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Portable Soil Moisture Sensor Using Microcontrolers
Portable Soil Moisture Sensor Using Microcontrolers
Portable Soil Moisture Sensor Using Microcontrolers
January 2018
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Water is one of the most important ingredients in any soil. Without water,
soil formation would not be possible. Water enters soil via a number of different
processes. The most common is through precipitation, such as rain and snow. This
precipitation enters the soil and drains down into it. Water Enters Soil In many
cases it also enters soil from the dirt beneath it, as water climbs upward to fill the
empty spaces between particles of dirt.
Identifying soil moisture content can be useful in some ways. It is useful in
understanding the behavior of and properties of the soil by monitoring its moisture
content.
Oven drying method involves collecting of soil samples and weighing it
before and after drying it, and calculating the original moisture content. This is the
most common and old way of determining soil moisture content but still continues
to be the most widely used method for obtaining data on soil moisture. Because it
is the only way of measuring soil moisture, it is required for calibrating the
equipment used in the other methods.
Specific Objectives
To develop a portable soil moisture content device.
To design a battery powered device.
To design soil moisture reader device.
To display the content reading on LCD.
To develop a device that can be calibrated.
To conduct a comparison between analog value and oven-drying method
data.
The significance of this study is to design a soil moisture sensor that can
meet the requirements for accuracy. This will change the traditional way of
calculating soil moisture content which is through oven drying method. With this
device, it will lessen the effort and time of the research in getting the moisture
content. This design uses soil moisture sensor that will be inserted into the soil to
detect its moisture content and the content result will be displayed through the
LCD. This device will be used on the study of “THE INFLUENCE OF MOISTURE
CONTENT ON THE YIELD STRESS OF SLIP-PRONE CLAY SOILS USING
ARDUINO-BASED MOISTURE CONTENT SENSOR” by Ms. Jasel Joy Jalalon.
Scope and Limitation
The project focuses only on giving the real-time result of soil moisture
content and calibrating it. The soil moisture sensor must be clean before and after
use to insure the content of the soil moisture will be accurate. The device will be
used indoor and beyond that is not part of this study and since the project is wired,
the soil moisture sensor will only limit to the length of wires being used. The device
will not use database since the device will only read the content of the soil moisture
content.
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Soil Sensor
The soil moisture sensor (SMS) is a sensor connected to an irrigation
system controller that measures soil moisture content in the active root zone before
each scheduled irrigation event and bypasses the cycle if soil moisture is above a
user- defined set point. A soil moisture sensor measures the quantity of water
contained in a material, such as soil on a volumetric or gravimetric basis. To obtain
an accurate measurement, a soil temperature sensor is also required for
calibration (Soil Moisture Sensor Design for Crop Management System by Using
Cellular Communication 2014).
Determination of soil moisture is one of the most difficult measurements
required in the field of hydrology. Measurement of soil moisture ranges from the
method of feeling the soil to the use of complicated electronic equipment using
radioactive substances. The development of equipment has been directed
primarily toward instruments that continuously measure changes in moisture
content at a single sampling point (A. I. JOHNSON).
Microcontroller
The desktop computer you are using is a "general purpose computer" that
can run any of thousands of programs. Microcontrollers are "special purpose
computers." Microcontrollers do one thing well. There are a number of other
common characteristics that define microcontrollers. If a computer matches a
majority of these characteristics, then you can call it a "microcontroller".
Microcontrollers are "embedded" inside some other device (often a consumer
product) so that they can control the features or actions of the product. Another
name for a microcontroller, therefore, is "embedded controller."
Microcontrollers are dedicated to one task and run one specific program.
The program is stored in ROM (read-only memory) and generally does not change.
Microcontrollers are often low-power devices. A desktop computer is almost
always plugged into a wall socket and might consume 50 watts of electricity. A
battery-operated microcontroller might consume 50 milliwatts.
A microcontroller has a dedicated input device and often (but not always)
has a small LED or LCD display for output. A microcontroller also takes input from
the device it is controlling and controls the device by sending signals to different
components in the device. For example, the microcontroller inside a TV takes input
from the remote control and displays output on the TV screen. The controller
controls the channel selector, the speaker system and certain adjustments on the
picture tube electronics such as tint and brightness. The engine controller in a car
takes input from sensors such as the oxygen and knock sensors and controls
things like fuel mix and spark plug timing. A microwave oven controller takes input
from a keypad, displays output on an LCD display and controls a relay that turns
the microwave generator on and off.
A microcontroller is often small and low cost. The components are chosen
to minimize size and to be as inexpensive as possible.
A jump wire (also known as jumper, jumper wire, jumper cable, DuPont wire,
or DuPont cable – named for one manufacturer of them) is an electrical wire or
group of them in a cable with a connector or pin at each end (or sometimes without
them – simply "tinned"), which is normally used to interconnect the components of
a breadboard or other prototype or test circuit, internally or with other equipment
or components, without soldering. Individual jump wires are fitted by inserting their
"end connectors" into the slots provided in a breadboard, the header connector of
a circuit board, or a piece of test equipment.
Breadboard
A breadboard is a solderless device for temporary prototype with electronics
and test circuit designs. Most electronic components in electronic circuits can be
interconnected by inserting their leads or terminals into the holes and then making
connections through wires where appropriate. The breadboard has strips of metal
underneath the board and connect the holes on the top of the board. The metal
strips are laid out as shown below. Note that the top and bottom rows of holes are
connected horizontally and split in the middle while the remaining holes are
connected vertically.
Arduino IDE
Arduino is an open-source platform used for building electronics projects.
Arduino consists of both a physical programmable circuit board (often referred to
as a microcontroller) and a piece of software, or IDE (Integrated Development
Environment) that runs on your computer, used to write and upload computer code
to the physical board.
The Arduino platform has become quite popular with people just starting out
with electronics, and for good reason. Unlike most previous programmable circuit
boards, the Arduino does not need a separate piece of hardware (called a
programmer) in order to load new code onto the board – you can simply use a USB
cable. Additionally, the Arduino IDE uses a simplified version of C++, making it
easier to learn to program. Finally, Arduino provides a standard form factor that
breaks out the functions of the micro-controller into a more accessible package
(retrieved from https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/what-is-an-arduino).
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
1. Conceptual Framework
The figure below shows the concept of the procedures to attain the objectives
of the study. The concept of the whole study is to create soil moisture content tester
by the use of Arduino.
5. Assembly of Prototype
The sensor will be assembled with the microcontroller and the program
developed will be uploaded to the microcontroller. LCD will be attached to the
microcontroller for the display of the moisture content together with the buttons and
the battery.
6. Calibration of Sensor
The prototype will undergo calibration in order to provide accurate readings
and minimize errors. During the calibration the sample soil will undergo two
process. The sample soil will be weigh and the data will be recorded. Using the
soil moisture sensor, the data will be collected from the sample soil before the soil
will be put on the controlled oven. After drying it, the sample soil will be weigh again
and calculate the result. Comparing the result of data from soil moisture sensor
and the oven dry soil will be used to make the device accurate and precise and
this will be done by conducting ten (10) trials in every 10 percent increment to
determine the analog values in each percentage increment.