Capstone Project Proposal

Outline öBuild an electronic system that measures resistance to successive electric pulses passed through an array of electrodes. Since resistance is related to sediment depth, the system can measure the deposition of particles in space an time. The result will be a powerful laboratory tool for measuring particle deposition, resuspension and and transport by turbulent flows.

Pictures Below are pictures of the system designed at the University of Cambridge

Electronic Design

You can see an outline of the depositometer system used by the University of Cambridge. This was designed almost 15 years ago.

You can also see a research paper reporting on experiment results using this apparatus.

Engineering Objectives

Students taking on this project should understand the principle of the University of Cambridge electronics design and software and then use their knowledge of modern electronics to adapt the system to make it more flexible and low cost.

The primary objective is to design and cost the system. This should be done by November 2013.

The system and associated software should be assembled during the winter term.

If time permits, the apparatus should be calibrated and tested for use in an experiment of particles raining out of a model volcanic plume (research that is presently being conducted by a graduate student who is using other techniques to measure sediment depth).

Bruce's home page

Department of Physics home page

Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences home page