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Fathom QiQuac M5 Operating Manual

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QiQuac M5:
Highlander
Operating Manual
Scientific Ltd.
© Copyright Fathom Scientific Ltd. 2021
All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole - or even in part - is prohibited without the express written permission of Fathom Scientific Ltd.

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Summary of Contents for Fathom QiQuac M5

  • Page 1 QiQuac M5: Highlander Operating Manual Scientific Ltd. © Copyright Fathom Scientific Ltd. 2021 All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole - or even in part - is prohibited without the express written permission of Fathom Scientific Ltd.

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Contents Introduction Device Description Kit Description 6 Theory of Operation • Theory of SDIQ Measurement • Theory of CF.T Measurement • Properties of Water and NaCl • Uncertainty • Uncertainty Example • SDIQ Grading • SDIQ Summary File • SDIQ Uncertainty Summary Get Started: Capturing a Q •...
  • Page 3 C H A P T E R 1 Prologue In which the reader is introduced to the QiQuac and its many extraordinary talents. The QiQuac is a handsome fellow. When he’s near water he’s calm and mellow.

  • Page 4: Introduction

    C H A P T E R 1: OV E RV I E W Introduction The Quick Instream Q(flow) & Uncertainty Analysis Calculator (QiQuac) is a serial datalogging / conductivity instrument intended to measure Q in active watercourses with lateral mixing. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) is intended to aid the hydrographer by presenting a visual representation of the conduc- tivity over time, calculating Q and the associated uncertainty.

  • Page 5: Device Description

    C H A P T E R 1: OV E RV I E W Device Description Brass Dial / Push Button. Push, 10. Y-Axis Min Release, and Turn to wake the 11. Pre-Background EC.T (uS/cm) sleeping QiQuac. Push to Begin Q 12.

  • Page 6: Kit Description

    C H A P T E R 1: OV E RV I E W Kit Description The QiQuac kit contains everything required to make a Grade A flow measure- ment in turbulent watercourses. The Radio T-HRECS unit connects to Ch1 of the QiQuac.
  • Page 7 C H A P T E R 2 Theory In which the Theory by which the QiQuac makes a Salt Dilution flow measurement is explained to the reader. “It’s all Relative!” the QiQuac summarized; but the T-HRECS didn’t understand as their brains are pea-sized.

  • Page 8: Theory Of Operation

    C H A P T E R 2 : T H E ORY Theory of Operation Salt Dilution is a method of flow measurement that has been in use more than 55 years (Østrem, 1964), and is experiencing a renaissance in popularity in the last 15 years as people discover its accuracy, relative ease, and convenience (Hudson and Fraser 2002, Moore 2005, Richardson et al 2017).
  • Page 9 C H A P T E R 2 : T H E ORY where Δt is the recording interval (s), EC(t) is the electrical conductivity as a function of time recorded downstream of the point of salt injection (μS cm- 1), EC is the background electrical conductivity of the stream water, and the summation is carried out over the duration of the salt wave passage (i.e., the...

  • Page 10: Theory Of Cf.t Measurement

    C H A P T E R 2 : T H E ORY Theory of CF.T The Calibration Factor (aka Concentration Factor) is the relationship between [NaCl] and Electrical Conductivity (EC). The QiQuac uses the temperature com- Measurement pensated EC, denoted by EC.T (aka specific conductivity) and the associated CF.T.

  • Page 11: Properties Of Water And Nacl

    C H A P T E R 2 : T H E ORY The QiQuac uses the closed-form approximation from Appendix 1 of Richardson et al. It is Where CF is the corrected CF.T, CF is the estimated CF.T without the T,corr T,est distilled water correction based on Equation 4.

  • Page 12: Uncertainty

    Water is known as the universal solvent because of its ability to pull molecules C H A P T E R 2 : T H E ORY apart in solution, due to it’s polarized structure. This allows ions to freely travel between attractors and repellents.
  • Page 13 C H A P T E R 2 : T H E ORY The %Mass uncertainty term is set in Setup> Meta Settings> Uncert. in Mass % and the default value is ±0.5%. This would correspond to ±5g for a 1kg injection, for example.

  • Page 14: Uncertainty Example

    C H A P T E R 2 : T H E ORY “There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” (Adams D. 1979) Uncertainty Example The following example is taken from a single injection using 1kg in ~1.3 m³/s of flow and shows the inherent uncertainty in a flow measurement with a nat-...

  • Page 15: Sdiq Grading

    C H A P T E R 2 : T H E ORY SDIQ Grading The QQ will attempt to grade your measurement. For this to be possible both channels must have made a measurement so that they can be compared. The Grade thresholds are set in Setup >...
  • Page 16 C H A P T E R 3 : OP E R AT ION C H A P T E R 3 Operation In which the QiQuac embarks on a Salt Dilution Instream Flow (SDIQ) measurement. The QiQuac is on the track of a big flow; even the little T-HRECS know!

