Experimental evaluation of motion compensated ADV measurements for in-stream hydrokinetic applications

This study quantifies the impact of Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) error on turbulence estimates calculated from motion compensated Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) measurements. This analysis shows that IMU error can completely mask the turbulent spectra in the horizontal plane in low current areas (0.4 m/s) and reduce this range to 4-60 seconds in stronger tidal flows. However, even in an evaluated low current area (0.4 m/s) vertical spectra can be measure at periods between 1-60 seconds, with stronger current areas having a measureable frequency range with periods from 0.8-80 seconds.