INSTRUMENTATION

(SEMM 3242)
Project
Design of Instrumentation System for Capacitive Sensor

No. Name Matrix No.

1 MUHAMMAD HAZIQ BIN FADZI A20EM0333

2 CHEE DE ZHENG A20EM0300

3 LIEW ZHENG XIAN A20EM0314

4 TENG EU KANG A20EM0365

5 NAVINDERPAL SINGH A/L JAGJIT SINGH B19EM0048

1. Background (2%) - 2%
Literature (2%) - 2%
Commercial (1%) - 0.5%
2. Block Diagram & Explanation (2%) - 2%
Enclosure, Explanation & Justification (3%) - 2.5%
Materials, Fabrication & Fabrication (3%) - 2.5%
3. Signal Conditioner: Sample, Schematic & Circuit (3%) - 2.5%
Component Selection (3%) - 1%
Arduino Flowchart & Algorithm (2%) - 1%
4. Calibration Graph (2.5%) - 2.5%
Accuracy Testing (2.5%) - 2.5%
5. Discussion (3%) - 2%
Conclusion (1%) - 1%

24%
 Table of Content

............................................................................................................................................. 0
Table of Content ................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1 .............................................................................................................................. 2
1.0 Title:............................................................................................................................ 2
1.1 Objective: ................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Capacitive Sensor Background ................................................................................ 2
1.3. Literature review and recent technologies ............................................................. 7
1.4. Current commercially capacitive sensor products ................................................ 7
Chapter 2 .............................................................................................................................. 9
2.1 Block Diagram ........................................................................................................... 9
2.2 Physical Design of Water Level System ................................................................ 10
2.3 Material Selection and Fabrication Techniques .................................................... 19
Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................ 22
3.1 Sensor Selection ..................................................................................................... 22
3.2 Signal Conditioning System Modelling & Design.................................................. 23
3.3 Sample Calculation ................................................................................................. 25
3.4 Component Selection .............................................................................................. 26
3.5 Arduino Display System ......................................................................................... 26
3.6 Flowchart ................................................................................................................. 28
3.7 Algorithm ................................................................................................................. 29
Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................ 30
4.1 Sensor Calibration Requirements and its importance. ......................................... 30
4.2 Sensor Calibration Procedure ................................................................................ 30
Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................................ 35
5.1 Discussions ............................................................................................................. 35
5.2 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 36
REFERENCE ...................................................................................................................... 37
 Chapter 1
1.0 Title:
Design of Instrumentation System for a Capacitive Sensor

1.1 Objective:
i. To design and develop an instrumentation system for level / displacement measurement
using a capacitive sensor.
ii. To calibrate the proposed instrumentation system for accurate level / displacement
measurements.

1.2 Capacitive Sensor Background

1.2.1. Introduction to transducer

The transducer is an electronic device that can transfer the signal from one form of energy into
another form and the standard application of the transducer is the loudspeaker, microphones,
and pressure sensors. Generally, the transducer is the device that converts measured value to
useful value, and it could stable the base of the operation. This process specifies the input
energy called the sensing element and later transfers it into another form called the transduction
element. The basic principle of the transducer is to use the current source or voltage regulator
with the amplifier to generate the voltage signal. There are two types of transducers which are
active transducers and passive transducers. For active transducer, it can generate the electric
current or the voltage directly in response to the stimulation of the signal. For the passive
transducer, it will create the passive electrical quantity such as resistance, inductance, and
capacitance. Apart from these two types of transducers, there are other types of transducers
which are chemical transducers, piezoelectric transducers, and mutual induction transducers.
 Figure 1: Process of converting energy to an electrical signal.

The advantage of converting a physical quantity into a signal is the flow of electrical signals is
easily transmitted and the electrical signal process has less error. There are two parts in the
transducer which are the input transducer and the output transducer. The input transducer
allows the physical energy in and converts it into an electrical signal. The output transducer
acts as an actuator and allows the electrical signal flows in and be transferred into another form
of energy.

