Accustar® clinometers from Lucas Control Systems help keep underwater gyrocompasses on course
Accustar® clinometers from Lucas Control Systems help keep underwater gyrocompasses on course
Keywords Gyrocompasses,Lucas, Sensors, Underwater
Gyrocompasses play a vital role in plotting underwater installation sites and innovative company Digilog Services Ltd is successfully using Accustar® Clinometers from Schaevitz™Sensors, a brand of Lucas Control Systems, to ensure that its gyrocompasses perform with absolute precision in harsh sub-sea conditions, often at depths of more than 2,000 metres.
Both companies exhibited at Offshore Europe, held in Aberdeen from 9-12 September 1997.
Digilog Services, based in Aberdeen, was formed in 1989, originally to provide technical support to users of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for the offshore underwater industry. As Digilog's expertise grew, the company developed diagnostics, multiplexer systems and PC data acquisition interfacing allowing control and diagnostics of vehicles by a PC running Digilog software.
All these developments are dependent on totally reliable communication of data in a twisted pair cable over long distances in water depths which are beyond the capabilities of divers and often exceeding 2,000 metres.
Digilog Services says it caters for this exceptionally harsh environment by adapting proven electronic,software and mechanical engineering systems to offer innovative solutions which are also extremely reliable and cost effective.
The company's current range of developments for the offshore industry now includes the following products:
free swimming ROV pilot display systems;
sub-sea wellhead ROV deployed toolskids which maintain and operate valves and actuators and monitor pressures, temperatures and position;
spatially correspondent electric manipulator arm for use on wellheads, ROVs and nuclear applications;
underwater gyrocompasses for hydrographic surveys.
Digilog Services' true north seeking gyrocompasses are used in applications such as sub-sea templates installation, rock dumping operations, tunnel boring and seabed surveys. These compact, rugged instruments are modular in design and are based on 75 years'experience of manufacturing technology. They are built to last in hostile underwater conditions are highly accurate, and claim to be free from latitude error.
Accustar® Electronic Analogue Clinometers from Schaevitz™ Sensors are being used to measure pitch and roll on the Digilog gyrocompasses. The Accustar Clinometer is an extremely accurate angle measurement device. The heart of the system is a patented, capacitance-based sensor with no moving parts. The capacitor plate is etched to form two variable capacitors and is sandwiched between two housing halves. The assembled sensor is half filled with a dielectric liquid and inert gas. When rotated about its sensitive axis, this unique sensor provides an exceedingly linear variation in capacitance, which is electronically converted into angular data.
The Accustar Analogue Clinometer is a signal conditioned sensor which has been designed for DC voltage, bipolar operation. The clinometer is powered by a bipolar supply of±8 to +15Vdc and delivers an output of ±3.6Vdc. The Analogue Clinometer has full EMI suppression circuitry on every line.
More information on Digilog's products and services is available on its Web site (http://www.digilog.co.uk) or contact Neil Henderson, e-mail: neil@digilog.demon.co.ukTel: +44 (0) 1224 770898; Fax: +44 (0) 1224 770907.
