The River Humber on the east coast of England forms a large tidal estuary. It is also the site of the famous Humber Bridge, which is the third longest single span suspension bridge in the world. There is significant industry on both banks of the river, as well as the city of Kingston-upon-Hull along with its major port, which handles both passenger/car ferries and cargo ships.
Associated British Ports is the Statutory Harbour Authority and among its responsibilities is the navigation in the estuary. There is a requirement to monitor tidal information of the river as well as on the tributaries of the Ouse and the Trent, for the production of charts to ensure the safe navigation of vessels.
This tidal measurement was originally made with ultrasonic sensors installed in 'stilling tubes' to protect the signal from the environment. However, these were occasionally unreliable due to blockage by large amounts of silt caused by the tidal movement as well as intermittent damage to the tubes often causing the units to cease functioning altogether.
View of original stilling tube with broken section in river below
A solution was sought and after a trial period, a number of non-contact Vegapuls 68 radar level transmitters were purchased to monitor the constantly changing river levels in the estuary.
A radar level gauge is ideal for this application. Unlike ultrasonic devices it does not normally need the installation of a stilling tube as it is unaffected by wind, temperature variation or sea conditions. In the past, a low frequency radar with a wider beam angle may have been used for this type of application. However, this new higher frequency device has been installed with excellent results. The advantages of the Vegapuls 68 is its lighter weight, a 100 mm/4" antenna and plastic housing which offers a much simpler and lower cost mounting arm system. In addition, the tighter focusing and longer range (up to 70 m) of this high frequency device means a much-reduced possibility of false echoes from dock walls and bridge supports. Being a '2 wire', loop-powered device also means lower power consumption, again an advantage when used in remote locations especially when combined with Vega's PACTware software for remote set up, trending and diagnostics.
Vegapuls 68 installed under River Humber Bridge
The trial unit was installed and tested on the Humber Bridge caisson. Further units have since been ordered and installed with plans to provide data to both the harbour office and local environment agency to ensure the safety of ship movements and the monitoring of river levels.
For more information contact Alan Wynn, Vega Instruments SA, +27 (0) 11 958 1901, [email protected]
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