Figure 2: Input and Output Transducer

The application of the transducer is the engine load is measured by the transducer, the
transducer is used in the ultrasound machines and the transducer is used in the antenna to
convert electromagnetic waves into an electrical signal.
1.2.2. Capacitive Transducer

Capacitive Transducer is used to measure dynamic quantity such as displacement and pressure
and it helps to convert the physical quantity to change in capacitance. A capacitive transducer
is a passive transducer which means it needs external power for operation. For a capacitive
transducer, it will change variable capacitance as the working principle and the most common
design of a capacitive transducer is two plates separated by dielectric or insulating material
such as sand, air, plastic, rice, or water which the plate will dip into the dielectric material. For
capacitive transducers, there are three types of models that could change the capacitance of a
transducer which are variations of the distance between plates, variations of the shared area of
the plates, and variations of dielectric constant. So, the distance of these two plates or the
position could change the capacitance.

Figure 3: Setup of Capacitive Transducer

Then, the capacitive transducer converts the mechanical movement into an electrical signal by
using the electrical quantity of the capacitance. This is directly measured by the transducer
based on the input quantity. Besides measuring static and dynamic changes, the capacitors can
measure displacement directly by connecting measurable devices directly to the movable plates
of the capacitor. This can be done in both contacting mode and non-contacting mode. The
relationships can be clearly seen from the formula:

𝜀 𝜀𝐴
𝐶=
𝑑
The capacitance is affected by physical variables such as displacement, force, pressure, and
dielectric constant of the transducer. Besides, the dielectric constant is also affected by the
liquid or gas level being measured. The first type of capacitive transducer is a variation of
distance between two plates, the formula could be obtained as the formula above with a
different value of distance since the area and the dielectric value remains constant.

Figure 3: Variation distance between two plates

The second type of capacitive transducer is a variation of the cross-sectional area of two plates
in the vertical position, the formula could be obtained as

𝜀 𝜀
𝐶= (𝐴 − 𝑤𝑥)
𝑑
The value of the distance between two plates and the dielectric constant value is fixed.

Figure 4: Variation of Cross-sectional area

The third type of capacitive transducer is the variation of dielectric constant, the formula
could be shown as

𝐶 = +

The value of the distance between two plates is fixed but with the different cross-sectional area
since the dielectric materials cover a different area.
 Figure 5: Variation of dielectric constant

Thus, the voltmeter is connected to the capacitive transducer with calibrated reading and the
direct reading is given. The advantages of a capacitive transducer are excellent frequency
response, extreme sensitivity, and ease to fabricate. The disadvantages of the capacitive
transducer are non-linear behaviour and high output impedance.

1.2.3. Type of Capacitive Sensor used.

The type of capacitor sensor used in this project is displacement changes the amount of
dielectric material inserted between plates. Thus, this is the third way of displacement changing
concept to affect the capacitance by using a variation of dielectric constant. First and foremost,
the prototype is made by placing the two metal plates which are connected to the nano Arduino.
The metal plate is then put into the plastic bottle and the powder used as the dielectric material
is then poured into the bottle with different heights. Since the height of the powder covering
the metal plates is different, the capacitance obtained is also different. As the powder varies in
height, the reading will change, and it can be observed in the Arduino system. Besides, we need
to make the calibration by using the Arduino system. Then, we measure the actual height for
2cm, and the powder is added into the plastic bottle until the height reached 2cm, the value of
the capacitance is recorded at the same time. Next, the values of capacitance are obtained with
a 2cm increment of the actual height. Thus, the data obtained can plot a graph with a linear
slope line and the equation is obtained. To calibrate a capacitive level sensor at its full potential,
we need to know the liquid's dielectric constant. Liquid level sensing relates sensor output to
empty and full outputs after the empty and full outputs are established.
1.3. Literature review and recent technologies
An electrical signal can be generated by measuring the height of a liquid with a capacitive
liquid level sensor. Another instrumentation can display, monitor, log, or control liquid level
by using the liquid level signal output. As the height of the metal plates increases or decreases
with the measured medium, it changes its capacitance. The capacitive level sensor can dip into
various dielectric materials and powder is chosen for this project. The dielectric material is
preferred in small solid, granular, and powder forms. In this project, there are two dielectric
materials which are air and powder, and the total capacitance is obtained by adding these two
capacitance values. When the height of the powder added to the plastic bottle increase, the
value of the capacitance will obtain different values. In recent technologies, the capacitive-type
level sensor measures the level of fluid in a storage tank. A capacitive sensing system is using
two electrodes for a non-metallic tank and one electrode for a metallic tank. The capacitance
between the conductors immersed in the liquid can be used to determine the fluid level if the
gap between the two terminals is fixed. Since the capacitance is directly proportional to the
dielectric constant, the height of the fluid will increase with the net capacitance of the
measuring cell. An excitation voltage is applied with a drive electrode and monitored with a
sensor electrode to determine the liquid level.

