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Controlling nutrients in a hydroponic growing system

Elmér, Kalle (2020)
Department of Automatic Control
Abstract
Hydroponics is a method for cultivating plants with their roots suspended in water. This means that the nutrients normally present in the soil have to be supplied artificially, in an appropriate amount. Electrical conductivity can be used to measure the nutrient concentration in a hydroponic solution.
This thesis implements a small-scale model of an automated hydroponic farm. The nutrient concentrate is controlled automatically in a closed-loop system using conductivity measurements as input. Process control is realized through a pump delivering concentrated liquid nutrients. Trials are conducted by growing lettuce to evaluate the performance.
Temperature variations are identified as a source of measurement errors. A compensation... (More)
Hydroponics is a method for cultivating plants with their roots suspended in water. This means that the nutrients normally present in the soil have to be supplied artificially, in an appropriate amount. Electrical conductivity can be used to measure the nutrient concentration in a hydroponic solution.
This thesis implements a small-scale model of an automated hydroponic farm. The nutrient concentrate is controlled automatically in a closed-loop system using conductivity measurements as input. Process control is realized through a pump delivering concentrated liquid nutrients. Trials are conducted by growing lettuce to evaluate the performance.
Temperature variations are identified as a source of measurement errors. A compensation method is tested using a separate temperature sensor. Additional input signal filters, which may be used for improved results, are also discussed. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Elmér, Kalle
supervisor
organization
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
report number
TFRT-6109
other publication id
0280-5316
language
English
id
9020350
date added to LUP
2020-07-16 09:03:19
date last changed
2020-07-16 09:03:19
@misc{9020350,
  abstract     = {{Hydroponics is a method for cultivating plants with their roots suspended in water. This means that the nutrients normally present in the soil have to be supplied artificially, in an appropriate amount. Electrical conductivity can be used to measure the nutrient concentration in a hydroponic solution.
 This thesis implements a small-scale model of an automated hydroponic farm. The nutrient concentrate is controlled automatically in a closed-loop system using conductivity measurements as input. Process control is realized through a pump delivering concentrated liquid nutrients. Trials are conducted by growing lettuce to evaluate the performance.
 Temperature variations are identified as a source of measurement errors. A compensation method is tested using a separate temperature sensor. Additional input signal filters, which may be used for improved results, are also discussed.}},
  author       = {{Elmér, Kalle}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Controlling nutrients in a hydroponic growing system}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}