122

GIS and Remote Sensing in Hydrology, Water Resources and Environment (Proceedings of
ICGRHWE held at the Three Gorges Dam, China, September 2003). IAHS Publ. 289. 2004

Use of data obtained a via global positioning

system to verify numerical flow results in a lake

MASAJI WATANABE & SATOSHI NUMAGUCHI

1 Department
of Environmental
and Mathematical
and Technology,
Okayama
University,
1-1, Naka
Japan

Sciences,
3-chome,

Faculty of Environmental
Science
Tsushima,
Okayama
700-8530,

watanabe@ems.okavama-u.ac.ip

2 The Graduate School of Natural Science

1-1, Naka 3-chome,
Tsushima,
Okayama

and Technology,
Okayama
700-8530,
Japan

University,

Abstract An experimental and numerical method to incorporate measure

ments obtained through a global positioning system (GPS) into analysis of a
flow in the water environment is described. In previous studies, experiments
were conducted to investigate unsteady flows generated in Kojima Lake using
a float equipped with a GPS unit, which we call the GPS-float. A finite
element method was applied to equations governing their dynamics to analyse
the unsteady flows numerically. The results of the finite element analysis were
introduced into computational analysis of the momentum equation of the GPSfloat to simulate its motion. Those numerical results are presented, and the
similarity and the difference between those numerical results and the
experimental results were examined. A result of depth measurement to update
data associated with the nodes in a finite element mesh is also introduced.
Those techniques are illustrated with examples.
Key

words

finite element method; global positioning system; K o j i m a Lake; water

environment

INTRODUCTION
A flow in the water environment can be studied numerically by solving equations of
fluid dynamics such as momentum equations and continuity equations. The question is
how such numerical results can be tested for their practical applicability. In this paper
a method to examine such a numerical result is introduced. In particular, a technique to
utilize a global positioning system (GPS) in experiments of flows is described. A GPS
unit determines its position analysing signals transmitted from the GPS satellites in
general. The one utilized specifically for the experiments has an additional feature to
analyse signals transmitted from a radiobeacon to achieve higher accuracy (differential
GPS). Some experimental results obtained by using a float equipped with a differential
GPS unit are presented. The experimental device is called the GPS-float. The spatial
and temporal data which specify the motion of the GPS-float are obtained, and can be
introduced into computational analysis of a flow.
Experimental techniques using the GPS float are illustrated with examples in
which unsteady flows generated in Kojima Lake were analysed. Kojima Lake is an
artificial lake made by isolating a part of Kojima Bay with a bank. There are six gates
that connect Kojima Lake and Kojima Bay. Those gates are opened when a discharge
of water from Kojima Lake to Kojima Bay is necessary in order to control the water
level of Kojima Lake, and such a discharge generates an unsteady flow in Kojima
Lake. Some experiments to examine such unsteady flows were conducted in previous

Use of data obtained a via global positioning system to verify numerical flow results in a lake

123

studies. Those experimental results were introduced into computational analysis of the
flows. Here, those numerical results are presented.
A pair of rectangular plates is attached to the GPS-float, and the driving force of
the GPS-float is the fluid resistance that the flow exerts on those plates. Once the fluid
resistance is specified, one can simulate its motion by solving its momentum
equations. On the other hand, the fluid resistance can be determined by analysing
equations that govern the dynamics of the flow. A finite element method was applied
to momentum equations and a continuity equation to analyse the unsteady flow
generated in Kojima Lake, and then the momentum equation of the GPS-float with the
fluid resistance given in terms of the velocity of the flow was solved numerically.
Once a numerical result and an experimental result are obtained, their similarity and
difference can be examined, and the information can be introduced into evaluation of
numerical techniques to improve their reliability.