1.4. Current commercially capacitive sensor products

Capacitive level sensors

Figure 6: CAP-300 Capacitive Sensor

Figure 7: Analog Capacitive Sensor Proximity Sensor

The technology used for this sensor is proximity sensing technology. The electrode is fixed at
the front of the capacitive level sensor to detect certain changes in the capacitance as the
sensor is near the surface of the substance. The output will produce once it reaches the trigger
point.
 Chapter 2
2.1 Block Diagram

Rise Water level INPUT Water Level OUTPUT Computer Output

measured Sensor Display

Transducer Signal Conditioner ADC

Above figures shows the block diagram of Water Level Sensor where water level measure is
input to water level sensor. When there is a rise of water in container, the level height measured
will acted as an input for water level sensor. When water rise and submerged capacitive sensor,
display output will come out with proportional voltage output. This is because water that has
different dielectric compare to air will be detect by the sensor. Variation of dielectric constant
will change the capacitance of transducer. The capacitive transducer is a passive transducer
which commonly two plates separated by dielectric or insulating material.
The function of each element is shown below:
i. Transducer
 Convert water level measured value into resistor or other variable.
ii. Signal Conditioner
 Signal from transducer is read and converted into a suitable form to interface
with other elements
 This include Wheatstone bridge and op-amp which transform impedance
variable to voltage variable; voltage is then amplify
iii. Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC)
 convert voltage to a digital form
 The output will then display on computer
 Allows the processor at the center of the microcontroller to interface with water
level sensors
2.2 Physical Design of Water Level System
i. Main body (container)
To store water and measure the rise of water level. Total length is 21cm with diameter
of 6cm. Transparency of container provides a good observation of water level change.
Points are mark on the plastic bottle with 1cm measurement range. Reference zero
point are mark at the some distance from bottom of container.

ii. Side body (partial water plastic bottle)

Install at the side of main body and combine with it to become single entity. The
purpose of this part is being the placement or storage for breadboard with wire
connection to two plates, 10MΩ resistor and Arduino Nano. It has a length of 13.5cm
and radius of 2.25cm. The angle made to attached firmly to main body is around 180°
to 200°.
iii. 2 plates (donut board)
Donut board is break into half, providing 2 long symmetrical plates. The plates has a
dimension of length with 14.5cm, width with 1.6cm and thickness value of 0.2cm. The
gap between 2 plates is 0.6cm.

iv. Microcontroller (Arduino Nano)

Used in sensor where it reads the input from the sensor and turn those input into output.
It gather the input, process them and give an output based on the input information
gathered. The dimension of this part is standard size where it has a length of 43.18cm.
 v. Breadboard
For components connection where it can build a temporary circuits to demonstrate the
use of water level sensor. It’s length is 8.2cm and width is 3.8cm, thickness value is
1cm.

Assembled product

**Engineering Drawings with dimension labelled shown at the next page.**

 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

F F

R1.25

6. 0
0
E E

1.50
D D

0.50
0.10
C C

0.30
21.00

B B
UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED: FINISH: DEBURR AND
DO NOT SCALE DRAWING REVISION
DIMENSIONS ARE IN MILLIMETERS BREAK SHARP
SURFACE FINISH: EDGES
TOLERANCES:
LINEAR:
ANGULAR:

NAME SIGNATURE DATE TITLE:

DRAWN

CHK'D

APPV'D

A MFG
A
Q.A MATERIAL: DWG NO.

main body
A3

WEIGHT: SCALE:1:2 SHEET 1 OF 1

8 Educational Product.
SOLIDWORKS 7 For Instructional Use
6 Only. 5 4 3 2 1
 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

F F

R2.24

13
5°
E E

D D

0.20
0.10
C C
13.50

B B
UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED: FINISH: DEBURR AND
DO NOT SCALE DRAWING REVISION
DIMENSIONS ARE IN MILLIMETERS BREAK SHARP
SURFACE FINISH: EDGES
TOLERANCES:
LINEAR:
ANGULAR:

