A Novel Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) System for Water Content Estimation in Soils: Development and Application
Nowadays, there is a particular need to estimate soil water content accurately over space and time scales in various applications. For example, precision agriculture, as well as the fields of geology, ecology, and hydrology, necessitate rapid, onsite water content measurements. The time domain refle...
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| author | Alessandro Comegna Simone Di Prima Shawcat Basel Mostafa Hassan Antonio Coppola |
| author_facet | Alessandro Comegna Simone Di Prima Shawcat Basel Mostafa Hassan Antonio Coppola |
| author_sort | Alessandro Comegna |
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| description | Nowadays, there is a particular need to estimate soil water content accurately over space and time scales in various applications. For example, precision agriculture, as well as the fields of geology, ecology, and hydrology, necessitate rapid, onsite water content measurements. The time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique is a geophysical method that allows, in a time-varying electric field, the determination of dielectric permittivity and electrical conductivity for a wide class of porous materials. Measuring the volumetric water content in soils is the most frequent application of TDR in soil science and soil hydrology. TDR has grown in popularity over the last 40 years because it is a practical and non-destructive technique that provides laboratory and field-scale measurements. However, a significant limitation of this technique is the relatively high cost of TDR devices, despite the availability of a range of commercial systems with varying prices. This paper aimed to design and implement a low-cost, compact TDR device tailored for classical hydrological applications. A series of laboratory experiments were carried out on soils of different textures to calibrate and validate the proposed measuring system. The results show that the device can be used to obtain predictions for monitoring soil water status with acceptable accuracy (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.95). |
| format | Article |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-c928457075bc43259dd5bcccf8f1dbe22025-08-20T02:03:27ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-02-01254109910.3390/s25041099A Novel Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) System for Water Content Estimation in Soils: Development and ApplicationAlessandro Comegna0Simone Di Prima1Shawcat Basel Mostafa Hassan2Antonio Coppola3Department of Agricultural Forestry Food and Environmental Sciences (DAFE), University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Forestry Food and Environmental Sciences (DAFE), University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Forestry Food and Environmental Sciences (DAFE), University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, ItalyDepartment of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, ItalyNowadays, there is a particular need to estimate soil water content accurately over space and time scales in various applications. For example, precision agriculture, as well as the fields of geology, ecology, and hydrology, necessitate rapid, onsite water content measurements. The time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique is a geophysical method that allows, in a time-varying electric field, the determination of dielectric permittivity and electrical conductivity for a wide class of porous materials. Measuring the volumetric water content in soils is the most frequent application of TDR in soil science and soil hydrology. TDR has grown in popularity over the last 40 years because it is a practical and non-destructive technique that provides laboratory and field-scale measurements. However, a significant limitation of this technique is the relatively high cost of TDR devices, despite the availability of a range of commercial systems with varying prices. This paper aimed to design and implement a low-cost, compact TDR device tailored for classical hydrological applications. A series of laboratory experiments were carried out on soils of different textures to calibrate and validate the proposed measuring system. The results show that the device can be used to obtain predictions for monitoring soil water status with acceptable accuracy (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.95).https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/4/1099time domain reflectometry (TDR) techniquelow-cost systemssoil sensorsTDR device calibration and validationsoil water contentdielectric properties |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Comegna Simone Di Prima Shawcat Basel Mostafa Hassan Antonio Coppola A Novel Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) System for Water Content Estimation in Soils: Development and Application Sensors time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique low-cost systems soil sensors TDR device calibration and validation soil water content dielectric properties |
| title | A Novel Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) System for Water Content Estimation in Soils: Development and Application |
| title_full | A Novel Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) System for Water Content Estimation in Soils: Development and Application |
| title_fullStr | A Novel Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) System for Water Content Estimation in Soils: Development and Application |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Novel Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) System for Water Content Estimation in Soils: Development and Application |
| title_short | A Novel Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) System for Water Content Estimation in Soils: Development and Application |
| title_sort | novel time domain reflectometry tdr system for water content estimation in soils development and application |
| topic | time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique low-cost systems soil sensors TDR device calibration and validation soil water content dielectric properties |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/4/1099 |
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