‘Plug & Play’ sensors for ad hoc construction monitoring

Seismic accuracy

„We developed the digital ASC DiSens EQ accelerometer in response to a client request from France,” explains Markus Nowack, Application Engineer at ASC Sensors. “They wanted a high performing capacitive accelerometer as sensitive and powerful as our analog ASC EQ series, with one important difference: They needed them for ‘on the go’ checks into various bridges and other communal building structures. The data needed to be highly reliable, yet extracted and processed in real time without losing time over creating a complex interface.”

The ASC EQ series features extremely high resolutions far superior to other analog sensors. With its ability to register amplitudes of a millionth of the earth’s gravitational acceleration, it is often used in seismological monitoring of sensitive structures including tunnels, bridges, dams, power plants, or other buildings that may be critically impacted by even the tiniest tectonic vibrations.

“To meet our customer’s requirement, we decided to not construct a complex solution requiring tailormade interfaces and expensive infrastructure for the client to collect and process the data. Instead, we wanted to make this as convenient as possible,” Nowack recollects. ”This is what we came up with.”

High-end digital conversion yet simple USB interface

In a nutshell, the ASC DiSens EQ is every bit as accurate and sensitive as its analog predecessor, plus comes equipped with a high-end analog-to-digital converter and a digital data processing unit with USB interface as additional features.

For smooth analog-digital conversion, the built-in 80 Hz (-3 dB) Butterworth anti-aliasing filter resolves up to 21.5 effective number of bits (ENOB) at a default 500 Hz sampling frequency, a stand-out in the world of digital accelerometers. Beyond these integrated electronics, ASC DiSens EQ-3211 accelerometers, like their analog EQ ‘ancestors’, are based on quality MEMS technology with capacitive operation. In addition to their resolution of less than 1 µg, noise levels are ultra-low.

However, a standard USB interface makes this sensor truly convenient for anyone using a conventional laptop computer. It enables plug-and-play operation, including adjustment of all sensor configurations, external synchronization as well as retrieving and immediate processing of the measured data. 5 VDC power is supplied through the USB port, so that no additional peripherals are required.

Where accuracy meets flexibility

“Particularly its powerful digital conversion and the ability to plug into the smallest USB ports will help engineers obtain high precision results and predictions live on-site,” says Nowack. “The ASC DiSens EQ series adds incredible value to wherever a combination of the highest accuracy with the benefits of a flexible, mobile, convenient measuring solution is desired.”

Learn more: www.asc-sensors.de/en/sensoren/asc-disens-eq-3211-en

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ASC 5425MF

Triaxial, capacitive
Measurement range: ±2 to ±200 g
Noise density: 10 to 680 µg/√Hz
Frequency range (±5 %): DC to 2900 Hz

ASC P203A11

Triaxial, IEPE
Measurement range: ±50 to ±2000 g
Frequency range (±10 %): 1.0 Hz to 9 kHz
Scale factor: 2.5 mV/g to 100 mV/g