Underground instrumentation emplacement system
AssigneeScience & Engineering, Inc.
InventorCarl E. Keller
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for placing instrumentation within a hole enables a wide variety of instruments to be placed in the hole with enhanced measurement resolution and minimum risk of becoming lodged in the hole by partial collapse of the hole wall. A flexible tubular member is pressurized and averted from a canister into the hole, turning inside out as it extends into the hole. The application of pressure urges the tubular member against the hole wall in the manner of a hole liner or packer. A wide variety of instruments can be attached to the membrane and urged against the hole wall for measurement purposes. Typical measurements include temperature, pore fluid extraction and injection, in situ sensing with fiber optics, pore fluid pressure, and the like.
Claims18
An instrument emplacement system for use in a hole in the earth with a substantially rigid wall, comprising:
- a flexible tubular member extendable within said hole and inflatable to a diameter effective to urge said tubular member against said rigid wall and having a proximal end and a distal end;
- canister means connected to said proximal end for inflating and venting said tubular member;
- handling means within said canister means for extending and retracting said tubular member;
- tether means connecting said canister means and said distal end of said tubular member for withdrawing said distal end within said canister means while inverting said tubular member;
- and
- means for venting from beneath said tubular member while retracting said member.
An instrument emplacement system for use in a hole with a substantially rigid wall, comprising:
- an inflatable flexible tubular member;
- canister means for enclosing said tubular member;
- fluid pressure means for extending said tubular member within said hole while turning said tubular member inside out to form an inflated hole liner;
- and
- at least one instrument on the exterior of said tubular member for urging toward said rigid wall and effective for temperature measurement, pressure measurement, fluid absorption, fluid extraction, fluid insertion, or fiber optic sensing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.