ANSYS > Case Studies > Leveraging Fluid Structure Interaction for Water Quality Monitor Float Design

Leveraging Fluid Structure Interaction for Water Quality Monitor Float Design

Technology Category

Sensors - Level Sensors
Sensors - Utility Meters

Applicable Industries

Buildings
Marine & Shipping

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Intelligent Urban Water Supply Management
Leakage & Flood Monitoring

Services

System Integration
Testing & Certification

About The Customer

Grantec, based in Nova Scotia, Canada, is a company that helps customers in the defense, offshore, marine, manufacturing, energy and aquaculture fields advance new designs and systems. They have done extensive work in the finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) fields. The company is known for its ability to solve complex problems and perform advanced engineering. They were commissioned by Environment Canada to develop a water quality monitoring float fixed in position by an anchor.

The Challenge

Grantec Engineering Consultants Inc. was tasked with the development of a water quality monitoring float designed to carry a sensor for capturing environmental data. The engineering team faced challenges in minimizing drag and ensuring stability of the float, as well as developing specifications for the mooring system and structure. The original design of the float had a bow that would have been driven below water, primarily due to a moment generated by current loading on the sensor. This posed a significant problem as it would affect the float's performance and the accuracy of the data collected by the sensor.

The Solution

To overcome these challenges, Grantec leveraged the ANSYS fluid structure interaction (FSI) solution to model the float and sensor under a wide range of water current and wave conditions. The ANSYS tools provided integrated bi-directional FSI, offering the ability to evaluate the marine performance of numerous float shapes. The Grantec engineering team developed a new hinged sensor mount that solved the problem of the bow being driven below water. They also reduced the drag of the float, which in turn reduced the cost of the mooring system. The FSI solution from ANSYS is an integrated part of its multiphysics technology, in which the ANSYS Multi-field solver is used to create a true bi-directional FSI capability for time-transient or steady-state analysis with moving or deforming geometry.

Operational Impact

The use of the ANSYS FSI solution led to the successful design and development of a water quality monitoring float that could withstand a wide range of water current and wave conditions. The new hinged sensor mount ensured the stability of the float and prevented the bow from being driven below water. The solution also allowed for the evaluation of the marine performance of numerous float shapes, leading to an optimized design. Furthermore, the reduced drag of the float led to cost savings in the mooring system. The FSI solution from ANSYS has added a significant tool to Grantec's toolbox, enabling them to address design challenges that would have been much more difficult a few years ago.

Quantitative Benefit

Reduced drag of the float, leading to cost savings in the mooring system.
The ability to evaluate the performance of a large number of designs in a short period of time using the immersed pipe element in ANSYS Multiphysics software.
Efficient accommodation of larger models by running solutions simultaneously on the same or different machines.