A wide-range suspended sediment concentration monitoring method

To achieve real-time monitoring of suspended sediment concentrations in rivers, lakes, and other water bodies, we have developed a cost-effective sensor that operates based on the principle of light transmission. The sensor features a wide detection range and is capable of real-time sediment concentration measurement. To address the challenges of sediment load measurement in rivers during the flood season, a two-stage amplification circuit was integrated into the signal acquisition system. This circuit effectively amplifies the acquisition voltage, generating three voltage curves. Experimental results demonstrate that the voltage variations of the two amplified curves are more pronounced at higher concentrations. Consequently, segmented fitting was applied to the three curves, thereby extending the sensor's measurement range. To further enhance the sensor's accuracy, the system employs a low-pass filter-random forest coupling algorithm for sediment concentration calculation. Experimental results show that the algorithm achieves an R² of 0.9985 and a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 1.5338%, indicating the sensor's exceptional stability and performance.