GPS-FLOAT EXPERIMENTS IN KOJIMA LAKE

A pair of rectangular plates is set at one end of a bar, and the other end is fixed to a
buoyant body of the GPS-float. Those plates are submerged in the water, while the
buoyant body stays on the surface. Its driving force is the fluid resistance, which a
flow exerts on the plates. They are fixed crosswise in order to receive the fluid resis
tance as uniformly as possible, regardless of the direction of the flow. While the GPSfloat travels on the surface, the GPS unit determines its position every second,
analysing signals transmitted from the GPS satellites and a radiobeacon. Those
temporal and spatial data, which specify the motion of the GPS-float, are then
transmitted through a wireless modem, and they are in turn received with a receiver to
be recorded.
Experiments using the GPS-float were conducted to analyse flows generated in
Kojima Lake in Okayama prefecture, Japan (Watanabe et al, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003).
Okayama prefecture lies in the main island of Japan, along the coast of Seto Inland Sea,
which separates Shikoku Island from the main island. Kojima Lake is an artificial lake
made by isolating a part of Kojima Bay which connects with Seto Inland Sea. It is
surrounded by three municipalities, Okayama, Tamano, and Nadasaki. Two rivers,
Sasagase River and Kurashiki River, serve as the primary water source for Kojima Lake
(Fig. 1). There are six gates that connect Kojima Lake and Kojima Bay, and each of those
is 24 m wide. Those gates are opened when the discharge of the water from Kojima Lake
to Kojima Bay is necessary in order to control the water level of Kojima Lake.
On 23 May 2002, those six gates were opened approximately from 04:10 h to
06:50 h GMT. Figure 2 shows the temporal changes of the water level of Kojima Lake.
It also shows the temporal changes of the tide level of Kojima Bay, the water levels of
Kurashiki River and Sasagase River, which were used as boundary conditions in
computational analysis described in the following section. An experiment was
conducted from approximately 03:40 h to 06:40 h GMT. The GPS-float travelled an
approximate distance of 934 m (approx. average velocity 0.1 m s" ). Figure 4 shows
the experimental results recorded approximately from 04:10 h to 06:43 h GMT. It
shows the movement of the GPS-float in terms of its trajectory. It also shows the time
elapsed (mins) after the gates were opened. Figure 3 shows the temporal changes of
1

124

Masaji Watanabe & Satoshi

Numaguchi

SETO INLAND SEA

Fig. 1 Sketch of Kojima Lake. The figure shows Kojima Lake and its vicinity.

WATER LEVELS (MAY 2 3 , 2 0 0 2 )

1.3

1.2

1.1

-~
......

\.

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

KO JIMA LAKE
K CUIMA B A Y
K U R A S rilKI R I V E R
S A 9 A G ASE R I V E R
S MULATION

0.5

0.4

0.3
4:00

4:30

S:00

5:30

6:00
T I M E [hour]

6:30

7:00

7:30

J:00

Fig. 2 Transition of water levels (23 May 2002). The figure shows the change of the
water levels between 04:00 h and 07:00 h (GMT). It also shows the numerical result
for the transition of the water level of Kojima Lake obtained in a finite element
analysis.

the water levels while the gates were opened approximately from 05:00 h to 07:50 h
GMT on 25 June 2002. An experiment was conducted approximately from 05:26 h to
07:24 h GMT. The GPS-float travelled an approximate distance of 822 m (approx.
average velocity 0.19 m s" ). Figure 5 shows the experimental result recorded approxi
mately from 06:12 h to 07:24 h GMT.
1

Use of data obtained a via global positioning system to verify numerical flow results in a lake

125

W A T E R LEVELS (JUNE 2 6 , 2002)

1.3

1.2

'"X

7i

0.9

0.8

.T^w^hi,

0.7

0.6

JIMA LAKE
K OJ IMA BAY
K U R A S HIKI RIVER
SASAG ASE RIVER
S MULATION

0.5

0.4

\
1

0.3
4:00

S:00

8:00
T I M E fhourl

8:30

3:00

Fig. 3 Transition of water levels (25 June 2002). The figure shows the change of the
water levels between 05:00 h and 08:00 h (GMT). It also shows the numerical result
for the transition of the water level of Kojima Lake obtained in a finite element
analysis.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULT AND COMPUTATIONAL RESULT (MAY 23, 2002)

4000 i
i
i
i v
I
I
I

3800

3600

3400

>"

3200 -

3000

2800

2600
600

800

1000

1200
X[m]

1400

1600

1800

F i g . 4 Trajectory of the GPS-float (23 May 2002). The trajectory of the GPS float
recorded approximately from 04:10 h to 06:43 h GMT is shown. It also shows a result
of its numerical simulation. The actual trajectory lies above the numerical result.

