A submersible device for measuring drag forces on aquatic plants and other organisms

This paper describes a device, the submersible drag gauge (SDG), that can be used for drag measurements in studies of flow-biota interactions at low (setup A) and high (setup B) load applications. The device is designed so that solely drag forces acting on a test object in a boundary layer now are m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New Zealand journal of marine and freshwater research 2007-03, Vol.41 (1), p.119-127
Main Authors: Callaghan, Fraser M., Cooper, Glenn G., Nikora, Vladimir I., Lamouroux, Nicolas, Statzner, Bernhard, Sagnes, Pierre, Radford, John, Malet, Emmanuel, Biggs, Barry J.F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
boundary layer flow
Cambaridae
drag gauge
Egeria densa
Environmental Sciences
experimental flume
flow-biota interactions
Freshwater
plant dynamics
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Summary:This paper describes a device, the submersible drag gauge (SDG), that can be used for drag measurements in studies of flow-biota interactions at low (setup A) and high (setup B) load applications. The device is designed so that solely drag forces acting on a test object in a boundary layer now are measured. The SDG can measure drag on organism(s), such as macrophtyes, crayfish or mussels, as well as a combination of such organisms and sediments assembled in a variety of arrangements in both laboratory and field conditions. Laboratory calibrations over the range of 0 to 4 N showed that setup A registered forces as low as 0.02 N, whereas setup B often did not register forces up to c. 0.15 N. The relative standard error of drag measurements was 0.2 N (setup A) or 1 N (setup B). Using a rigid cylinder, and natural and artificial (plastic) Egeria densa as examples, showed how the SDG can serve in studies of flow-biota interactions such as drag-velocity relations, assessments of drag coefficients, or the frequency spectrum of macrophyte drag.
ISSN:0028-8330
1175-8805
DOI:10.1080/00288330709509900