ULTRASONIC WATER LEVEL INDICATOR AND

CONTROLLER USING AVR MICRCONTROLLER

Guided by
Mr.Rajesh.P
Asst,prof(EEE)
 ABSTRACT

The consequence of level measurement cannot be overstated. Inaccurate or

inappropriate measurement can cause level in vessels to be excessively higher or
lower than their measured values. Ultrasonic level measurement is one of the best
technique used for continuous level measurement. Ultrasonic ranging module“HC-
SR04” uses a technique called “ECHO” which is a sound that reflect back after
striking with a surface. The output signal of the sensor is proportional to the distance
based on the echo. This output signal is the processed according to high level
programming language which is embedded in to the microcontroller ATmega16.
Then the processed output is displayed in the LCD display. The motor is connected
to the output port of microcontroller through 5v relay switch. The controller will
close the pump or valve automatically so that water is not overflowing and wasted.
Here it has some benefits to use microcontroller for control action than using the
normal PLCs. Even though PLC itself has a microprocessor since PLCs are
expensive, bulky and are not easily adapted to high speed I/O. Also compared to
other non contact type of level measurement ultrasonic sensor produce no radiation
and no harmful effect to the environment. The main objective is to attain accurate
measurement of level and to make a safety control over it.
 INTRODUCTION

Accurate, affordable and reliable level measuring technology is of great

importance for industrial, domestic and other varieties of applications. Such
applications include fuel storage, providing flood warning, in the
biochemical industry and simple water level control in homes just to
mention a few.
It has been observed that traditional liquid level sensors are based on
electromechanical techniques which are said suffer from intrinsic safety
concerns in explosive environments. Level measurement control sensors
used in many industries fall into two main types: Point level measurement
sensors and Continuous level sensors. Continuous level sensors unlike point
level measurement sensors measure fluid level within a range, rather than at
a one point. Various level measurement devices have been developed
particularly; optical fibre sensors for liquid level measurement have been
extensively studied .
There are different methods of implementing level measuring processes
among which are mechanical, capacitive, inductive, ultrasonic, acoustic, or
optical. While mechanical and ultrasonic methods are mainly applied in
level of solid materials that are in the form of dust, it has been observed that
capacitive and optical methods give better results in detecting the level of
fluids. Optical fibre sensors have many well-known advantages such as high
accuracy, compact size, cost-effectiveness and ease of multiplexing. Many
types of liquid level sensors using silica fibre gratings have been
demonstrated . Various literatures have also shown that most of these sensors
exhibit some drawbacks such as low sensitivity, limited range , long term
instability, limited resolution, high cost and complicated manufacturing.
This paper presents the architecture and evaluation results for an embedded
stand-alone fluid level sensor based on ultrasonic technology remote
monitoring on the other hand combines both the features of localized
monitoring and the ability to access the system state from a distance. Fluid
level monitoring is a critical part of industrial processes, and its importance
cannot be overemphasized due to the criticality of system processes most
often designed around such.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

