Rock/Soil Strain Gauges

It’s mainly about the host material. Rock gauges are typically bonded to clean, solid surfaces or grouted into boreholes, so they’re stiff and short. Soil gauges need to move with the soil mass, so designs often include end plates or anchors that engage the surrounding material. In mixed conditions, we can suggest a hybrid mounting approach.

For rock, the surface is cleaned, the gauge is spot-welded or epoxied, and a protective cover is added. For soil, they’re either cast into concrete or placed in trenches/ boreholes and backfilled. We include site-ready mounting kits and step-by-step guides to match the project scope.

Yes, when protected properly. The housings are corrosion-resistant, and cables are armored for direct burial. Many gauges stay in service for years with periodic checks. We also offer dummy gauges for temperature compensation to reduce seasonal drift.

Most of our strain gauges work with standard strain bridges or vibrating wire readouts, depending on the sensor type. We can provide matching data loggers or interface with third-party systems; just give us your equipment specs during inquiry.

It depends on the complexity. Small modifications like cable length can be done quickly. Full custom designs might take a few weeks. We’ll give you a timeline once we understand your requirements.