Cost Effective Turbidity Meter
School Name
Chapin High School
Grade Level
11th Grade
Presentation Topic
Engineering
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
Current lab-grade turbidity meters are oftentimes too costly for the majority of nonprofits, including global organizations like Water Mission. The typical turbidity meter suited for industrial settings (notably the HACH meter) can cost upwards of $4000. This is why creating a cheaper, but still accurate, meter is vital for organizations with financial restraints and communities who do not have enough money. Turbidity meters are used to ensure that water is safe to drink or if the water needs to be treated. This research focuses on the cheap DfRobot meter being an alternative to expensive industrial meters. Although the hardware of the meter is adequate, the code of the meter is riddled with errors. The meter takes measurements in volts and the software converts these measurements into NTU. The code in the DfRobot meter is corrected by establishing the relationship between Volts and Nephelometric Turbidity Units(NTU) by measuring water samples with different known turbidities and recording the volts from the cheap meter and NTU from the accurate one. The actual relationship is linear and as the volts increase, the turbidity (NTU) decrease. The cheaper meter is then tested against the more expensive, but perfectly accurate HACH 2100 meter. A Paired T-test is used to confirm that the DfRobot meter is suitable for industrial, humanitarian, and professional purposes.
Recommended Citation
Wetmore, Allie, "Cost Effective Turbidity Meter" (2024). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 415.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2024/all/415
Location
RITA 102
Start Date
3-23-2024 10:15 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
Cost Effective Turbidity Meter
RITA 102
Current lab-grade turbidity meters are oftentimes too costly for the majority of nonprofits, including global organizations like Water Mission. The typical turbidity meter suited for industrial settings (notably the HACH meter) can cost upwards of $4000. This is why creating a cheaper, but still accurate, meter is vital for organizations with financial restraints and communities who do not have enough money. Turbidity meters are used to ensure that water is safe to drink or if the water needs to be treated. This research focuses on the cheap DfRobot meter being an alternative to expensive industrial meters. Although the hardware of the meter is adequate, the code of the meter is riddled with errors. The meter takes measurements in volts and the software converts these measurements into NTU. The code in the DfRobot meter is corrected by establishing the relationship between Volts and Nephelometric Turbidity Units(NTU) by measuring water samples with different known turbidities and recording the volts from the cheap meter and NTU from the accurate one. The actual relationship is linear and as the volts increase, the turbidity (NTU) decrease. The cheaper meter is then tested against the more expensive, but perfectly accurate HACH 2100 meter. A Paired T-test is used to confirm that the DfRobot meter is suitable for industrial, humanitarian, and professional purposes.
