Customer

Compaction and Soil Testing Services Pty Ltd (CSTS)

Location

New South Wales, Australia

Challenge

To measure the settlement of soil under a load, CSTS previously utilised an RC254 Hydraulic Cylinder and P77 Hand Pump to apply a load to the soil, along with a load cell to measure the settlement of the soil at various loads. The setup involved having the cylinder on the ground with a weight distribution plate, and the load cell would be place between the cylinder and an excavator, which was used as resistance for the cylinder to push against. 

With such a setup, the customer would need different cells for different loads, and it was difficult to read the load cell due to the distance between the pump and cell. Placing a load cell between the cylinder and load also posed safety concerns. They needed a simpler setup, and one that would enable them to increase the force applied.

Products

RC502 Hydraulic Cylinder

Solution

To address this, they switched to an RC502 Hydraulic Cylinder and added a GF50B force gauge to the circuit while retaining the existing pump. This allowed for higher force application, eliminated the need for various load cells and reduced calibration complexity while enhancing load measurement accuracy. This new setup mitigated failure risks, minimised the need for equipment calibration, and improved safety by enabling direct bracing of the cylinder against the machinery.