Institute of Integrated and Intelligent Systems, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia.
Substation33, Kingston, Logan, QLD 4114, Australia.
Sensors (Basel). 2020 Apr 2;20(7):1993. doi: 10.3390/s20071993.
Turbidity is a key environmental parameter that is used in the determination of water quality. The turbidity of a water body gives an indication of how much suspended sediment is present, which directly impacts the clarity of the water (i.e., whether it is cloudy or clear). Various commercial nephelometric and optical approaches and products exist for electronically measuring turbidity. However, most of these approaches are unsuitable or not viable for collecting data remotely. This paper investigates ways for incorporating a turbidity sensor into an existing remote aquatic environmental monitoring platform that delivers data in near real-time (i.e., 15-min intervals). First, we examine whether an off-the-shelf turbidity sensor can be modified to provide remote and accurate turbidity measurements. Next, we present an inexpensive design for a practical light attenuation turbidity sensor. We outline the sensor's design rationale and how various technical and physical constraints were overcome. The turbidity sensor is calibrated against a commercial turbidimeter using a Formazin standard. Results indicate that the sensor readings are indicative of actual changes in turbidity, and a calibration curve for the sensor could be attained. The turbidity sensor was trialled in different types of water bodies over nine months to determine the system's robustness and responsiveness to the environment.
浊度是一个关键的环境参数，用于水质的测定。水体的浊度表明了悬浮物的含量，这直接影响了水的清澈度（即水是否混浊或清澈）。目前已有多种商业浊度计和光学方法以及产品可用于电子测量浊度。然而，这些方法中的大多数对于远程采集数据并不适用或不可行。本文研究了如何将浊度传感器集成到现有的远程水生环境监测平台中，以便实时（即 15 分钟间隔）传输数据。首先，我们研究了是否可以对现成的浊度传感器进行修改，以提供远程和准确的浊度测量。接下来，我们提出了一种经济实惠的实用光衰减浊度传感器设计。我们概述了传感器的设计原理以及如何克服各种技术和物理限制。该浊度传感器使用福尔马林标准与商业浊度计进行了校准。结果表明，传感器读数能反映实际浊度变化，并且可以获得传感器的校准曲线。该浊度传感器在九个月的时间里在不同类型的水体中进行了测试，以确定该系统对环境的稳健性和响应能力。
