Mantracourt Load Cell Amplifier Enables Tunnel Monitoring System

Instrumentation to monitor the displacement on the joints within a major new tunnel is enabled with Mantracourt's SGA load cell amplifiers.

Specialist electronic instrumentation manufacturer, Mantracourt Electronics Ltd, has announced that its SGA load cell amplifiers are being used within the monitoring systems of the Marmaray Project, a major new rail tunnel project in Turkey.

The 76.3km long tunnel is the deepest immersed tunnel in the world and is regarded as the foremost challenging infrastructure project in Turkey.

The Marmaray development team needed to monitor the displacement of the joints within the tunnel. Mantracourt Technical Partner, Applied Measurements Ltd, created a bespoke bridge monitoring system using three 50mm displacement transducers, forming a triaxial measurement of each joint.
The displacement transducers utilise strain gauge technology to convert the linear movement of the joints within the tunnel into an analogue electrical signal. Mantracourt’s SGA load cell amplifiers are used to amplify the transducers signals, enabling the Marmaray team to accurately monitor the displacement of the joints within the tunnel. 

“We chose to use Mantracourt SGA load cell amplifiers for this project, due to their high stability and accuracy,” said Darren Skipp at Applied Measurements.  ”This level of performance is essential for such a major project. We are very pleased with the way the system is performing.”

The SGA series of load cell amplifiers are capable of delivering highly stable, high speed, industry standard analogue outputs, such as 0-10Vdc or 4-20mA, from very low-level input signals.

“We are very proud to once again see our technology playing a vital role in a major infrastructure project,” said Louise Stubbs, Marketing Co-ordinator at Mantracourt. “This project also demonstrates the value of our global network of technical partners, and how they are able to work at a local level to create bespoke instrumentation solutions.”

Applied Measurements provide a comprehensive range of load cell and force sensors for use in a broad range of applications. They also provide a design service for applications needing bespoke features and special performance requirements.

About Applied Measurements Ltd
Applied Measurements load cells, force sensors and torque transducers are manufactured from specially selected high grade stainless steel, heat treated for maximum stability, high strength aircraft grade aluminium alloy or alloy steel with nickel-plating for maximum environmental protection.
Their construction utilises premium quality, transducer class strain gauges, which are bonded by hand to the specially prepared surfaces of the load cell element.  Strain gauge bonding is carried out in strictly controlled clean room conditions to ensure a first class product.

About Mantracourt
Mantracourt design and manufacture instrumentation for load cells, strain gauges, pressure sensors, torque transducers, flow sensors, temperature sensors, for signal conditioning, display and control using analogue, digital and radio wireless telemetry techniques. Based near Exeter in the South-West of England, Mantracourt Electronics has become firmly established as a key technology provider to many major OEM sensor manufacturers and now has a product range of over 1000 designs. Key to its commercial success is Mantracourt's specialist engineering team that is constantly developing new products using the latest technologies and components. Mantracourt was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2009. http://www.mantracourt.com