  • Page 17: Get Started: Capturing A Q

    C H A P T E R 3 : OP E R AT ION Get Started : Capturing a Q To begin a measurement, select “Start Logging” from the main menu. If Setup>Site Settings is set to “from txt list” or “from csv db”, you will be asked to select a station ,or the generic “SDIQ”.
  • Page 18 C H A P T E R 3 : OP E R AT ION If using QuickFlask, there are 3 methods to verify that it contains 1000+/10ml: scale, meniscus-lines, and drain port: Place the provided kitchen scale on a flat surface. A level note- book computer is ideal, but not so much in the rain.

  • Page 19: Salt Dilution Measurement (10-60 Mins)

    C H A P T E R 3 : OP E R AT ION 10. The QiQuac will present several options for the derived CFT depending on the situation. Do not push the button to select your choice until the probes are placed in calm flow in the channel.
  • Page 20 C H A P T E R 3 : OP E R AT ION 13. Ensure the shroud is on all EC Probes. Place the probes in the stream in moving, but not turbulent or aerated, water. Ideally place the Ch0 and Ch1 probes on opposite banks, 10-20 channel widths downstream of the point of injection.
  • Page 21 C H A P T E R 3 : OP E R AT ION 16. As the salt wave travels past the EC.T probe(s), observe the EC.T trace rise and fall . The derived Q will change as the EC.T changes. The EC.T may take a very long time (>1hr) to reach BG EC.T, when the derived Q does not change much with time.

  • Page 22: Determining The Bg Ect For Low Dosing

    Use 3rd U/S BG: This setting will apply to whichever channel is currently displayed. If Ch2 is active, this will be set to 1 for both Ch0 and Ch1 and the Ch2 trace will be adjusted by transit time and delta ECT to estimate the BG ECT over the course of the measure- ment.
  • Page 23 The default Q is determined by dividing the Mass by the area between a line drawn between Pre- and Post- BG-ECT area between the break- through curve and the line drawn between Pre- and Post- BG-ECT. The Uncertainty is the standard deviation of Pre- and Post- BG ECT points multiplied by the elapsed time, divided by the Area.

  • Page 24: Unloading The Data From The Qiquac And Post-Processing

    Figure 8. A & B Figure showing another example where the 3rd U/S Probe is recording a larger slower pulse than a second injection made afterwards. A) shows the raw data and B) the transposed data for Ch0. Remember that the SDIQ measurement is only a layer on top of the raw data which is being record- ed to the SD Card for post-processing, i.e.
  • Page 25 C H A P T E R 4 QiQuac Menu System In which the QiQuac is exposed to show several layers of sophistication, much like an onion. The QiQuac hides his true feelings behind his tools; even though, properly polished, they could be jewels!

  • Page 26: Main Menu

    C H A P T E R 4 : Q IQ UAC M E N U S YS T E M There are several menus within QiQuac (QQ) to set various parameters and start operations. This guide will explain the various parameters.
  • Page 27 C H A P T E R 4 : Q IQ UAC M E N U S Y S T E M Device Settings This will take the user to submenu with 4 options. Set Locations: Set Ch0 SN Set Ch1 SN Set Ch2 SN 1.a.
  • Page 28 C H A P T E R 4 : Q IQ UAC M E N U S YS T E M 5.f. Inj. Conc. [mg/l]: This is the concentration of the added NaCl to the solute to make the standard. Factory default is 5000 mg/l. 5.g.
  • Page 29 C H A P T E R 4 : Q IQ UAC M E N U S Y S T E M 6.c. Use 3rd U/S Probe: Set to 1 and the default action is to use CH2 (when available) as the U/S signal for CH0 and CH1. Set to 0 and all probes to be used as D/S signals.

  • Page 30: Power Management & Sd Card Access

    The Serial Terminal program is a basic serial terminal operating at 9600 baud, 8,N,1. After selecting this option, you will be prompted to choose the Channel to access. The terminal screen should be blank except at the bottom it will read SEND and a “0”.
  • Page 31 T H I S PAGE I N T E N T IONA L LY L E F T BL A N K...
  • Page 32 C H A P T E R 5: E PI L O GU E Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) In which several humorous questions are posed and answered. The Q is released back into the wild but has a few Qs of his own to repine, like what were the motives and who was that duck, and why do I now taste like brine?
  • Page 33 Consider it character! Q: The QiQuac Manual makes no A: We get this one a lot. The Manual was actually written in English by Fathom sense and appears to be randomly Scientific Ltd, then passed through 5 language translations: Nepalese, German, organized.

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