Abstract
The highly dynamical entrainment and transport processes of solids due to geophysical flows is a major challenge studied by water infrastructure engineers and geoscientists alike. A miniaturised instrumented particle that can provide a direct, non-intrusive, low-cost and accessible method compared to traditional approaches for the assessment of coarse sediment particle entrainment is developed, calibrated and tested. The instrumented particle presented here is fitted with inertial microelectromechanical sensors (MEMSs), such as a triaxial accelerometer, a magnetometer and angular displacement sensors, which enable the recording of the particle’s three-dimensional displacement. The sensor logs nine-axis data at a configurable rate of 200–1000 Hz and has a standard mode of deployment time of at least one hour. The data can be obtained and safely stored in an internal memory unit and are downloadable to a PC in an accessible manner and in a usable human-readable state. A plethora of improved design specifications have been implemented herein, including increased frequency, range and resolution of acceleration and gyroscopic sensing. Improvements in terms of power consumption, in comparison to previous designs, ensure longer periods of data logging. The embedded sensors are calibrated using simple physical motions to validate their operation. The uncertainties in the experiments and the sensors’ readings are quantified and an appropriate filter is used for inertial sensor fusion and noise reduction. The instrumented particle is tested under well-controlled lab conditions, where the beginning of the destabilisation of a bed surface in an open channel flow, is showcased. This is demonstrative of the potential that specifically designed and appropriately calibrated instrumented particles have in assessing the initiation and occurrence of water infrastructure hazards.
Highlights
The surface of a planet is shaped by geomorphic processes, the majority of which are driven by a range of geophysical flows, including turbulent fluvial, aeolian, snow/ice and lava flows
Of special interest for geomorphologists and civil and environmental engineers alike are turbulent flows in rivers, canals, estuaries and coasts that can set into entrainment and transport coarse sediment particles, which have the potential to destabilise critical infrastructure found on their way and result in significant geophysical hazards
None of the work presented in literature has used such smart sensors to establish a link between logged readings and sediment entrainment based on derived performance indicators
Summary
The surface of a planet is shaped by geomorphic processes, the majority of which are driven by a range of geophysical flows, including turbulent fluvial, aeolian, snow/ice and lava flows. This work presents the calibration and testing of the instrumented particle entrainments due to the action of near bed turbulent flow events at one of the open channel flumes of the Water Engineering Lab at the University of Glasgow, and the inertial sensor fusion of logged readings to achieve uncertainty reduction in the gathered dynamical data. The research suggests using MEMS instrumented particles laying on the riverbed surface for monitoring its destabilisation potential, using the frequency of entrainment as a performance indicator (Supplementary Materials) To achieve this task, a 40 mm diameter data-logging device was designed, encapsulated in a 3D-printed plastic spherical shell.
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