A Prototype for the Continuous and Cost-Effective Measurement of River Discharge

Agenda Introduction Theoretical considerations Practical implementation Testing and results Conclusions

Introduction

Project Context

General ways of measuring discharge

Manning’s method for discharge measurement

Manning’s formula Where: Q – discharge n – Manning’s coefficient of rugosity A – area of the cross section of the river R – hydraulic radius S – free surface slope

Implementation System architecture

Components choice (1) Nivopress NPK-4110 pressure level sensor

Components choice (2) National Instruments Wireless Sensor Network

Software application (1) Precomputation phase

Software application (2) NI LabVIEW

Software application (3) NI LabVIEW

Testing and results (1) Testing setup for a sensor wired to the WSN node

Testing and results (2) Some values read from the sensors

Testing and results (3) Cost considerations ◦ Gateway: ~1600€ ◦ WSN Nodes: 5 x ~400€ ◦ Depth sensors: 5 x ~500€ ◦ Other accessories: ~200€ ~ 6300€

Testing and Results (4) Setup and installation time ◦ Low (< 1 day)

Conclusions Continuous discharge measurement based on slope-area method Low cost Easy to install and mantain Easy to configure remotely