Application of an impact plate - bedload transport measuring system for high-speed flows

Abstract To achieve the sustainable use of dams, the development of methods for sediment management in reservoirs is required. One such method includes the use of Sediment Bypass Tunnels (SBTs) to divert sediment around a dam, thereby preventing sedimentation in the reservoir. However, SBTs are prone to severe invert abrasion caused by the high sediment flux. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a measurement system of the sediment transport rate in these tunnels. One system to measure sediment transport in rivers is the Swiss plate geophone, which can register plate vibrations caused by particle impact. In Japan, the Japanese pipe microphone is used, and sediment transport is measured based on the sound emitted by the particle impact. In this study an attempt was made to optimize the advantages of both systems by fixing a microphone and an acceleration sensor to a steel plate. The results of calibration experiments with this new system are presented and compared with the existing methods. It was found that the acceleration sensor can detect sediment particles larger than 2 mm in diameter. Moreover, a new parameter, referred to as the detection rate, was introduced to describe the correlation between the actual amount of sediment and the registered output. Finally, two parameters - the saturation rate and hit rate - are introduced and exhibit strong correlation with the detection rate.