NAME SIGNATURE DATE TITLE:

DRAWN

CHK'D

APPV'D

A MFG
A
Q.A MATERIAL: DWG NO.

side body
A3

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8 Educational Product.
SOLIDWORKS 7 For Instructional Use
6 Only. 5 4 3 2 1
 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

F 1.60 F

0.20

E E

D D
14.50

C C
0.10

B B
UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED: FINISH: DEBURR AND
DO NOT SCALE DRAWING REVISION
DIMENSIONS ARE IN MILLIMETERS BREAK SHARP
SURFACE FINISH: EDGES
TOLERANCES:
LINEAR:
ANGULAR:

NAME SIGNATURE DATE TITLE:

DRAWN

CHK'D

APPV'D

A MFG
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Q.A MATERIAL: DWG NO.

plates
A3

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8 Educational Product.
SOLIDWORKS 7 For Instructional Use
6 Only. 5 4 3 2 1
 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

F F

4.80
E 3.00 E

1.20
D D
43.18

C C

17.00

B B
UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED: FINISH: DEBURR AND
DO NOT SCALE DRAWING REVISION
DIMENSIONS ARE IN MILLIMETERS BREAK SHARP
SURFACE FINISH: EDGES
TOLERANCES:
LINEAR:
ANGULAR:

NAME SIGNATURE DATE TITLE:

DRAWN

CHK'D

APPV'D

A MFG
A
Q.A MATERIAL: DWG NO.

Arduino Nano
A3

WEIGHT: SCALE:2:1 SHEET 1 OF 1

8 Educational Product.
SOLIDWORKS 7 For Instructional Use
6 Only. 5 4 3 2 1
 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

F F

0.24
3.80

E E

0.15
0.15

D D

8.20

0.30
1.00
C C

B B
UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED: FINISH: DEBURR AND
DO NOT SCALE DRAWING REVISION
DIMENSIONS ARE IN MILLIMETERS BREAK SHARP
SURFACE FINISH: EDGES
TOLERANCES:
LINEAR:
ANGULAR:

NAME SIGNATURE DATE TITLE:

DRAWN

CHK'D

APPV'D

A MFG
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Q.A MATERIAL: DWG NO.

bread board
A3

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8 Educational Product.
SOLIDWORKS 7 For Instructional Use
6 Only. 5 4 3 2 1
 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

F F

E E

D D

C C

B B
UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED: FINISH: DEBURR AND
DO NOT SCALE DRAWING REVISION
DIMENSIONS ARE IN MILLIMETERS BREAK SHARP
SURFACE FINISH: EDGES
TOLERANCES:
LINEAR:
ANGULAR:

NAME SIGNATURE DATE TITLE:

DRAWN

CHK'D

APPV'D

A MFG
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Q.A MATERIAL: DWG NO.

Assem1
A3

WEIGHT: SCALE:1:2 SHEET 1 OF 1

8 Educational Product.
SOLIDWORKS 7 For Instructional Use
6 Only. 5 4 3 2 1
2.3 Material Selection and Fabrication Techniques
To produce a capacitive water level sensor, two plates are prepared which is donut board. The
material of donut board is Fiber Glass-Reinforced Epoxy where this materials belongs to fiber-
reinforced plastics.

We choose this material instead of metal plates because soldering process on donut board is
easier than on metal plates. Instead of using a crocodile clip wires which only provide
temporary connection, soldering process is implemented in our sensor to ensure that our
assembled DIY water level sensor would not breakdown easily. Soldering process provides a
strong mechanical connection between electrical components and it can act as a conductor that
could carries electrical signal from one to another.

Donut Board are firstly break into halves becoming two plates. Then, melted soldering iron is
tip on the end of wires over the exposed copper and the point for donut board. The wires and
donut board are merged up, leaving to cool down for the completion of soldering process.
Next, a waste plastic bottle is used as a container for the measurement of water level. Reusing
plastic bottle is good for environment and it could save the cost of fabrication process. The
container is a transparent item so that it could ease for the observation on the rise of water level
height. Points are mark on the plastic bottle using ruler and marker pen. Reference zero point
are mark at the some distance from bottom of container.

