Mechanical aspects in a tide gauge station design

In this work the mechanical design of a tide gauge station is presented. The structure consists of a surge pipe anchored to a pier and partially immersed in seawater. Despite such conceptual simplicity, this design required a careful analysis under different points of view to ensure a long life in the hostile environment in which the station will be installed and to guarantee an optimal sea level monitoring. The structure of the tide gauge station was 3D modeled with the main purposes of simplifying the production process and the installation phase, and materials were chosen to withstand the aggressiveness of the marine environment. A modal analysis of the surge pipe was performed to avoid dangerous resonances; the static and fatiguing loads were considered in the structural dimensioning. This document, though dealing with a specific case, could be considered as a guideline suitable for the design and the realization of other tide gauge stations.