Piezoelectric
Accelerometer
(The Heart of the Clegg Hammer)
(The Heart of the Clegg Hammer)
A
product of the space age, developed to measure vibrations of rocket motors – small, robust and highly accurate.
By fastening an accelerometer to the 4.5 kg Hammer
and analysing the deceleration versus time curve upon impact with the soil, Dr Clegg
and his researchers at the University of Western Australia’s Department of Civil
Engineering worked out that the peak deceleration could be taken as a parameter
relating directly to soil strength/stiffness, with units equal to ten gravities
providing a convenient scale.