 Title: Highly Sensitive Liquid-Level Sensor Based on Etched Fiber

Bragg Grating.
Author: B. Yun and N. Chen
Year:2007
A highly sensitive liquid-level sensor based on etched fiber Bragg grating
(FBG) is proposed and demonstrated. The transmission dips of FBG
spectra are affected by the fraction of the length of the etched FBG that is
surrounded by the liquid. The experiments show that for a liquid-level
variation of 24 mm, the transmission dip difference changes about 32 dB.
Also in the linear region, a high sensitivity of 2.56 dB/mm is achieved
 Title: Fiber-optic liquid-level continuous gauge
Author: J A Martinez
Year:(2006)
An intensity-based fiber-optic liquid-level gauge for continuous measurement is
described. The sensing principle is based on the total internal reflection of light
within the fiber optic, and for this, a measurement is made of the power
attenuation which occurs in the fiber optic immersed in the liquid tank when the
liquid level varies. The light from a LED is modulated before being directed into the
fiber to minimize measurement errors. The device containsan alarm programmable
to signal any liquid level in the tank (high or low), and data can be sent via Internet
in real time to a distant point.
Title: Mode conversion and the path of acoustic energy in a partially
water-filled aluminum tube
Author: K.Shannon
Year:1999
Mode conversion is observed in a water-loaded thin-walled Al tube with a
horizontal central axis. A 1 MHz pulse is applied to the tube by a transducer
coupled to the tube's external wall in a pulse–echo configuration. The tube is
filled to 36 different levels, and a waveform is acquired at each level. Analysis
shows that the acoustic energy must propagate both in the tube wall as an A0-
mode Lamb wave and as a bulk wave in the water. Mode conversion between
these two waves is shown to take place both in the air–water interface and as
energy leakage in the water-loaded portion of the tube. A unique echo train is
observed at each fill level, suggesting that a liquid level sensor can be developed
based on this mode conversion.
 Title: Remote flood monitoring system based on plastic optical fibres and wireless motes
Author: K. S. C. Kuang
Year: 2008
This paper summarises an effort in the development of a remote flood monitoring system
based on plastic optical fibre (POF) sensors and a wireless mote network. The wireless
mote, comprising of a network of MICA2DOT™ units, was used as a platform to
monitor and record the signal from the POF sensors and transmit this information to
a base station wirelessly. A prototype of the integrated wireless POF sensor unit has been
constructed, rendering it possible to deploy the autonomous unit remotely at multiple
monitoring points as required. A flood monitoring simulation was carried out in a
24 m × 10 m × 0.9 m wave basin where four of these wireless optical fibre mote sensors
were used to detect the rising water level in the basin. The novelty of the work lies in the
successful integration of the wireless platform to a POF-based liquid level sensor and the
subsequent demonstration of the prototype of the system for the purposes of
flood monitoring applications.

The sensing principle of the POF sensor developed here is well-known and is based on
the loss of total internal reflection of the optical signal as the sensor probe comes in
contact with the liquid. Compared to optical fibre-based sensors reported previously in
the literature, the probe profile used in this study differs in terms of its simplicity in
design, while exhibiting an excellent signal intensity loss ratio without the need for
additional attachments to the probe such as optical prisms. The tests carried out
showed that the POF sensor is capable of detecting a variety of fluids. Exhibiting good
signal stability, the sensor also detects the liquid level reliably when the liquid rises or
falls to the predetermined level. The responsiveness of the optical fibre sensor was
evaluated by simulating different rates at which the liquid rises by immersing the sensor
tip into the liquid and vice-versa at various speeds ranging from 1 mm/min to
500 mm/min.
 Title: A digital liquid level transducer based on optical fiber
Author: G. Betta
Year: 1996
The paper proposes a digital level transducer based on an optical fiber from which
the cladding was removed in n zones at fixed distances from one another. A
theoretical analysis of the propagation in this type of modified fiber was carried out,
highlighting the good potentiality of the proposed sensor. A 1 m full-scale, 25 mm
resolution prototype was then designed using the results of a numerical simulation,
and set up by optimizing both the sensing element and the conditioning hardware.
The static and dynamic characterization tests carried out show high repeatability,
good accuracy, and acceptable dynamic performance.
Title: Polymer Optical Fiber Intensity-Based Sensor for Liquid-Level
Measurements in Volumetric Flasks for Industrial Application
Author :D. S. Montero and C. Vázquez
Year: 2012
A low-cost intensity-based polymer optical fiber (POF) sensor for liquid
detection applied to volumetric flasks is presented. Experimental results
demonstrate the viability of the POF-based sensor system in a high-accuracy
liquid level measurement scenario. Moreover, a wireless mesh sensor
network based on ZigBee specification protocol to address multiplexed
POF-based sensor is also developed. Experimental results demonstrate the
feasibility to address a high number of optical sensors in an industrial
process framework by means of this low-cost wireless solution.
 SPECIALITY OF ULTRASONIC TECHNOLOGY

Ultrasonic level measurement is one of the best technique used for

continuous level measurement. Ultrasonic waves can travel at the speed of
sound which is, 343 m/s. This kind of speed is not too fast for MCU’s in
ATmega to measure accurately. So, practically it will take about 20ns
(nanoseconds) for the waves to reflect back from a surface located 3 m
away. Ultrasonic waves travels more narrow, like beam than normal sound
wave. This actually helps the sensor detect the obstacles that are exactly in
line with it only. These waves are not hazardous to humans. Consequently,
ultrasonic sensors are used frequently for distance measurement applications
such as level control. Ultrasonic sensors are capable of detecting most
objects such as metal or non-metal, clear or opaque, liquid, solid, or
granular, that have sufficient acoustic reflectivity. Another advantage of
ultrasonic sensors is that they are less affected by condensing moisture than
photoelectric sensors and ultrasonic requires very little system complexity to
implement successfully. A downside to ultrasonic sensors is that sound
absorbing materials, such as cloth, soft rubber, flour and foam, make poor
target objects.
BLOCK DIAGRAM
 DESCRIPTION

