Collaboration between supplier and German army to develop a new Penetrologger

January 12, 2012

A penetrologger doesn’t quite monitor the solution in soil but it does measure the resistance to penetration as a means of determining a soil’s load-bearing capacity and the ease with which roots will grow through the ground, important when agricultural, rural and civil engineering techniques are involved.  A penetrologger has a built-in datalogger for storage and processing of up to 1500 measurements.

A penetrologger can be used for agricultural and civil engineering projects like general soil science research; foundation technology; checking whether or not the soil is suitable for agricultural; research into the growing conditions for plants; the detection of compacted and possibly impermeable sub-soil layers; research into poor growing conditions for example trees in the city or in parks; checking artificially-made compactions and checking the suitability of soils for carrying vehicles or pedestrians.

Three years ago our supplier Eijkelkamp Agrisearch Equipment started a project with the German army (Bundeswehr) to develop a new version of the Penetrologger which has recently culminated in 16 new Penetrologgers being produced and delivered.

How this project began was when the Bundeswehr identified a need for a Penetrologger for their Airmobile Operations to identify suitable locations for runways for planes in remote territories. Penetration tests for the evaluation of the mechanical strength of road subgrades and basecourses are essential if the army’s planes are to land safely.

The new penetrologger is lighter and easier to use.  It has upgraded batteries and improved software and all measurements are now evaluated following the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) standard.  So ultimately we now have a more reliable piece of equipment that is highly suited to this type of application.

To find out more visit: https://www.vanwalt.com/penetrometers-soil-sampling-auger.htm or call us on +44 (0)1428 661 660.