Elcometer Protovale 331, Operating Instructions Manual

Page 1: ...English Elcometer Protovale 331 Concrete Covermeter Model T Operating Instructions...

Page 2: ...CoverMaster and are registered trademarks of Elcometer Instruments Ltd All other trademarks acknowledged Copyright Elcometer Instruments Ltd 2005 All rights reserved No part of this Document may be re...

Page 3: ...rcement bars 19 5 1 Before you start 19 5 2 To locate a single layer of reinforcement bars 19 5 3 To locate two layers of reinforcement bars 20 5 4 To determine the orientation of a reinforcement bar...

Page 4: ...ll batches 44 13 9 Free memory 44 13 10 The BATCH softkey 44 14 Memory 46 14 1 Linear batches 46 14 2 Grid batches and surveying large areas of concrete 46 14 3 What does a batch contain 47 14 4 How t...

Page 5: ...31 Model T Concrete Covermeter is a handheld Covermeter for fast and accurate location orientation and measurement of concrete reinforcement bars Locate Identify orientation Measure depth of cover Mea...

Page 6: ...dings in multiple linear and grid batches Each batch includes text fields for user inputted data Date and time stamping Statistical analysis of readings and batches Alarm if reading is outside limits...

Page 7: ...ventions in these instructions A simple menu structure helps you get the most from your Covermeter see The menus on page 14 There are many references to this menu structure in these instructions As an...

Page 8: ...a rechargeable Lithium Iona battery pack which can be charged inside or outside the Covermeter One battery pack is supplied with the Covermeter To increase productivity on site Elcometer recommends t...

Page 9: ...ave the gauge charging for at least 4 hours The LED indicator changes colour from orange to green when charging is complete 5 When charging is complete disconnect the charger from the mains supply bef...

Page 10: ...rew type connector at each end To fit a connector align the keyway push the connector into place and then tighten the metal collar A range of search heads is available for your Covermeter see Search h...

Page 11: ...w pitch search heads The bracket provides a convenient place to store the search head while the Covermeter is not in use Figure 4 Search head storage clip 3 3 The controls All functions of the Coverme...

Page 12: ...n through menus and lists of values Decreases alphanumeric values Decreases sensitivity in locate mode Menu Esc Accesses menus Escapes from menus Discards values entered on display On Off Switches the...

Page 13: ...or not Key Name Functions Scroll Up ZERO Zeros the Covermeter only when the display shows the reading screen Scrolls up through menus and lists of values Increases numerical values Scroll Down SIZE B...

Page 14: ...down from 60 to 0 to warn you that the Covermeter is about to switch off Press any key while the countdown timer is displayed to cancel automatic switch off 3 5 The display Take some time to familiar...

Page 15: ...age numbers in brackets for more information Signal strength indicator bar 19 Statistics 38 Batch name Cell coordinates 46 Battery condition indicator 6 Bar size number input by user 27 Depth of cover...

Page 16: ...and date can be displayed on the top line of the reading screen MENU SETUP DISPLAY SHOW TIME 3 6 Selecting a language Your Covermeter has a number of built in languages When the Covermeter is switched...

Page 17: ...g the connector into the 3 5 mm socket marked on the front of the Covermeter Replacement earphones are available as an optional accessory see Accessories on page 65 3 9 Zeroing the Covermeter This act...

Page 18: ...3 LANGUAGE AUTO SWITCH OFF 5 OPENING SCREEN LCD CONTRAST z z z z z R ABOUT GAUGE INFORMATION PROBE INFORMATION CONTACT HELP RESET INTL GAUGE USA GAUGE R R SELECT STATS NO OF READINGS MEAN STD DEVIATIO...

Page 19: ...H Opens existing memory batch and starts data logger CLONE BATCH Creates a clone of an existing memory batch and starts data logger REVIEW BATCH Opens an existing memory batch for viewing of readings...

Page 20: ...to 8 and then press Enter 4 6 ABOUT GAUGE INFORMATION Press Enter to display technical information about the Covermeter PROBE INFORMATION Press Enter to display technical information about the search...

Page 21: ...Press Enter to toggle on or off MAXPIP Press Enter to toggle on or off UNDER COVER Press Enter to toggle on or off Note Locate cannot both be toggled to on at the same time as either Maxpip or Under C...

Page 22: ...ter to toggle on or off HIGH LIMIT Use Scroll keys to adjust high limit and press Enter 4 16 SET DATE FORMAT DD MM YYYY Press Enter to toggle on or off MM DD YYYY Press Enter to toggle on or off 4 17...

Page 23: ...n the Covermeter 3 Zero the Covermeter 4 Set sound mode to locate MENU SETUP SOUND MODE LOCATEf 5 Adjust sensitivity see Adjusting sensitivity on page 34 6 Align the search head parallel to the reinfo...

Page 24: ...g at its most intense 8 Record the position of the reinforcement bar using chalk or similar 5 3 To locate two layers of reinforcement bars Layers of reinforcement bars are typically orientated at righ...