Masaji Watanabe & Satoshi

126

Numaguchi

EXPERIMENTAL RESULT AND COMPUTATIONAL RESULT (JUNE25, 2002)

3400

3200

3000

2800
>2600

2400

2200

2000
200

-200

400

600

800

X[m]

Fig. 5 Trajectory of the GPS-float (25 June 2002). The trajectory of the GPS float
recorded approximately from 06:12 h to 07:24 h GMT is shown. It also shows a result
of its numerical simulation. The numerical result lies above the actual trajectory.

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF UNSTEADY FLOWS GENERATED IN

KOJIMA LAKE
Unsteady flows generated in Kojima Lake have been studied numerically (Watanabe et
al, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003). In particular, a finite element method was employed to
obtain approximate solutions of the following equations (Iwasa etal, 1990;
Matsumoto etal, 1994).
dM
= -g(A +
dt

dC

0
ox

dt

= -g(/? +

d M\

y ylM

+N

- + 2

dy
2

dN

d N)

(h +
2

Y 4M

dx

+N

dy

dx
r

dM

dy

(h +

d dM dN
+
+ = 0
dt
dx
dy
Here x (m) and y (m) are variables in a horizontal coordinate system, and t (s) is a
temporal variable. The positive direction of the x axis corresponds to the east, and the
positive direction of the y axis corresponds to the north. The parameter g represents the
gravitational acceleration, and A and y are constants. In computational analysis of the

Use of data obtained a via global positioning system to verify numerical flow results in a lake 127

unsteady flows generated in Kojima Lake on 23 May and 25 June 2002, the following
values ofthe parameters were set: g = 9.81 (m s ), A = 0.001 (m s" ) and y = 0.0026.
The equations z = r\(x,y,z) and z = -h{x,y) represent the surface of the water and the
bottom of lake, respectively. Here, z axis is vertical. M and 7Y denote discharge fluxes,
i.e.
2

M ~

dz ~ (h + r\)u,

N ~

v dz ~ (h + r\)

where u and v denote the x and y components of the velocity, respectively. Figure 6
shows the division of the entire region into triangular elements, and Fig. 7 shows
elements near the gates. The depth of Kojima Lake was measured with a supersonic
wave depth measuring unit and the differential GPS unit to update the data associated
with the nodes in the finite element mesh. While the depth was measured, the position
was determined with the GPS unit. A least squares approximation was applied to the
data to obtain a linear function that represents the depth on each element. Then, the
depth associated with each node was obtained as a weighted average with respect to
the area over elements that share the node as a vertex. Figure 8 shows the depth
contours of Kojima Lake after the update.
Using the updated data concerning the depth, and also using the data concerning the
tide level of Kojima Bay, and the water levels of Kurashiki River and Sasagase River

FIN ITE ELEMENTS IN T H E ENTIRE REGION

9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 -1000 -2000 -8000 -7000 -6000 -5000 -4000 -3000 -2000 -1000

1000

Fig. 6 Elements in the entire region. There are 2064 elements and 1147 nodes.

128

Masaji Watanabe & Satoshi

Numaguchi

FINITE ELEMENTS NEAR T H E GATES

1250

1300

1350

1400

1450

1500

1E50

Fig. 7 Elements near the gates. Finer triangulation is implemented near the gates.

DEPTH CONTOUR AFTER UPDATE

-2500

-2000

-1500

-1000

-500

500

1000

1500

Fig. 8 The depth contours of Kojima Lake after the update. Depth contours based on
an updated data are shown.

shown in Fig. 2 (23 May 2002) as boundary conditions, the unsteady flow generated
by the discharge of the water through the gates was analysed computationally. Figure 9
and Fig. 10 show the distribution of the velocity vectors at 3600 (s) after the gates
were opened. The change of the water level of Kojima Lake, which was obtained

Use of data obtained a via global positioning system to verify numerical flow results in a lake

129

computationally, is shown in Fig. 2. The unsteady flow generated by the discharge of

the water through the gates on 25 June 2002 was also analysed. The transition of the
water level of Kojima Lake, which was obtained numerically, is shown Fig. 3.
V E L O C I T Y V E C T O R S IN T H E E N T I R E R E G I O N A T t = 3 6 0 0 [s] ( M a y 2 3 , 2 0 0 2 )
3000 i
i
i
-

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

*"

