Design of a modular acoustic velocity sensor

Transducer support geometry and sensor mounting in a mooring are as important as travel time measurement electronics in the design of an acoustic current meter. The transducers obstruct the flow and create potential flow distortion and velocity defects in their wakes. The area of the supporting structure for the transducers is greater than the transducers themselves and these structures can vibrate as well as shed wake and distort the flow. Finally, the mounting frame that supports the current meter in the mooring will distort the flow and transmit mooring vibrations to the, velocity sensor. The hydrodynamics of the velocity sensor are critical to the design of a current meter. Prototypes must be tank tested in linear, oscillatory, and turbulent flow in parallel with testing for electronic sensitivity linearity speed, drift, noise, and power consumption. These elements will be stressed in the design cycle for a new velocity sensor, MAVS