The output of the ultrasonic sensor is given to the AVR microcontroller

as an input to process them according to codes which are actually
feed into the microcontroller to provide a desired output. The 2*16
LCD screen under four bit mode is used to display the processed
output. The controlled variable is also send to the motor whenever
we need to excite them. This excitation of the motor is done with the
help 5v relay switch. The block diagram for the level measurement
process is shown in the above Figure.
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
 DESCRIPTION

• The circuit is excited by 12V power supply, the HC-SRO4

module is connected to the port A of the ATmega 16
microcontroller, and the motor is also connected to the port A
via 5V relay switch and the 2*16 LCD module is connected to
the port B. The circuit diagram is shown in the Figure
 WORKING PRINCIPLE

When the circuit is excited the ultrasonic sensor generates the sound signal
towards the bottom of the water tank (target) whose level is to be measured.
After the signal is reflecting from the target these signal are received by the
receiver of the ultrasonic sensor. The time taken by the signal to reach the
receiver is the direct measure of the accurate level in the water tank. Then
the output of the sensor is processed by the microcontroller according to the
Formula: us / 58 = centimetres or us / 148 =inch; or: the range = high level
time * velocity (340M/S) / 2; Then the processed output is given to the LCD
display to visualize the readings. Here in our seminar the objective is not
only to measure the level but also to control it from overflow and emptiness
of the water tank. If the level of the tank is two centimetre means then the
motor automatically gets excited via 5V relay switch. Also if it attains
particular maximum level the motor will automatically turn to off.
 ADVANTAGES

 Ultrasonic sensor can work in adverse condition.

 Ultrasonic sensor has higher distance compare to
inductive/capacitive sensor.
 The sensor is not effected by dust,rain,snow etc.
 It save money by limiting the waste of water and electricity.
 Minimal maintenance.
 Automatic time saves your manual labour time.
 Consumes a small amount of energy,
 DISADVANTAGES

 More difficult for installation .

 Ultrasonic sensor is very sensitive to variation in the temperature.
 Ultrasonic sensor is more difficult in reading reflection from
soft,curved,thin and small object.
 The rust,foul and deteriorate.
 No warrenty or guarantee.
 APPLICATION

 Can be used in water tanks to control water level.

 Can be used in factories,commercial complexes,appartments,homes.
 Irrigation
 Automatically turn off pumps.
 CONCLUSION

The application of the embedded system in various fields in automation

has been widely increased in order to decrease the human intervention
and time to complete the process. As we have already discussed that
improper level measurement of hazardous tank can create harmful
effects to both the system and the environment. The main objective of
our project is not only to attain the accurate measurement of level but
also to have a safety control over it. Finally from this seminar we
conclude that level measurement in industries using the concept of
embedded system can acquire very low cost, very less man power also
the installation of the system is easy and makes it more compatible for
different environments.
 REFERENCE

 B. Yun, N. Chen, and Y. Cui, Highly sensitive liquidlevel sensor based on

etched fiber bragg grating,IEEE
 P. Casanova, and J. A.Martínez, Fiber-optic liquid-continuous
gauge‫ۅ‬Sensors and Actuators A, vol. 125, no. 2, pp. level 124–132, 2006.
 K. Shannon, X. Li, Z. Wang, and J. D. N. Cheeke, ʊMode conversion and the
path of acoustic energy in a partially water-filled aluminum
tube,‫ۅ‬Ultrasonics, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 303–307, 1999.
 K. S. C. Kuang, S. T. Quek, and M. Maalej, ʊRemote flood monitoring
system based on plastic optical fibres and wireless motes, ‫ۅ‬Sensors and
Actuators A, vol. 147, no. 2, pp. 449–455,2008.
 G. Betta, A. Pietrosanto, and A. Scaglione, ʊA digital liquid level transducer
based on optical fiber, ‫ۅ‬IEEE Trans.
 D. S. Montero and C. Vázquez (2012) Polymer Optical Fiber Intensity-
Based Sensor for Liquid-Level Measurements in Volumetric Flasks for
Industrial Application. ISRN Sensor Networks Volume (2012).
THANK YOU