Page 25: ...he nearer layer this time scanning the head in lanes between the now known positions of the deeper layer of bars The first scan locates the second bottom layer The second scan locates the nearer top l...

Page 26: ...igure 11 Determining orientation of a reinforcement bar 5 5 Practice Because your Covermeter is unaffected by the nature of the material covering the reinforcing bars the easiest way to practice locat...

Page 27: ...wo layers of reinforcement bars at right angles to each other 1 Hold search head horizontally Scan up and down to locate predominantly horizontal bars 2 Hold search head vertically Scan from side to s...

Page 28: ...on page 27 6 Adjust sensitivity see Adjusting sensitivity on page 34 7 Locate the reinforcement bar using the sound the LED and the display as indicators The reading of cover is continuously updated...

Page 29: ...of a row in a grid is reached the Covermeter will advance to the first memory location of the next row Figure 12 When a batch is complete the Covermeter closes the batch and exits batching Refer to T...

Page 30: ...r bars which might affect the readingi The manually entered bar size has been confirmed as being accurate by comparing with the autosize estimate If the reinforcement bar is too deep to measure succes...

Page 31: ...eading Screen The bar sizing functions of the Covermeter will display any measured bar size to the nearest size in the selected series Metric Imperial ASTM Canadian Japanese Bar size Diam mm Bar size...

Page 32: ...estimate is typically used as a check that the value of bar size entered manually is accurate If the two values are significantly different you should use the orthogonal SIZE feature to accurately det...

Page 33: ...erformed at greater depths than the AutoSize function The following sections describe how to use the SIZE function 9 1 Before you start Are you using the correct search head See Search heads on page 5...

Page 34: ...th bar 9 Press The display will show 10 Rotate the search head until it is at 90 orthogonal to the bar Use the notches in the sides of the search head and the line across the top of the search head to...

Page 35: ...head should be getting the maximum possible signal from the bar any misalignment of the search head in either angle or position can only reduce this signal When taking the orthogonal reading Figure 16...

Page 36: ...esh fabric the orthogonal reading will receive an additional signal from the rectangular loop of bars This will result in a gross over estimate of bar size or even the SIZE MODE ERROR message 9 4 Redu...

Page 37: ...ry out orthogonal sizing as previously described in section 9 2 on page 29 The aim of this technique is to subtract the background metal signal but it only provides an estimate of that background As a...

Page 38: ...ND MODE 10 1 Locate In this mode the pitch of the sound from the Covermeter increases as the search head gets closer to a bar Sound volume can be adjusted MENU SETUP BEEP VOLUME The apparent volume of...

Page 39: ...Reducing the sensitivity does not reduce the overall sensitivity of the instrument but will reduce the sound and LED indications to zero when the search head is removed from the region of high signal...

Page 40: ...ed off A bar of larger size than expected rather than a bar at shallower cover may trigger the Under Cover alarm however having drawn your attention you will be able to see from the autosize informati...

Page 41: ...limits the Covermeter will beep once When you take a reading which is outside the limits the Covermeter will beep three times to warn you of an out of limit reading When batching is switched on and l...

Page 42: ...readings Standard Deviation A statistical measure of the spread of values in a group of readings Coefficient of Variation The standard deviation divided by the mean for a group of readings expressed a...

Page 43: ...1 on page 38 can be displayed on the reading screen MENU SETUP DISPLAY STATS ON LCD At any point while taking measurements any two or all of the statistics values can be displayed in enlarged format M...

Page 44: ...istics values can be selected and displayed on the reading screen at the same time To view all statistics values choose MENU STATISTICS ENLARGE STATS ALL The selected statistics values will only be di...

Page 45: ...a complete explanation of batches and how they can be used to help organise your records see Memory on page 46 To use a batch of memory it is first necessary to define and open create a batch Once the...

Page 46: ...ading screen 3 Zero the Covermeter if requested 13 4 Open existing batch Opens an existing memory batch 1 Use Left Right softkeys to scroll to the required batch 2 Press to select the batch When the b...

Page 47: ...eys Press and hold Shift softkey and then press any of the Scroll keys to jump quickly to the start or end of a column or row Press to toggle between REVIEW BATCH shows header fields and statistics an...

Page 48: ...atches Deletes all batches from the Covermeter and stops batching 1 The Covermeter displays a confirmation screen 2 Press Yes to confirm deletion No to cancel 13 9 Free memory Displays the amount of f...

Page 49: ...he reading screen at the current memory location or press to return to the reading screen at the original memory location You can overwrite any of the readings 1 Use the scroll keys to move to the rea...

Page 50: ...id batch of memory locations is similar to the grid of cells marked out by the rows and columns of a spreadsheet Maximum size of a grid batch 255 rows x 255 columns Maximum number of grid batches 500...

