Low-Cost Control and Measurement Circuit for the Implementation of Single Element Heat Dissipation Soil Water Matric Potential Sensor Based on a SnSe2 Thermosensitive Resistor

• DOI: 10.3390/s21041490
• Publication Date: 2021-02-22T03:04:15Z
• Authors: Flávio Morais; Pedro Carvalhaes-...; Yu Zhang; Andreu Cabot; Fábio S. Flosi; Luis Caparroz Duarte; Adelson Dos Santos; José A. Siqueira ...
• Keywords: Power control circuits; Signal condition-ing circuit; Chemical technology; TP1-1185; 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences; 15. Life on land; single-element soil matric water potential sensor; 7. Clean energy; Heat dissipation matric water potential sensor; Article; 620; signal conditioning circuit; Heat dissipation soil matric potential sensor; 0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; Single-element soil matric water potential sensor; heat dissipation soil matric potential sensor; power control circuits; heat dissipation matric water potential sensor

A low-cost signal processing circuit developed to measure and drive a heat dissipation soil matric potential sensor based on a single thermosensitive resistor is demonstrated. The SnSe2 has a high thermal coefficient, from −2.4Ω/°C in the 20 to 25 °C to −1.07Ω/°C in the 20 to 25 °C. The SnSe2 thermosensitive resistor is encapsulated with a porous gypsum block and is used as both the heating and temperature sensing element. To control the power dissipated on the thermosensitive resistor and keep it constant during the heat pulse, a mixed analogue/digital circuit is used. The developed control circuit is able to maintain the dissipated power at 327.98±0.3% mW when the resistor changes from 94.96Ω to 86.23Ω. When the gravimetric water content of the porous block changes from dry to saturated (θw=36.7%), we measured a variation of 4.77Ω in the thermosensitive resistor, which results in an end-point sensitivity of 130 mΩ/%. The developed system can easily meet the standard requirement of measuring the gravimetric soil water content with a resolution of approximately Δθw=1%, since the resistance is measured with a resolution of approximately μ31μΩ, three orders of magnitude smaller than the sensitivity.