Automating double ring infiltrometer with an Arduino microcontroller

• A new system of automated DRI using an Arduino microcontroller is proposed.
• Utilized electronics include, a peristaltic pump, a Hall effect and a water level sensor.
• The new system resolves most of the shortcomings of the previous designs.
• The system is mounted in a portable and weather resistant box.
• The automated system is employed in the field to check its workability.

In this paper, we describe the designed and tested system of automated double ring infiltrometer (DRI) that we have developed using an Arduino microcontroller, a Hall effect sensor, a peristaltic pump, a water level sensor, and a constant-level float valve. The system can be used for infiltration measurements in both single ring falling head and double ring constant head methods. The precise measurements of the current method compared to previous designed systems are not affected by sunlight, and due to the method of flow measurement, remain accurate even for low infiltration values. The set-up has an easy real-time data storage on a micro-SD card without a need of a portable computer in the field. It only requires a single reservoir for both inner and outer rings to which, water can be added anytime needed without affecting the measurements. The system automatically detects when the steady state infiltration rate is reached and concludes the testing and stops measurements. The system is mounted in a portable and weather resistant box and is applied to run DRI testing in the field to check the applicability and accuracy of the portable set-up in field measurements. Manual testing was also performed in the field for comparison with the automated system measurements. Overall system architecture, and the design of hardware and software components are presented in details. The system configuration is illustrated for better understanding of the set-up.