15-02-2011, 09:33 AM
Abstract:
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, from either natural triggers or human activity. At present snow gauge and direct measurements are the most commonly used techniques adopted for measuring snow depth. This paper deals with total design and implementation of microcontroller based snow depth sensor using ultrasonic pulses.
INTRODUCTION
Precipitation is mainly in the form of rain and snow. In the universe 5% of annual precipitation is in the form of snow. Snow avalanches occur in higher mountains as a result of heavy snow accumulations on steep slope. Avalanches are strong snowy storms which is often reaches upto 200 miles an hour and can exert forces great enough to destroy structures, traffic blocking, disruption of human life etc.[1] A need is felt to devise technique which help in measuring depth of snow to forecast the volume of the snow avalanche for understanding preventive measures to minimize the damages. At present snow gauge and direct measurements are the most commonly used techniques adopted for measuring snow depth. Both these techniques are not precise enough to record such frequent measurements of changes in snow depth as snow quickly settles down and undergoes metamorphosis.To overcome these limitations, this paper deals with total design and implementation of microcontroller based snow depth sensor which has been prepared for measuring depth of snow in the range of 0.5 to 4 meters. This model works using ultrasonic pulses. In this system sensors used send a 40KHz sound pulse and measure the time it takes to return to the sensors. This help in recording the frequent measurements of changes which may be occurring due to quick settling of snow and its metamorphosis.
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