Manager Chen is responsible for the groundwater investigation project for bridge and tunnel engineering at a certain organization. A few years ago, he purchased 2 sets of AIMOLI groundwater three-level water level meters from us. We also often discuss topics related to groundwater investigation.
In the second half of last year, Manager Chen encountered a problem during the investigation of a highway engineering project in northern China. Due to the special geological conditions at a certain location, the project could not use traditional groundwater flow velocity and direction meters to determine the groundwater flow velocity and direction at that location.
Later, even after using the Canadian imported groundwater flow velocity and direction meter that their organization had previously purchased, which is based on the colloidal pipeline imaging principle, they still could not clearly understand the actual groundwater conditions after 3 measurements.
As a result, the investigation work was temporarily blocked.
Finally, Manager Chen thought of us and hoped that AIMOLI could provide him with an effective solution for measuring groundwater flow velocity and direction.
Groundwater conditions not only experience short-term changes but also have annual variation patterns and long-term dynamic patterns. Therefore, sufficient investigation and understanding are usually required before engineering projects begin.
According to the Highway Drainage Design Specification JTG/TD33-2012, groundwater investigation should include determining the groundwater burial depth, water level variation patterns and variation range, as well as determining groundwater flow direction, flow velocity, hydraulic gradient, and other related information.
In the industry, groundwater flow velocity and direction meters based on the colloidal pipeline imaging principle are considered a high-precision technical method. They mainly observe and record groundwater through micro optical lenses, other components, and software systems, thereby determining groundwater flow velocity and direction.
Many domestic competitors use the thermal pulse method. This method is greatly affected by water pressure, and when detecting groundwater flow velocity and direction within a water level depth of 100 meters, measurement errors can easily occur.
The groundwater flow velocity and direction meter initially used by Manager Chen’s project was not based on the colloidal pipeline imaging principle, but rather a thermal pulse method groundwater flow velocity and direction meter. Therefore, due to pressure influence, it could not accurately measure the groundwater conditions in that area.
So why could they still not clearly understand the groundwater situation after switching to the Canadian imported groundwater flow velocity and direction meter based on the colloidal pipeline imaging principle?
After our investigation, we found that the main reason was that the groundwater in this area was relatively turbid. Although the Canadian imported groundwater flow velocity and direction meter also uses the colloidal pipeline imaging principle, it still relies on the traditional particle tracing method.
Once the water body is either very clear or very turbid, the movement pattern of the water cannot be clearly observed. Therefore, even after lowering the instrument into the well 3 times, they still could not accurately determine the actual groundwater flow velocity and direction at this location.
How can this problem be solved?
We recommended that Manager Chen use the AML920 groundwater flow velocity and direction meter. The AML920 groundwater flow velocity and direction meter also uses the same colloidal pipeline imaging principle as the Canadian equipment, but our particle tracing measurement technology is different from the traditional particle tracing method used by the Canadian equipment.
We place the multifunctional probe into the target water level of the observation well and capture particle migration information using the colloidal pipeline imaging principle.
Through visual algorithms and 3D vector algorithms, the observed information is converted into flow velocity and direction data. Thousands of sets of data are obtained every minute, providing real, accurate, comprehensive, and fast results.
Regardless of whether the groundwater is clear or highly turbid, we can observe the water movement and obtain accurate data, fully meeting the investigation requirements of this project.
Manager Chen was already very satisfied with AIMOLI’s groundwater three-level water level meter. Therefore, after hearing that our solution could solve his problem, he immediately reported the situation to the project team.
Finally, with the help of the AIMOLI AML920 groundwater flow velocity and direction meter, the project team accurately understood the groundwater conditions in this area, and Manager Chen successfully completed the investigation task.
Groundwater environmental instruments, precision that surpasses competitors!
