ABSTRACT
For long term use of dams, it is required to develop methods of sediment management in reservoirs. As one method, Sediment Bypass Tunnels (SBT) are operated in Japan and Switzerland to prevent reservoir sedimentation. SBT reduces sedimentation in reservoirs by routing the incoming sediments around the dam. SBT, however, is prone to severe invert abrasion caused by high sediment flux. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a measurement system of sediment transport rates in the SBT. A geophone was experimentally investigated in a laboratory flume at ETH Zurich. The sediment transport rate is calculated based on the plate vibration caused by hitting of gravels. In this paper, in order to alleviate disadvantages of a geophone, two newly developed sensor systems, a plate microphone and plate vibration sensor, are suggested and the results of their calibration experiments are shown. Finally, they are compared with the existing methods.
