Slide 1

UltraLab®-Series
Sensing of Water Level, Waves and
Bottom Contours
Remote Sensing Technology based on
Superior Ultrasound Measurement
GENERAL ACOUSTICS GmbH, Germany
www.generalacoustics.com
© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 2

Lab Measurement Engineering
Remote Sensing of Water Levels, Waves and Distances for Lab Applications

Hydraulic Laboratories
Ship Model Basins
Simulation Facilities of
Channels and
Waterways

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 3

Lab Measurement Engineering
Technology

a) remote sensing of waves and water levels on the basis of ultrasound
via air (products ULS, ULS Advanced)
b) distance measurement on the basis of ultrasound
via water (product UWS)

Innovation/
Unique selling
proposition

• accuracy of distance measuring
• resolution
• measuring of wave contours up to breaking waves
• fast measurement
• free of calibration

Laboratories, Science- and Development Centres:

User

References
© GENERAL ACOUSTICS

Hydraulic Laboratories, Ship Model Basins, Towing Tanks, Simulation Facilities
of Channels and Waterways, Universities, Navy-Institutes

HSVA (D), SVA Potsdam (D), MARIN (NL), French Navy (F), etc.


Slide 4

UltraLab® ULS
Highly accurate remote sensing of water level and waves
for.....
hydraulic labs

ship model basins
flumes
towing tanks

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 5

UltraLab® ULS HF5-A
Highly accurate remote sensing of steep and very fast moving
waves with 4 synchronised sensors
hydraulic labs
ship model basins
flumes
towing tanks

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 6

UltraLab® ULS Advanced
Highly accurate remote sensing of steep and very fast moving
waves with a relative velocity up to 15 m/s
hydraulic labs

ship model basins
flumes
towing tanks

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 7

UltraLab® UWS

Mini echo sounder to measure
underwater distances and levels for:
Underwater bottom contour
Underwater object distances
Level sensing through container walls
Hydraulic models

Sediment transport

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Slide 8

UltraLab®: Performance

Based on sophisticated technology the
sensors with the controller deliver a
superior performance, as there are:
• Advanced sensitive sound reception
• Narrow sound beam with practically
.no side lobes resulting in enhanced
spatial resolution
• Measurement on steep wave
flanks/breaking waves are possible
• Extreme resolution surface scanning
• High repetition rate
© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 9

UltraLab®: Advantages

Because of its remote sensing
technology in combination with

its

high

accuracy

and

wide

detection range almost all kinds
of water dynamics (also steep
waves/breaking waves) can be
recorded
• Superior resolution up to 0,18 mm
• Repetition rates up to 75 Hz/100 Hz
• Various sensors measuring from
250 mm up to 6000 mm
• Detection of smallest and fastest
changes

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 10

UltraLab®: Applications

Applications
• Level monitoring
• Analysis of wave fields
• Measurements in flood- and
surface water models
• Detection of surface waves
• Measurement of dynamic
processes
• Recording of topographic
contours in models

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 11

Measuring Setup

Example of an expected wave or level fluctuation of around 600 mm:
The right task for sensor USS20130 with a measuring range of 200 to 1300 mm

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Slide 12

UltraLab® ULS: Calibration Curve
The calibration curve:
• is a straight line
• does not path through the
origin
• ...

hmeas = U meas 

hmax - hmin
+ hmin
U max - U min

... this means that:
• the conversion of distance to
voltage is linear
• A two point calibration is easy
to do

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 13

UltraLab® ULS: Measurement Example 1
High resolution measurement of a water level
- University of Applied Sciences Suderburg, Germany -

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Slide 14

UltraLab® ULS: Measurement Example 2
Superposition of two different waves
- VWS Berlin Model Basin -

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 15

UltraLab® ULS: Measurement Example 3
Planar motion (v=2m/s) towards the incoming wave
- Hamburg Ship Model Basin -

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 16

UltraLab® ULS: Measurement Example 4
Local reading of a single wave packet
- Potsdam Model Basin -

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Slide 17

UltraLab® ULS Advanced: Measurement Example 5
Measurement at a relative velocity about 10 – 12 m/s
- Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) -

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 18

Specifications UltraLab® ULS
Sample rate: up to 75 Hz

Steep waves can be measured with a
horizontal speed of 2 m/s against the
incoming wave (4 m/s vertical speed)

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS


Slide 19

Specifications UltraLab® ULS HF5-A
The system is equipped with 4 synchronised
channels. Due to the synchronisation of the
channels the sensors can be placed very
close to each other. The measuring of wave
fields in high resolution concerning time and
place are possible with the HF5-A.

Sensor

USS 13/HF

Blind area:

200 mm

Working range:
Frequency:
Techn. Resolution:

Output update:
Interfaces:
Digital output:
Proteccion class:
© GENERAL ACOUSTICS

1200 mm
200 kHz
0.36 mm

50 Hz
RS232, LAN
ASCII
IP65


Slide 20

Specifications UltraLab® ULS Advanced

Steep and very fast moving
waves can be measured with
a relative velocity up to 15 m/s
Free of calibration

Sensor

USS 12/HF

Blind area:

200 mm

Working range:
Frequency:
Techn. Resolution:
Output update:
Interfaces:
Digital output:
Proteccion class:

© GENERAL ACOUSTICS

1200 mm
200 kHz
0.36 mm
100 Hz
RS232, LAN
ASCII
IP65


Slide 21

Some References
• Maritime Research Institute Netherlands MARIN / www.marin.nl
• Vienna Model Basin Ltd. / Schiffbautechnische Versuchsanstalt in Wien GmbH / Austria:
www.sva.at

• Hamburg Ship Model Basin / Hamburgische Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt GmbH / Germany:
www.hsva.de
• Potsdam Model Basin / Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt Potsdam GmbH / Germany: www.svapotsdam.de
• Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems / Entwicklungszentrum für
Schiffstechnik und Transportsysteme e.V. / Duisburg, Germany: www.dst-org.de
• Bassin d'essais des carènes / French Navy / France: www.bassin.fr
• Laboratoire de constructions hydraulique /Switzerland: http://www.epfl.ch/
• Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute / Bundesanstalt für Wasserbau Hamburg
/ Germany: www.baw.de
• University of Trento Trento / Italy: www.ing.unitn.it/dica/eng/
• University of Bari / Italy: www.uniba.it
• RWTH Aachen University /Germany: www-zhv.rwth-aachen.de/
• Technical University of Munich / Germany: www.tum.de
© GENERAL ACOUSTICS