Page 51: ...header fields readings and statistics Readings and statistics are entered automatically as you are taking readings header fields are available for storage of user information such as alphanumeric nam...

Page 52: ...ermeter The keypad can be used on site for minor changes and the addition of notes etc during cloning of a batch Entering information using the keypad Text and numbers can be entered into header field...

Page 53: ...stics Symbol Symbol meaning Batch name Number of columns nx Number of rows ny Number of readings taken n Site Location Area Batch creation date time Batch update date time Bar size diameter Size of ea...

Page 54: ...or the current bar size and search head x y Number and percentage of over range infinite readings if any together with the highest measurable cover for the current bar size and search head Notes Table...

Page 55: ...oined bars When searching for isolated reinforcing bars the Covermeter induces eddy currents within the individual bars Welded mesh reinforcements however create current loops which produce additional...

Page 56: ...s Ordinary strength signals are obtained when the head is accurately aligned with the middle of a side Only this type of signal is suitable for measuring depth of cover Figure 23 Ordinary strength sig...

Page 57: ...tween outputting a single batch all batches or just the current statistics MENU PRINT OUTPUT SINGLE BATCH MENU PRINT OUTPUT ALL BATCHES MENU PRINT OUTPUT CURRENT STATISTICS Note Before you use PRINT O...

Page 58: ...rt EDTS Excel Link software 2 Select gauge type 331 Transferring data Follow the on screen instructions 16 3 CoverMaster software CoverMaster software supplied on the CD enclosed with the gauge is des...

Page 59: ...CoverMaster to link your Covermeter to a computer ALL DIMEN SION S IN m m Menu Esc R Batch templates Batch readings CoverMaster interface showing reading data measurements CoverMaster interface showin...

Page 60: ...gh Limit Low Limit Grid Spacing Mean Average Standard Deviation Max Min Range Readings Below Low Limit Readings Above High Limit Percent Below Low Limit Percent Above High Limit 10 24 236 11 11 2004 1...

Page 61: ...i e when the pitch of the reinforcement bars is narrow Use the Deep Cover head to measure depth of cover over reinforcement bars deep within the structure Because the Deep Cover search head only resol...

Page 62: ...add 15 mm 0 6 to the reading taken from the scale The sideways looking search field is located on the side of the Borehole Probe marked with the scale Note Orthogonal sizing is not possible with the...

Page 63: ...ss to areas normally requiring ladders or scaffolding The search head extension arm reduces the need to kneel down and allows the user to scan bridge decks and floor areas from a standing postion The...

Page 64: ...output from probe Try new search head If error persists return to Elcometer 3 PROBE Internal error Return to Elcometer 4 PROBE Search head power supply fault Remove probe If error persists the Coverme...

Page 65: ...screen 1 Download Elcometer Welcome Screen Wizard software This software is available free of charge from the downloads section of the Elcometer website www elcometer com 2 Connect Covermeter to PC u...

Page 66: ...cometer supplier The Covermeter does not contain any user serviceable components In the unlikely event of a fault the Covermeter should be returned to your Elcometer supplier or directly to Elcometer...

Page 67: ...arrow pitch search head Range 40 mm 1 6 bar 8 mm to 80 mm 0 3 to 3 1 8 mm 0 3 bar 5 mm to 60 mm 0 2 to 2 4 Accuracy up to 65 mm 2 6 depth 2 mm 0 1 over 70 mm 2 8 depth 3 mm 0 15 Pitch resolution 10 mm...

Page 68: ...klight 23 4 Certification A calibration certificate is supplied as standard with the Covermeter 23 5 Packaging The Covermeter is packed in cardboard and plastic packaging Please ensure that this packa...

Page 69: ...33119171 Search head borehole probe 400 mm metric TW33119223 1 Search head borehole probe 1000 mm metric TW33119223 2 Search head borehole probe 16 imperial TW33119223 3 Search head borehole probe 40...

Page 70: ...atching 41 Exiting 42 Batteries Charging 4 Life of 64 Battery condition indicator 6 Battery pack 4 Baud rate 53 Beeping 25 Borehole Probe 57 C Calibration 62 Calibration certificates 65 Certification...

Page 71: ...ead 9 L Language selecting 12 LCD contrast 12 LED Illuminated 20 Intensity varying 34 Limits 37 Batch icons 37 Linear batches 46 Liquid Crystal Display 62 Locate mode 34 Locating 19 Single layer of ba...

Page 72: ...TIME 12 40 SINGLE BATCH 53 SIZE 29 SOUND MODE 17 34 STATISTICS 15 39 STATS ON LCD 39 ZERO 13 Menus 14 Metric bar size 27 Muting the sound 35 N Narrow Pitch search head 57 O On off 10 Open existing ba...

Page 73: ...uting 35 Sound mode 34 Spreadsheet 54 Standard search head 57 Standards 3 Statistics Choice of 40 Clearing 40 Increasing size on display 39 Overview 38 Values calculated 38 Storage 62 Surface mapping...