CHANDLER SITE HARDWARE AND CONNECTIONS
1. Introduction
2. Sampling requirements
3. Hardware
4. Connections
5. Software
6. Preliminary data
INTRODUCTION
The project developed in the Chandler creek in Okeechobee Florida pretends to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Humate Iron compound in reducing P levels in the water. A barrier of the compound has been deployed across the creek's channel. Our objective is to take water samples before the water reaches the barrier and after it has gone through the material for comparison. Water flow is controlled by a Culvert system. Culvert is a 2 ft diameter corrugated aluminum pipe. The samplers were installed at the inlet and outlet of the pipes. Duration of this project is one year.
SAMPLING REQUIREMENTS
Each time a certain amount of water volume passes through the system, water samples have to be taken. The amount of water that passes through the system is calculated using the Culvert equations for full flow and open channel flow. The input for these equations are the Hw and Tw readings from upstream and downstream encoders respectively.
For more accuracy, high capacity, non expensive pumps have been installed to pump water from the creek into a funnel system where water reaches equilibrium after one to three minutes of pumping. The funnel system is installed inside the enclosures along with the encoders and small pumps. Afterwards, small capacity, very accurate pumps start pumping water from the funnels and into the reservoirs.
Thus, readings from the encoders have to be taken, water volume calculated and then compared with threshold, if threshold is reached, samples are taken. The sample routine has to active the higher capacity pumps first and let them work for the period of stabilization and until the small pumps finish taking samples. Small pumps have to be activated minutes later for a period of one minute.
HARDWARE
The hardware used for this project is:
For higher capacity: "Rule bilge pump" 360 gph
Small pumps: SP200 from APT Instrument
Relays. Solid state Crydom DC60S3. Note that the common contact relay does not work in this application as it is driven by a CR10 control port which has a low power capacity. Contact relays require up to 60 mA to operate with 5V input. Solid State relay only requires 2.2mA for the same 5V input.
Solar Panels. 2x20W solar panels are being used. See the performance of those in a graphic below. On will be in the shade most part of the year, so a separate one was installed 300 ft away from the site where is not shaded by the trees
CONNECTIONS
General connections and connections in each particular enclosure are shown below:
Relays driving the bilge upstream, bilge downstream and small upstream pumps are located in the upstream enclosure. The connections look as follows:
SOFTWARE
For flowchart, formulas used to calculate flow and other details of the CR10X program please download the file SOFTWARE
Download the program currently uploaded to the CR10:
Important note: the program has the instructions to take samples when water volume threshold is reached, but they appear 'comment'. Right now the program is forcing water samples to be taken every 4 hours. To activate the threshold system just 'uncomment' the correspondent lines and 'comment' the lines with instructions for 4 hours period sampling. The instructions for 4 hour period sampling are numbered 22 to 30 in table 2. The instructions for threshold sampling are just above instruction 22 in table 2. (This note is dated January 15/2003)
PRELIMINARY DATA
Take a look at the performance of the power supply system for the station:
Rain impact on the Hw and Tw is shown below.
