Automated data logging instrumentation system for wind speed and direction measurements

Abstract

Due to emergence of microcontrollers which enable real-time logging, viewing and analysis of data, many
new generation data acquisition products have been developed. There is an increasing demand for an
improved, efficient and up-to-date microcontroller-based data logger. In this study, a microcontroller-based
data logger was developed to measure the wind speed and direction using anemometer and wind vane
sensors respectively. The collected data was transmitted to a Personal Computer (PC) through an RS-232
serial interface, which was processed using the 208W Data logger support software and stored in EEPROM
memory for post process analysis. In order to test the effectiveness of the logger, wind data measured by
the microcontroller-based data logging system were analyzed through plotted line graphs, simple linear
regression charts and wind rose diagrams. The correlation indices for the two three sets of wind speed data
in the morning, mid-day and evenings were 0.997, 0.997 and 0.999 respectively. The wind speed measured
by the calibrated sensor correlated well with JKUAT Meteorological data. The strong correlation indicates
that developed system was effective and appropriate for measuring wind speed and direction. The system
being automated, accurate, appropriate and at the same time cost effective, has potential use in weather
forecasting, wind power plants, chemical manufacturing process and in airports among other applications.