Since the material used to measured is chia seed which replace water that are electrical
conductive solvent, hence plastic or rubber are not used in wrapping donut board to make it a
waterproof plates because water might accidentally touch the plates causing short circuit. Two
plates are aligned accordingly with a gap of 0.6cm and they are positioned near with water
level scale marking.
Arduino Nano is used as microcontroller which are able to read input from the sensor and turn
those input into output. Arduino Nano is chosen over the other Arduino boards because it is a
simple type of microcontroller which has easy accessibility where it is suitable for beginners
who don’t know much about electronics are suitable. It is fit on a breadboard for the following
connection.
After that, wires that are soldered on donut board plates are connected to Arduino Nano by
inserting the other end of wires into bread board. Red cable is connected to pin 6 while the
black cable connected to ground. 10MΩ resistor is connected to the breadboard by pin 6 and
pin 4. The final connection will be looking like this.

Finally, one small plastic bottle is cut into half cylinder shape and it is attached to the side of
main body plastic container where this is used for the placement of breadboard. Cellophane
tape is used to hold both plastic bottles together making them to become temporary single
entity. Once everything is done, Arduino Nano is connected to computer through a USB cable
for coding to have calibration and accuracy testing.
 Chapter 3
3.1 Sensor Selection
The sensor that we used for this project is capacitive sensor.

The powder level sensor is change with variation of shared area of plates, A and dielectric
constant, ε when the powder is being filled the in the container. It will filled the area of the
shared plates and provide different dielectric constant. This sensor is chosen mainly because:

 Cost effective and simple to design.

 Very sensitive to small changes.
 Easy to calibrate.
3.2 Signal Conditioning System Modelling & Design.

Figure 8 Signal Conditioning

The illustration above depicts the signal conditioning utilized in this project, where the output
voltage is sent to the Arduino Nano for calibration. The pins A4 to A6 of the Arduino Nano
can function as analog inputs. By connecting a level sensor pin to an analog input pin, the
Arduino can use the Capacitive Sensor function to calculate the analog value from the pin and
display the capacitive value as the level increases.

Schematic Diagram of Signal Conditioning

Figure 9 Schematic Diagram of Signal Conditioning

Circuit Drawing of Signal Conditioning

Figure 10 Circuit Drawing

Figure 11 Actual Circuit

3.3 Sample Calculation
1. Displacement x changes amount of dielectric material (chia seed and air) 𝜀 (𝜀 > 𝜀 )
inserted between plate. Total capacitance:

𝜀 𝜀 𝐴 𝜀 𝜀 𝐴
𝐶= +
𝑑 𝑑

2. Considering that the width of the plane is W:

𝐴 = 𝑤𝑥 ; and 𝐴 = 𝑤(𝑙 − 𝑥) , and thus the capacitance is:

𝜀0 𝑤
𝐶= (𝜀2 𝑙 − (𝜀2 − 𝜀1 )𝑥)
𝑑
3. Average capacitance value can get from the reading collected:

Σ𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝐴𝑣𝑔 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 =
7

7 + 10 + 4 + 7 + 12 + 7 + 10
=
7

=8

4. Given general linear equation is,

𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐

Then from the data collected we can plot the relation between Capacitance and
Length (ruler) and get the linear equation. C is capacitance and l are length.

𝐶 = 1159.2𝑙 − 802.87

𝑙 = (𝐶 + 802.87)/1159.2
3.4 Component Selection
Table 1 Component Used

No. Quantity Component

1 1 10 MΩ Resistor
2 1 Arduino Nano
3 2 PCB Board
4 2 Single Coper Wire

Arduino Nano choose instead of the Arduino Uno because it compact design and the
functionality that need in this project. PCB Board is selected because it easy to solder and
conduct electricity. It also very sturdy and easy to work with makes it best choice as level
sensor.

