Development of an acoustic doppler flow profiler and flow testing

Abstract

The flow test with acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) is a new flow test method developed and applied only in the last decade or so. However, because it involves many disciplines such as hydroacoustic physics, ultrasonic transducer technology, electronics, and signal processing, most of the ADCPs used at the present stage are imported, and the domestically produced high-precision ADCPs have a lot of space in the domestic market. This paper introduces the measurement principle of ADCP. Based on this principle, we have overcome the weak signal processing circuit and successfully developed a domestic horizontal fixed acoustic Doppler flow profiler. The instrument is used for flow tests in Yixing (South) Hydrological Station, and the results of the comparison and error analysis meet the requirements of the national first-class precision hydrological station in the “Hydrological Data Compilation Specification” to satisfy the needs of the daily test in the station. The “Horizontal Fixed Acoustic Doppler Profile Flow Rate System” was selected as one of the 100 typical cases of popularizing and applying the achievements of the Ministry of Water Resources in 2020, and it can replace the imported instruments.