Abstract: A system for the measurement and analysis of sediment concentration and its vertical distribution is built for river and port engineering model test with the help of B-mode ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and 3-D position control platform. B-mode ultrasound imaging technique is employed to obtain the images of suspended sediment in silt-carrying flow, and analysis software is written for B-mode ultrasound images to analyze the grayscale concentration of the imaging area. Through calibration test, the relationship between grayscale concentration and actual sediment concentration is established and is used to measure unknown concentration in the model. This system accomplishes the synchronous analysis and measurement of sediment concentration and its vertical distribution online with simple operation, direct observation, good real-time performance and high sensitivity.

Key words: sediment concentration analysis software, B-mode ultrasound image, grayscale concentration, calibration test, vertical distribution