Response Characteristics of the Floating Water Purifier “Water Beetle” in Waves

<jats:p>In closed water areas such as reservoirs and ponds, the water quality is prone to deteriorate when water flowing into the area is polluted and over-rich in nutrients. This causes algae to increase. The Water Beetle is a floating water purification unit on new principle to have the high performance with small energy. When the Water Beetle is used in a water area of complicated shape, plural miniaturized units are arranged to adjust the shape of area and connected to each other by use of mechanical connecting devices. To design the mechanical connecting device, it is necessary to grasp the exact response characteristics of the Water Beetle connected to each other in waves. A model basin test was conducted for the Water Beetle connected to each other in waves. In the model basin test, three floating unit models of the Water Beetle were connected by mechanical connecting devices that were simplified. The test was carried out to vary the connecting mechanism at connecting points. The measured results were compared with the calculated results obtained by use of the calculation method for motion analysis of multiple bodies connected to each other in waves, and they were compared between various connecting conditions to evaluate the most suitable connecting condition. As the result, the characteristics of response of the Water Beetle connected to each other in waves were obtained experimentally and theoretically, and the most suitable connection mechanism of connecting device was able to be decided. Therefore, the realization of the multi-connected Water Beetle system was confirmed experimentally.</jats:p>