The USACE input in the SediMeter development

Miami 2016-05-18 – The latest SediMeter™ models were developed based on feedback received from the USACE, in order to create an instrument that stands up to the demands of the army corps of engineers in their toughest field deployments.

A few years ago the USACE tested the previous (second) generation SediMeter, SM2, which was developed in 2007. It was a huge improvement over the first commercial generation from the 1990’s, but it was still not tough enough. So based on the feedback from the researchers of the army corps of engineers, we created the specs for the third generation:

It was to be designed to survive the toughest environment where it would be meaningful to deploy it, i.e. a beach with breaking waves. So it must have a minimal cross-section, which meant that we did away with the instrument house — all electronics was made to fit on the sensor board.

Units equipped with a cleaner had to survive continuous use for years in the ocean, why the motor hardware was made of the best possible materials with no concern for cost. And it was tested for years in salt water.

We also eliminated all redundant features. The less things that can go wrong, the more reliable a product is. And we permanently seal them to decrease the risk of water leakage. The version without cleaner is solid state, and the one with cleaner has one moving part: The reel for the line, driven by a shaft that is sealed by three o-rings; and even if all three fail, there is a permanently sealed backup to protect the electronics from water. This third generation of SediMeters, SM3, came out in 2013. By now the design has been field tested and fine tuned for 3 years.

Says the inventor Dr. Ulf Erlingsson: “I spared no effort to make this the best SediMeter money can buy, and I am completely pleased with the result,” adding that there is nothing he wishes he would have done differently, neither in the instrument nor in the measurement system that it forms the heart of.