Active Load - Strain Gauge Transducers for Load Monitoring Applications

Active Load provides complete transducer solutions with the design and manufacture of strain gauge transducers.

Strain gauge transducers are designed to be used as load cells, force sensors, torque sensors, pressure transducers and any other strain-related product. Active Load will incorporate the strain gauge transducer with a strain gauge amplifier to achieve an enhanced signal.

Many of our strain gauge transducers are designed to be in the form of load monitoring pins to measure rope tension. Other forms taken are as load monitoring links and compressive load cells.

Strain gauge transducers for oil and gas applications

There are many structural forces at play in oil and gas installations. Some of the more common applications that we have undertaken include:

• Winch load - monitored from the base of the winch or through the cabular pulley wheel to ensure that any over-tolerance loads are monitored and alarmed; we can supply compression load cells or load pins to suit every application
• Heave compensation - drill string tension is constantly measured to ensure that fatigue and force evaluation are monitored and controlled in this intrinsically safe area
• Moorings and load buoys - when floating structures are used by tankers we provide measurement of mooring lines and anchor lines using a strain gauged load monitoring pin
• Anchor load - if the offshore structure is temporary or mobile then anchor points will be used to secure its position; the forces on these require to be measured; we provide load pins or running line tension meter measurements for this application
• Crane load - we provide load-measuring transducers to measure load forces on the crane structure and if telemetry applications are required we can provide the remote signalling, displays and alarms
• Pipe-laying ship required strain gauged load pins applied to the pipe support rollers

Strain gauge transducers for marine applications

There are many marine measurement applications that Active Load has helped with. Many of them have been applied to measuring the tension in a rope or a chain and have been achieved via either chain stopper, load shackle on the dead end of the rope or with a running line tension meter.

Submersible load pins for subsea force monitoring

Active Load has provided force monitoring on subsea ploughs utilising custom-designed submersible load pins with integral signal amplifiers. Mooring forces are measured by the installation of our load pins in the mooring hooks or from a running line tension meter. We have a marine solution for you, whether subsea or surface.

We offer:

• Mooring load monitoring
• Anchor winch applications
• Crane safety
• Anchor load monitoring
• Telemetry systems
• The deploying of drilling rigs is both critical and difficult and requires careful monitoring; we are able to supply the critical load measuring load cells for measuring the loads in the towing lines
• Dockside cranes require both safety systems as well as weighing facility; we are able to supply the strain gauge load cells for both the safety system and the precision weighing application

Overload protection and load monitoring equipment

Overload protection and load monitoring are typical applications within our field of expertise. Utilising either under-hook weighing equipment such as load measuring shackles, load monitoring or a pulley block system using load monitoring pins or clamp-on transducers, together with monitoring instrumentation, a complete integrated solution can be provided.

Load monitoring pins can be incorporated into the structure of a unit to ensure a secure and robust system. Clamp-on transducers can be utilised on the hoisting cable for overload protection. We can customise the solution to meet the application for both safety and weighing. In all cases telemetry systems can be supplied for signal transmission to a remote control centre if required.

Our overload protection and load monitoring services can be applied in crane safety, on-hook weighing and load shackle measuring.

Strain gauge load cells and transducers for crane overload protection

Gantry overhead cranes require overload protection and weighing facility. Active Load can supply the strain gauge load cells and interface instrumentation.

On-hook weighing is very often required for many lifting applications. We can supply many types of strain gauge transducers to solve the problem. Many of these applications require telemetry and base station systems, which are able to help with.