3.5 Arduino Display System

Figure 12 Serial Plotter Output

Figure 5 shows the graph capacitance value (blue), and length (red) against time. The blue line
show that the capacitance value increase when the chia seeds is poured into the container. When
chia seeds stop pore at certain level the capacitance value will stay constant with a little
fluctuation. Meanwhile the red live shows the length of chia seeds been pour to the container.
In the graph we barely see because the increases are much smaller compared to the capacitance.
 Figure 13 Serial Monitor Output

Figure 6 show the real time value capacitance (on the left) and the length in cm (on the right).
The value shows are the exact value and it change frequently due to environment and the
sensitivity of the sensor. This value will be record and used to determine the sensor accuracy.
3.6 Flowchart

Start

CapacitiveSensor cs_4_6 =
CapacitiveSensor(4,6);

setup()
{

cs_4_6.set_CS_AutocaL_Millis(0xFFFFFFFF)
Serial.begin(9600)
}

Loop

long start = millis();

long total2 =
cs_4_6.capacitiveSensor(30);
float level = ((float)total2+802.87)/1159.2;

display(total2)
display(level)

Set delay 500ms

3.7 Algorithm
1. Start
2. CapacitiveSensor cs_4_6 = CapacitiveSensor(4,6)
3. Setup
 cs_4_6.set_CS_AutocaL_Millis(0xFFFFFFFF)
 Serial.begin(9600)
4. Loop
 long start = millis()
 long total2 = cs_4_6.capacitiveSensor(30)
 float level = ((float)total2+802.87)/1159.2
 Serial.print(total2)
 Serial.print('\t')
 Serial.println(level)
 delay(500);
5. End
 Chapter 4
4.1 Sensor Calibration Requirements and its importance.

To work as accurately and error-free as possible, an instrument or sensor may require a series
of modifications known as sensor calibration. The main benefit of calibration is that it ensures
measurement reproducibility and accuracy. Due to use, ageing, and environmental conditions,
even the most sensitive and demanding measurement system or equipment can lose accuracy.
As a result, it requires periodic recalibration. The implementation of a test equipment
monitoring procedure and the calibration of measuring tools are required by DIN EN ISO 9001.
As a result, many companies have quality assurance plans that need regular calibration.

4.2 Sensor Calibration Procedure

The first step in calibration is to determine the relationship between the transducer input and
its relative output. For this project, the input is the level of Chia seeds in the plastic bottle and
the output from the capacitive transducer will be relative capacitance. The relationship is
determined by measuring the capacitance at different levels of chia seeds in the plastic bottle.
The Calibration procedure is as below:

1. A transparent water bottle is used, and length is marked with increments of 1 cm using
a flexible tape ruler. Flexible tape ruler is used to be able to measure the inner dimension
of the plastic bottle. The reference zero point is at the bottom of the plastic bottle.
2. The two copper board strips with 0.6cm gap between them are positioned adjacent and
close to the scale markings made earlier in Step 1. This is to reduce error potential in
the sensor readings.
3. The two plates are then connected to Arduino Nano placed on a breadboard. Red cable
is connected to pin 6 while the black cable connected to ground. 10 Mega Ohm resistor
is used to connect pin 6 to pin 4. Arduino Nano is then connected to computer through
USB-C. The capacitance sensing algorithm as shown in Chapter 3 is compiled and
uploaded to Arduino Nano using Arduino IDE
4. The capacitance value is recorded when the plastic bottle is empty. In this case, the air
is the dielectric. For this project, the average of 7 capacitance readings were considered
 at each Chia seeds level. When the plastic bottle was empty, the average capacitance
reading was 8. The Capacitance reading is taken when the signal is stable.
5. Chia seeds are poured into the empty plastic bottle until its height is 1 cm from the
bottom of plastic bottle. The average of its corresponding capacitance readings was
556.
6. Step 5 is repeated by increment of 1cm until Chia seeds height reach 12cm from the
plastic bottle bottom. The average capacitance at each successive increments were
taken into consideration.
7. All the data is recorded in Excel spreadsheet and a graph of Capacitance vs Length is
plotted. Length is the height of chia seeds top surface in the plastic bottle from its
bottom.
8. From the graph, the relationship between Capacitance and corresponding length is
determined as 𝐶 = 1159.2𝑙 − 802.87
( . )
9. The Equation is rearranged to compute the length in terms of Capacitance, 𝑙 = .

