Rain gauge
3-D Printed Rainfall Gauge
This section shows the journey for making our 3D print rain gauge!
We didn't start from scratch - we work on Suromark's version and we did some changes to that:
First, we noticed that the tipping bucket can get stuck to the bottom if operated overnight, so we changed the size of the tipping bucket ()part:
figure
Secondly, we noticed that not all of the water in the bucket can escape when tipping. We compared with the standard tipping bucket rain gauge design, and we added a sharp edge and make some changes to help divert water when tipping
figure
Thirdly, we found water can be soaked into the tipping bucket during long-time operation so we changed the 3D print from 30% infill to 100% infill;
In the end, we found that the tipping volume can change from time to time. We found during the overnight operation, a small amount of water from splashing or dripping can stay on the rain gauge base, which probably increases the friction between the base and bucket, therefore influencing the tipping volume. In that case, we changed the base design - to make water can easily escape so the tipping volume is consistent. figure
| Rain gauge tipping volume(ml) | Feb 16 3pm | Feb 17 11am | overnight difference (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2 |
| R2 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2 |
| R3 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 9 |
| R4 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 7 |
| R5 | 3 | 3 | -1 |
| R6 | 3 | 2.9 | 2 |
We have used these rain gauges in Xixi Shi'slab-wetlands to monitor the outflow rate:
Wetland experiment in the greenhouse of living lab, Monash
- RTM wetland outflow rate.jpg
RTM wetland outflow rate for a rainfall event
3D print file:
Files.... Thanks Stephen for editing the files!
Nano Board code:
File:Nano Rainguage Sender.ino Thanks Luke(Baiqian) Shi for the coding :)
