Development of a Retrievable Subsurface Accelerometer

This paper describes the development of a Retrievable Subsurface Accelerometer (RSA) for the NSF George E. Brown, Jr., Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) project at UCLA. The RSA was developed to obtain subsurface vibration data during forced-vibration experiments and aftershock events. The RSA can be rapidly installed using a CPT truck and subsequently retrieved using structural cables and a winch. This eliminates the need for conventional borehole drilling and grouting that is often more expensive than a downhole accelerometer. Lastly, the successfully completion of a recent pilot study is described.