Electromagnetic log

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An Electromagnetic Log, sometimes called an "EM log", is an electronic sensor which measures the speed of a vessel through sea water. Like many other technologies, its name derives from the traditional chip log. It makes use of Faraday's law of induction by measuring the EMF induced in water moving through a magnetic field generated by the sensor.

Contents

Mechanism of operation

  1. Electricity flows through a coil inside the device, inducing a magnetic field perpendicular to the flow of water
  2. Since sea water is an electrical conductor, an EMF is induced when it moves relative to the magnetic field, according to Faraday's law.
  3. This EMF creates a local voltage differential, which can be measured by two electrodes in contact with the water.
  4. The speed of the water flowing past the sensor is directly proportional to this measured voltage.

Some EM logs have three electrodes arranged in a right triangle; this allows the speed to be calculated even if the electrodes are not perfectly aligned with respect to the flow.[ citation needed ]

Advantages

Disadvantages

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Groves, Paul (2013). Principles of GNSS, Inertial, and Multisensor Integrated Navigation Systems. Artech House. p. 250. ISBN   9781608070053.