http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel6/8315/25953/01158439.pdf

Performance test results for the EGaG vector measuring current meter (VMCM)

THE DEVELOPMENT of testing techniques and procedures required to understand the performance of devices used to measure water currents has proven to be one of the most difficult and challenging tasks that the oceanographic community faces. It has long been recognized that some type of controllable relative water motion was a necessary element in the process of determining the accuracy of a current meter. A widely accepted solution is the towing tank where a current meter fastened to a moving carriage is moved through "still" water. A simple measurement of carriage speed over the ground compared to the current meter's flow measurement gives an indication of the accuracy of the device. Although this approach satisfied many, a sense that this technique was not sufficient spawned a few short-lived attempts at simulating time-varying flow conditions and developing deterministic models (transfer functions) for the response of inertial transducers. In addition, mathematical modeling of the motion of buoy moorings was attempted by a variety of investigators. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, the response of a current meter to the complex time-varying ocean environment became a major issue within the oceanographic community. It was clear that this information could not be obtained by simple steady-flow tow tank testing and that either dynamic controllable techniques must be developed or our ability to characterize the measurement environment must be improved.

/pdf/a-framework-for-the-laboratory-testing-of-eulerian-current-2jq3kjj9l4.pdf

A framework for the laboratory testing of Eulerian current measuring devices

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has as part of its mission, the measurement of currents in estuary and coastal environments where wave and mooring dynamics contaminate the steady flow signal.The Engineering Support Office (ESO) of NOAA qualifies many of these measurements through extensive laboratory evaluations, calibrations, field testing and modeling. This paper presents a description of a numeric model and laboratory testing of an acoustic current meter and includes a discussion of model predicted vs. laboratory dynamic test results.

Laboratory Verification of an Acoustic Current Meter Error Model

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has, as part of its mission, the measurement of currents in estuarine and coastal environments where wave dynamics contaminate the steady flow signal. The Engineering Support Office (ESO) of NOAA qualifies many of these measurements through extensive laboratory evaluations, calibrations, field testing, and modeling. This paper presents a description of the numeric modeling and laboratory testing of an acoustic current meter, the Neil Brown Instrument Systems Acoustic Current Meter (NBIS-ACM-2), and also includes a discussion of model predicted versus laboratory dynamic test results.

B. Magnell

Papers

Laboratory Verification of an Acoustic Current Meter Error Model

Laboratory verification of an acoustic current meter error model