The First Fluvial Acoustic Tomography System Experience for River Flow Velocity Monitoring in Iran

The acquisition of continuous and precise river flow velocity is a high-priority issue for water resources management. In Iran, the river flow velocity is estimated using mechanical propeller flow meter. In this research, for the first time in Iran, the river flow velocity at the Chamtagh hydrometric station of the Zayanderud River was measured using Fluvial Acoustic Tomography System (FATS) technology. The reciprocal sound transmissions were performed between a pair of acoustic stations, located on both sides of the hydrometric station. Acoustic frequency was 30 kHz and the sound pulses were transmitted every 30 seconds. The measured stream flow discharge was 9.9 m3/s, while, the estimated flow rate by propeller flow meter was 10.3 m3/s. In this experiment, the maximum uncertainty of FATS was less than 15%. Moreover, the error analysis of the FATS was investigated for different rivers and the optimal setting of FATS was introduced.