Final Technical Paper

Item

Description

Status

Conclusion/Results

Recommendations and Improvement Opportunities

Water tank

The water tank should be large enough to store and distribute water to the chosen irrigation point. The water tank should be well demarcated to show water levels and free from mechanical damage, leakage, or corrosion. Also check that water control valves and flow switches are electronically monitored with the main relay and sensor control panels.

A leak test was performed on the water tank. This test will show if the tank is leaking or not.

Passed.

No leaks were present at the time of the test.

An improvement opportunity would be to make the tank a filtered rainwater collecting tank. This will allow for the usage of rainwater to be collected, filtered, and re-used for your irrigation.

Water pump

The test for water pump is about checking if the soil is dry, the “water pump” turns or provides water automatically to the soil. The expected results are that the water pump should be able to provide water automatically if the soil is dry. Additionally, the test should affirm if the water pump is able to stop providing water automatically is the soil is wet.

Before installing the water pump, I tested it as an individual component. With a multimeter I performed a continuity test as well as a function test. When voltage applied it should turn on.

Passed.

Water pump passed the continuity test. Pump turned on when voltage was applied.

Instead of a submersible pump a good improvement could be an inline pump. With a submersible pump, the pump is in the water along with the electrical wiring. This could damage the wiring of the pump prematurely.

Water hose

The check for water hose involves determining if it shows signs of leakage, corrosion, physical damage, loaded with dust, dirt and grease or loss of fluid in the glass bulb heat responsive element. The water hose should be installed in the correct orientation they are designed from and if there is adequate clearance so that their location reaches to a proximity of stocks, furnishings, equipment, or architectural features. Another test is checking is a supply element of the water hose are in correct number and can be used within the irrigation area they are designed for. The water hose should be in good conditions and free of mechanical damage, leakage, and corrosion.

The water hose was tested for restriction and leaks.

Passed.

No water flow restriction or leaks found.

An improvement for a water hose would be a more rigid water transportation. For example, PVC piping would be more rigid than a water hose.

DHT11 Sensor

Dht11 sensor is a humidity and temperature sensor. The sensor should be able to be aligned advanced yield as a port with the micro controller and provide sudden results of humidity and temperature. The sensor must be able to differentiate between the wet and dry soils by showing the percentage on the LCD display.

The DHT11 sensor was tested alongside the Arduino Uno and a display screen. A code was written to have the sensor function properly.

Passed.

With the sensor hooked up to the breadboard and running the Arduino, the display shows humidity and temperature perfectly.

With the everlasting improvement of technology, it is impossible for sensors not to be improved. My recommendation for improvement would be to upgrade this sensor to a DHT20. The DHT20 features a wider rand of measurements with more precision.

Relay

The relay module controls the on and off switch of the water pump. The relay module should be able to switch the pump automatically to start watering process and vice versa. The motor should turn on and off when the temperature is above 20 degrees Celsius, or soil is moist.

The relay was tested for continuity while coil isn’t energized and then with coil being energized. This will test the N/O and N/C part of the relay.

Passed.

While the coil is not energized there is continuity at the N/C terminal. When the coil is energized there is continuity at the N/O terminal.

An improvement to a standard relay would be the use of a solid-state relay. The disadvantage to a regular relay is that it uses mechanical moving parts that can wear over time. With a SSR it is a contactless component.

Arduino Uno

The Arduino Uno is the microcontroller and core hardware for the smart irrigation project. The microcontroller should be able to receive the input from the soil moisture sensor and process the input based on the requirements coded.

The Arduino Uno was tested for power input and power distribution. 5v was supplied to the board and A0 was reading 5v.

Passed.

When power (5v) was supplied to the Arduino, I received 5v at the A0 terminal. Similarly, when I supplied 3.3v, now A0 was reading 3.3v.

An improvement to Arduino Uno would be the Arduino Nano. The improvement would be the size. The nano could be used in smaller tight areas were and uno wouldn’t fit.

LCD screen

An LCD display should be able to show the moisture percentage and pump status. The LCD display should register and display data from the command register.

LCD was tested to make sure it powered on. Nothing will be displayed during test.

Passed.

When voltage (5v) was supplied the LCD came one. Nothing is programmed at the time of the test, so nothing is being displayed.

An improvement to an LCD would be an LED screen.  LED uses less power, provides a brighter display with better contrast, a thinner panel, and lesser heat dissipation than a conventional LCD

Float sensor

The water level sensor detects the levels of water in the tank and if the water is unavailable in the tank, it sends its information to the Arduino and after that Arduino provides a notification using 2 LED’s. As a result, it's critical to use the water level sensor. The test will involve checking if the water level sensor is working or not and if it’s able to send its information.

Float sensor was tested for continuity. With it having 2 wires, you just hook up your multimeter in series.

Passed.

While switch is down, there is continuity showing at the meter. When the switch was up there was no more continuity.

An improvement is to use a capacitive liquid level sensor. The capacitive sensor is a true solid-state device with no moving parts. This provides unrivalled reliability as there are no floats or arms to either jam or wear out. The capacitive sensor is situated outside of the liquid container. Unlike the float arm sensor, where the potentiometer element is inside the tank and vulnerable to corrosion or fluid contamination.

Moisture sensor

The moisture sensor involves checking the moisture condition of the soil. The test involves examining the sensor values and its functionality. The expected results are that the moisture should light up in the controller when it is switched on and can show the lower and upper boundaries of the sensor value in dry and wet conditions.

Moisture sensor was tested for functionality. When power supplied and the sensor is dry it will activate pump. When sensor is dry, the pump stays off.

Passed.

Sensor functioned properly during testing. It called for water when dry. While moisture was detected pump was not activated.

An improvement for a moisture sensor would be to have it record readings throughout the day. This data could be used to determine moisture levels as references and pinpoint at way time of the day the moisture dissipates quicker.

3.7v-5v power supply

The controller (timer) that switches the valves on and off in a conventional irrigation system is powered by electricity. A stable energy source – or a reliable mix of energy sources – is required for motor-driven water abstraction and transport. The test is checking whether the power supply is consistent and able to make sure that all the hardware and software systems are functional. Check is all the systems work and the energy source can keep them on for the required period.

The power supply was tested for proper power output. The rating is between 3.7v-5v.

Passed.

With the multimeter and one lead on black while the other on read the power supply was at 5v.

An improvement to the power supply could be a solar panel supply. With the solar panel option there wouldn’t be a need to recharge the battery or even the cost of a regular power supply.