Conclusion
The double-ring infiltrometers are widely used for in situ measurement of field saturated hydraulic conductivity.
In this paper, an automated double ring infiltrometer was developed by using a peristaltic pump, a water level sensor and a microcontroller.
The system automatically runs the test, concludes the process when steady state is reached, and records the infiltration data on a micro-SD card.
The system was mounted in a portable and weather resistant box that can be easily used in the field.
The overall system architecture, and the design of hardware and software components were presented in detail and the advantages of the developed system compared to the other methods were described.
To check the workability of the proposed system, three field DRI tests with automated system together with manual experiments were conducted.
By comparing the results of the field DRI testing using the automated set-up with the manual experiments in all three test sites, an acceptable precision of the automated system in infiltration measurement was revealed.