(Table 4.1 shows Measured Length Value and the Corresponding Capacitance Readings)
Ruler C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 ∑ 𝐶
(cm) 7

0 7 10 4 7 12 7 10 8
1 559 550 559 557 557 560 552 556
2 1623 1617 1608 1601 1600 1607 1605 1609
3 2479 2490 2484 2492 2494 2498 2485 2489
4 3222 3213 3205 3213 3225 3215 3224 3217
5 4700 4687 4680 4676 4666 4667 4660 4677
6 5888 5906 5894 5895 5894 5908 5904 5898
7 6967 6977 6967 6985 6977 6988 6970 6976
8 8299 8312 8300 8291 8305 8315 8302 8303
9 9255 9225 9260 9241 9269 9266 9266 9255
10 11133 11125 11130 11120 11127 11137 11149 11132
11 12199 12219 12234 12208 12206 12220 12256 12220
12 13604 13637 13626 13660 13635 13658 13660 13640
 (Figure 4.1 shows a relationship graph between Capacitance and Length in cm)

4.3 Sensor Accuracy Testing Procedure

To determine the sensor accuracy, the relationship between Capacitance and length generated
from sensor calibration procedure is added into the algorithm as shown in Chapter 3. The
Accuracy testing procedure is as below:
1. Include the Capacitance and length relationship in the sensor calibration algorithm to
be compiled and uploaded to Arduino Nano.
2. Repeat steps 4 to 6 from the sensor calibration procedure. This time the sensor will give
numerous calibrated values of length at each Chia Seeds Level. For each successive
Chia Seeds Level, the average readings are taken once the readings stabilises.
3. The average calibrated value of length is compared to the respective actual value of
length of Chia seeds from the plastic bottle’s bottom and absolute error is determined
using this formula:
∆𝑙 = ||𝑙 − 𝑙 ||
∆𝑙 = Absolute Error (cm)
𝑙 = Actual measured length (cm)
𝑙 = Average Calibrated length (cm)
 The mean absolute error for all the readings from 0 to 12 cm is also calculated using:
∑ ∆
MAE =
4. From the Absolute error value, the True Error values are determined using:
𝛿 = |𝑙 − 𝑙 /𝑙 |× 100%
𝛿 = True Error percentage
5. The Calibrated Values, Absolute Error and True Error percentages are tabulated.

(Table 4.2 shows Calibrated readings of Chia Seeds Level and respective true error)
Actual Chia Calibrated Value Average Abs True Error,
Seeds Level (cm) Range (cm) Calibrated Value Error,∆𝒍 𝜹 (%)
(cm) (cm)
0 0.69-0.71 0.700 0.700 -
1 1.04-1.06 1.050 0.050 5.00
2 1.96-1.97 1.965 0.035 1.75
3 3.00-3.02 3.010 0.010 0.33
4 4.18-4.20 4.190 0.190 4.75
5 5.04-5.06 5.050 0.050 1.00
6 6.01-6.03 6.020 0.020 0.33
7 7.17-7.19 7.180 0.180 2.57
8 8.08-8.09 8.085 0.085 1.06
9 9.04-9.06 9.050 0.050 0.56
10 10.13-10.15 10.140 0.140 1.40
11 11.15-11.16 11.155 0.155 1.41
12 12.36-12.38 12.370 0.370 3.08
∑𝟏𝟐
𝒊 𝟎 ∆𝒍 - - 0.157 -
𝟏𝟑
 (Figure 4.2 shows relationship between Avg Calibrated Value and Actual Chia Seed Level)