3000

2000

1000

-1000

-2000 -

i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
-8000 -7000 -6000 -5000 -4000 -3000 -2000 -1000
x M

i
0

i
1000

Fig. 9 Velocity vectors in the entire region. The figure shows numerically generated
velocity vectors in the entire region at 3600 s after the gates were opened.
V E L O C I T Y V E C T O R S N E A R T H E G A T E S A T t = 3 6 0 0 [s] ( M a y 2 3 , 2 0 0 2 )
^ - . ^ - h ^ ^ ^ - s . ^

3900

"~ ~ - ^

'

3850

3800

3750

3700 -

3 6 5 0 =-

' _~ y /
y y y

3600

y y
3550

3500

y y
. y
y
y
y

y
y
y
y
y
/
y
y\y

1250

y
y
y
y
y
y
/

y
y
y
y
s
y y
/
/
y
y y y
y /
/
y /
y
y y y
y A /
1300

//////////JjJJ.i
S S////////JfJ.U

\ \\ \\ \
/ M i l

y y y///////////t
F /y//////////!t
yyy/y////////fI

I I I I!
t I I I i
t t t /

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

y/ y y / / / / / / / / / / / / /
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

y/X///\f/ff\l
1350

! ! h/

1400

1450

1500

/
/

! /

/
/
/

/ / A!
1550

* M
Fig. 10 Velocity vectors near the gates. The figure shows numerically generated
velocity vectors near the gates at 3600 s after the gates were opened.

Masaji Watanabe & Satoshi

130

Numaguchi

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS FOR THE MOTION OF THE GPS-FLOAT

Once the velocity of the flow is determined, the driving force of the GPS-float can be
specified and its motion can be simulated by solving its momentum equation
numerically. In particular, the following momentum equations (Watanabe, 2000) were
analysed.
Kx Ky =

(U

- xf + (v - yf {u - x)
^4(u-xf {y-yf(y-y)
+

Here, S, p, and Co denote the area of the plates, the density of the fluid, and the drag
coefficient, respectively, x and y represent the coordinates for the position of the GPSfloat, K represents its mass, and the dot represents the differentiation with respect to
time.
The following values of the parameters were set: S = 0.2 (m ), p = 1000.0 (kg m ),
CD = 0.001, and K = 13.0 (kg), and the velocity obtained in the finite element analysis
were substituted into the momentum equations. Note that the right-hand sides of the
equations represent the force exerted on the plates, and that it is parallel to the relative
velocity of the GPS-float with respect to the flow. Numerical results based on the
momentum equation of the GPS float, which simulate the experimental results on 23
May and 25 June 2002, are shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, respectively.
2

CONCLUSIONS
It has been shown that the global positioning system can be utilized in analysis of
flows in the water environment. In particular, it has been shown that the motion of the
GPS float can be simulated, and that an experimental result and a numerical result can
be compared. The numerical result shown in Fig. 2 (23 May 2002) shows a better fit
for the actual transition of the water level of Kojima Lake than the one shown in Fig. 3
(25 June 2002). However, the numerical result shown in Fig. 5 (25 June 2002) shows
a better fit for the actual trajectory of the GPS-float than the one shown in Fig. 4
(23 May 2002).
Nevertheless, it has been shown that a GPS unit can be used in experiments, and
that it can be used in conjunction with a supersonic wave depth measuring unit to
obtain data concerning the depth of the water.

Acknowledgments The author's gratitude is expressed to those in the Kojima Bay

Central Administration Office, Section of Land Improvement in the Kojima Bay Area,
who shared data concerning the water levels and the tide level, to the Okayama
Prefecture Okayama Development Bureau, who shared data concerning the depth of
Kojima Lake used to generate depth data before the update, and other useful
information, and to the Machining Center, the Faculty of Engineering, Okayama
University, who built the GPS-float. The author's thanks are also expressed to Takaaki

131

Use of data obtained a via global positioning system to verify numerical flow results in a lake

Iwai, Takahiro Kawahara and Hiroto Kikuno, who joined the experiments and the
measurements, when they were students in the Faculty of Environmental Science and
Technology, Okayama University. Some of the data presented here were also
presented in their theses. This project was partially supported by Nakashima Propeller
Co., Ltd., and by the Okayama Foundation for Science and Technology. The
information for generating the figures concerning Kojima Lake was partially based on
maps Shobunsha Publications, Inc., Nihon Computer Graphic Co., Ltd.

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