. The acquired data can be transmitted via wired, wireless, satellite or physical to a data center preferabl... | 02/28/2006 |
| 6957593 | Devices, systems, and methods for analyzing snow stability Devices, systems, and methods are disclosed for analyzing various characteristics of snow. In one embodiment of the present invention, a snow sensor is attached to a probe that is inserted beneath the surface of the snow. A depth sensor is provided that measures the... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6942429 | Post-stressed pile A structural pile assembly includes a driven pile and pressurized grout contained beneath the pile so as to exert an upward force on the pile. An enclosure, such as a bladder or bellows, is filled with grout from a reservoir via a conduit which preferably extends ax... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6926081 | Methods of discovering and correcting subterranean formation integrity problems during drilling In accordance with a method of this invention, formation integrity problems are discovered, diagnosed and corrected in successively drilled subterranean well bore intervals. If one or more of well bore fluid outflows, formation fluid inflows or inadequate well bore ... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6912903 | Soil compaction measurement An apparatus and method are provided for the in-situ measurement of the stiffness of a layer of soil or other surface of interest. The apparatus includes a contact foot for engaging the surface and a drive transducer coupled to the contact foot for applying a vibrat... | 07/05/2005 |
| 6834550 | Soil profile force measurement using an instrumented tine A profile sensor and method for mapping the variability in soil compaction and soil characteristics with respect to depth. One embodiment of the apparatus includes a tine with a plurality of cutting elements supported by a plurality of independent load cells configu... | 12/28/2004 |
| 6796187 | Wireless multi-functional sensor platform, system containing same and method for its use A multi-functional sensor system for simultaneously monitoring various parameters such as the structural, chemical and environmental conditions associated with a medium to be monitored, e.g., bridges, high-rise buildings, pollution zones, is provided wherein the sys... | 09/28/2004 |
| 6757642 | Method for performing wedge analysis for assessing wedge instabilities in underground openings A method is provided for performing wedge analysis for assessing wedge occurrence and instability in underground openings, such as mines, caves, and the like. The method scales full-span wedge predictions, accounting for both occurrence and instability potential of ... | 06/29/2004 |
| 6694815 | Liquefaction phenomenon prediction system To predict residual settlement quantity and residual horizontal deformation quantity of ground where a liquefaction phenomenon has occurred due to earthquake. Soils in situ (stratum B to stratum D) are sampled from ground, and are made to be element test ... | 02/24/2004 |
| 6655220 | Method and device for in situ triaxial test The device comprises a corer (1, 4) fitted with a flexible diaphragm (2) on its inside face, means (10) for driving the corer into the soil (11), means for breaking up the soil leaving the top orifice of the corer, means for applying axial forces on the d... | 12/02/2003 |
| 6647799 | Soil strength measurement for site-specific agriculture An apparatus and method are provided for continuously measuring the soil strength on-the-fly and at different depths. The apparatus includes a downwardly extending probe having an impedance sensor mounted on a leading edge thereof so as to be impacted by ... | 11/18/2003 |
| 6604432 | Soil compaction measurement The in-situ measurement of the shear modulus of a surface layer of soil (12) is performed by apparatus in which a contact foot (11) with a preselected downward bias force engages a defined area of a region of soil. A drive transducer (13) shakes the conta... | 08/12/2003 |
| 6567755 | Metering equipment Metering equipment for metering fluid flow through an injector valve, comprising metering means and locating means arranged to locate such a valve in fluid communication with the metering means. The metering means are upstream of the locating means.... | 05/20/2003 |
