SediSound: Novel acoustic instrumentation for quantifying and characterising multiphase flows
Lead Research Organisation:
Loughborough University
Department Name: Vice Chancellor's Office
Abstract
This project will develop and test a new instrument capable of simultaneously measuring the flow velocity, suspended
sediment concentration and grain size of multi-phase fluid flows across multiple dimensions at high temporal resolution. Existing
commercially-available instruments permit the quantification of multi-dimensional velocities either at-a-point or over small
profiles and other commercially-available instruments permit the quantification of suspended sediment and grain size
profiles, but no commercially-available instrument permits the simultaneous measurement of both multi-dimensional velocity
and sediment profiles.
The development of such an instrument will lead to a step change in the quantification of key processes within a range of
environmental and industrial two-phase flows, including quantification of the turbulent shear stresses responsible for driving
erosion, transport and deposition of sediments in riverine and coastal environments through to flow processes in a range of
industrial flow processes and water treatment facilities. Such an instrument will therefore have wide utility and significant
commercial potential. The work within the programme will design, build, test and validate both hardware and the software
required to run the instrument. The results will be bench-marked and tested against a suite of existing instrumentation for
each of the component measurements as part of the ongoing aligned ERC Consolidator Project. The PoC also has an
embedded developer (Ubertone) with robust IPR agreements in place, and as well as end user partners involved in the
programme of work in a prototype testing phase, which together provide and outcome the development of a pathway to
market for the new technology developed.
sediment concentration and grain size of multi-phase fluid flows across multiple dimensions at high temporal resolution. Existing
commercially-available instruments permit the quantification of multi-dimensional velocities either at-a-point or over small
profiles and other commercially-available instruments permit the quantification of suspended sediment and grain size
profiles, but no commercially-available instrument permits the simultaneous measurement of both multi-dimensional velocity
and sediment profiles.
The development of such an instrument will lead to a step change in the quantification of key processes within a range of
environmental and industrial two-phase flows, including quantification of the turbulent shear stresses responsible for driving
erosion, transport and deposition of sediments in riverine and coastal environments through to flow processes in a range of
industrial flow processes and water treatment facilities. Such an instrument will therefore have wide utility and significant
commercial potential. The work within the programme will design, build, test and validate both hardware and the software
required to run the instrument. The results will be bench-marked and tested against a suite of existing instrumentation for
each of the component measurements as part of the ongoing aligned ERC Consolidator Project. The PoC also has an
embedded developer (Ubertone) with robust IPR agreements in place, and as well as end user partners involved in the
programme of work in a prototype testing phase, which together provide and outcome the development of a pathway to
market for the new technology developed.
