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

An experimental and numerical method to incorporate measurements 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 GPS-float 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.