This SeaTek scour measurement system is composed of 3, 4 element, arrays, and an electronics package.  The transducer spacing is 4 cm, and the operating frequency is 2.25 MHz.  The on board data logger communicates to a PC via a RS232 communications port.  The electronics package has BNC inputs for 6 analog channels that can also be sampled during a data run.

The figure above is a time series plot of scour depth from one, four element, MTA during a scour study around a 1 foot diameter pile. The initial water depth was 110 cm, the median sediment size was 0.22 mm, and the flow velocity was 1 ft/sec. This array was mounted 80 degrees from the centerline of the pile.  For more scour data, please see our scour data page.

For small scale laboratory studies, smaller transducers have been manufactured.  The transducers pictured below were designed to measure pile scour around piles that are on the order of 1 inch in diameter.  The 'wafer' transducers are made of 316 stainless steel and are 0.150 inch thick.  The cylindrical transducers were designed to be flush mounted on the bottom of a structure such as a pile cap.  These transducers are 0.75 inch in diameter.  Both of these transducers are narrow beamed and operate at 5 MHz.