Uncertainty Analysis of Dredge‐Production Measurement and Calculation

Abstract

The accurate measurement of dredge production contributes to the overall efficiency and cost‐effectiveness of the dredging process. The use of production measurement systems on pipeline and hopper dredges provides dredging personnel with tools for measuring and monitoring production quantities. The accuracy of these production monitoring systems varies according to the instrumentation used and the knowledge of the sediment and water properties associated with the dredging activity. Each measurement and physical quantity associated with the calculation of dredging quantities has some uncertainty associated with it. The equations for calculating production are functions of multiple variables, each contributing some uncertainty to the final calculation. A general uncertainty analysis is applied to dredge‐production measurements and calculations. Equations describing production for hopper and pipeline dredges are reduced to uncertainty expressions using the uncertainty analysis technique. Example calculations are performed to demonstrate the uncertainty potential in production calculations.