The relationship between Calibrated Value and Actual Chia Seed Level is proven to show
linear correlation with the coefficient of determination, R2 = 0.9975. The Mean Absolute Error
of all the readings from 0 to 12cm is ±0.157cm.
 Chapter 5
5.1 Discussions
Based on the graph of capacitance versus length, we can get a linear graph that has the
equation of y=1159.2x-802.87. The gradient of the graph is 1159.2. Thus, we can know that
the capacitance value is increasing linearly. We measured the length of the chia seed in the
range of 0 to 12cm. The increment for the length is 1 cm. Based on the result obtained in Table
4.1 and Figure 4.1, we can observe that the capacitance will increase linearly when the length
increase. Thus, we can know the relationship between length and capacitance is directly
proportional. At the beginning of the measurement, the length is 0 cm. Currently, the metal
plates already provide us with the result of 8F. Then, when the length is 12 cm, the metal plates
provide us with a capacitance value is 13640 F. When the length is maximum, the reading of
capacitance value will also reach maximum. For increasing the accuracy of the value, all the
readings are taken 7 times and then we calculate the average value. From Table 4.2, we
calculate the calibrated value range and the percentage error for every 1cm increment. The
maximum percentage error occurs when the Chia seeds level reached 1 cm which is 5%. The
percentage errors can show us the accuracy of the capacitive sensor. From Figure 4.2, we can
observe that all the percentage errors calculated are less than 5%. The gradient of the line in
Figure 4.2 is 0.9975 which is very close to 1 so it was almost a perfectly linear graph. This
means the experimental value is very close to the actual value. The Mean Absolute Error of all
the readings from 0 to 12cm is 0.157cm This indicates that the design instrumentation system
for measuring weight from 0 to 12 cm is successful.
There are few errors that may happen when the measurement process is going on. The
errors may affect the result, which will affect the accuracy of the sensor. Firstly, the insulation
of the metal plate is a common error that will occur during measurement. Thus, when we use
our sensor to measure liquid such as water, we need to make sure that the insulation on the
surface of the metal plate must be done perfectly. So, the main purpose of our sensor is to
measure solid products such as sand and chia seed. When we measured these kinds of products,
the metal plate does not need to be insulated because these products are not conductive. Besides
that, the error is human error. Human error can be explained as after we pour the sand into the
sensor bottle, the measurement process is undergoing. Currently, when our hands are near the
metal plates, the reading of the measurement may also be affected. Next, the unbalanced shape
of the bottle can also be one of the reasons that cause the error. When the shape is unbalanced,
the accuracy of the capacitive sensor may affect. Lastly, the surrounding wind and vibration
could be the cause of the error.
There are several ways can improve the sensitivity of the capacitive sensor. One of
them is increasing the gain and the voltage supply to the circuit. After the voltage supply
increase, we can increase the sensitivity of the device. The maximum voltage that can be
amplified increases with the voltage given to the op amp. Gain increase aids in improving the
load cell's sensitivity. In order to guarantee that our design circuit is both accurate and correct,
system accuracy technique is crucial. We can develop solutions to increase the capacity and
dependability of the load cell circuit with the aid of the system accuracy procedure.

5.2 Conclusion

In conclusion, an instrumentation system for level measurement using a capacitive

sensor was designed and developed. The proposed instrumentation system for accurate level
measurements has been calibrated. Throughout this project, we can learn the working principle
of the capacitive sensor. Like a standard capacitor, a capacitive sensor operates. In this sensor,
the sensing face contains a metal plate that is electrically coupled to an oscillator circuit, and
the target that is sensed can serve as the capacitor's following plate. A capacitive sensor
produces an electrostatic field as opposed to an inductive sensor, which produces an
electromagnetic field. From the results obtained from the measurement, we can know that the
capacitive sensor can produce a correct and accurate measurement. For higher accuracy of the
results, the users must always prevent the errors that may affect the accuracy of capacitive
sensor that listed in the discussion. When we can avoid the listed errors, we can minimize the
error produced from the capacitive sensor.
REFERENCE
i. renkeer_admin. (2022, August 16). Water level sensor: What, how, where, benefits,
types. Renke. Retrieved from https://www.renkeer.com/water-level-sensor-definition-
applications-benefits-types/

ii. Lutkevich, B. (2019, November 7). What is a microcontroller and how does it work?
IoT Agenda. Retrieved from
https://www.techtarget.com/iotagenda/definition/microcontroller

iii. Agarwal, T. (2019, June 24). Arduino Nano Board: Features, pinout, differences and
its applications. ElProCus. Retrieved from https://www.elprocus.com/an-overview-of-
arduino-nano-
board/#:~:text=Arduino%20boards%20are%20mainly%20used,not%20from%20the%
20technical%20background

iv. (June 21, 2020) Capacitive Transducer Retrieved from:

https://electricalbaba.com/capacitive-transducer/

v. Linquip Team (December 1, 2020) Active Transducer : All You Should Know About
Retrieved from: https://www.linquip.com/blog/active-transducer/

vi. Affan Malik What is the difference between the active and passive transducer?
Retrieved from: https://www.educative.io/answers/what-is-the-difference-between-
the-active-and-passive-transducer