PMMA-Coated Capacitive Type Soil Moisture Sensor: Design, Fabrication, and Testing

This paper describes the fringing electric field modeling and performance of four different shaped poly methyl methacrylate-coated capacitive sensors for soil moisture measurement. Experiments are carried out in the laboratory by placing the sensor inside the soil. The analytical solution for such fringing field system is difficult to obtain, so COMSOL Multiphysics software is used for modeling the capacitive sensor surrounded by the soil. Experimental data are compared with the software simulated value. Statistical root-mean-square error (RMSE) and percentage of normalized RMSE for polynomial fit are studied for the sensitivity and performance analysis. Effect of external temperature on the performance of the sensor is also discussed. The proposed signal conditioning circuit is implemented in printed circuit board to measure the output voltage with respect to capacitance change. Obtained results are transmitted through a global system for mobile communication module for remote observation of soil moisture. The thermogravimetric method is used for voltage to soil moisture calibration, and based on the experimental data, results are analyzed further. A review of some relevant fringing field capacitive sensors and their instrumentation system reported in past 7-8 years are studied for comparison with the proposed sensor system.