Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 9, No.

1, 2017

Design of Induced Polarization Transmitter

Using Microcontroller for Selection of Low
Frequencies
I. Krishna Rao, Department of ECE, Vignan’s Institute of Information Technology, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
E-mail:krishnaraomvpippili@gmail.com
Rudra Pratap Das, Department of ECE, Vignan’s Institute of Information Technology, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
E-mail:drrudrapratapdas@yahoo.com
S. Ravikumar, Department of ECE, Vignan’s Institute of Information Technology, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
E-mail:ravi.cool434@gmail.com
G. Thiagarajan, Department of ECE, Vignan’s Institute of Information Technology, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
E-mail:gtrajan.thiagarajan@gmail.com
Abstract--- Induced polarization is a technique that is used to find resistivity and chargeability of underground
layers of earth by using time domain and frequency domain methods. An induced polarization transmitter system is
designed using the Atmega16 Microcontroller and C programming language. The system produces 110 volt AC/DC
and 220 volt AC/DC output voltages. The transmitter system using Microcontroller generates multi frequency
square wave voltage/current signals in the range of 0.1 Hz, 0.3 Hz, 0.5Hz, 0.7Hz, 1Hz, 3Hz, 5Hz and 10Hz.
Keywords--- Resistivity, Resistivity, Chargeability, Induced Polarization, Time Domain, Frequency Domain.

I. Introduction
Induced polarization1 is an electromagnetic method that has been used since last two decades primarily to
explore and plot the variation of resistivity and electrical permittivity of the earth by studying the distribution of
electric field. IP surveys are extensively used for exploration of mineral ores, for study of soil contamination in
industrial2 areas, identification of salinity intrusion in coastal areas, identification of clay zones etc. Various
electrode arrays can be used such as pole-dipole, dipole-dipole, etc. to map the change in resistivity and
chargeability with distance from subsurface3.

Figure 1: Phase Shift among an Applied Voltage and the Resulting Current
The process of shifting introduces a phase delay between the applied and the received voltage4, and this, requires
that the energy in the applied field is stored before being converted into current flow. In an electrical circuit, this
storage is known as a capacitor5.
The complex properties measured in the earth are frequency dependent6.7. The resistivity is observed to be
strongly dependent on frequency.8 The resistivity decreases with increasing frequency. IP effects are generally most
pronounced at fairly low frequencies9,10 of (0.1 and 20Hz).

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II. Methodology
The current paper describes the working principle of induced polarization11. The system generates a 50 Hz
square wave signal, at the output of ATMEGA16 microcontroller. It is applied at the input of the primary windings
of the center tap transformer through power MOSFETs Q1 and Q212. Heat sinks are mounted on to the MOSFETs to
protect them from being damaged due to overheat when high load current passes through it13. A 12 volt DC voltage
obtained from battery is applied to the primary winding of the TR1 transformer and it is converted to 110 AC volts
and 220 AC volts respectively at the secondary output windings of the transformer. The alternating voltage is then
applied to D1, D2, D3, and D4 diodes of bridge rectifier and the rectified output is obtained across the capacitor
after filtering.9

Figure 2: Circuit Diagram of the Transmitter Power Stage Unit

Hardware and Software Description

Figure 3: Circuit Diagram for Frequency Selection

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2017

The circuit is designed to generate the desired frequency and display it with the help of pushbutton selection on
the front panel. Microcontroller unit consists of the MCU, LCD display circuit and reset circuit. ATmega16 is an
8-bit high efficiency microcontroller with low consumption. Using the C programming language the voltage signal
at 0.1 Hz, 0.3Hz, 0.5Hz, 0.7Hz, 1Hz, 3Hz, 5Hz or 10z is obtained at the output in the ATMEGA16 microcontroller.
The DC voltage obtained after filtering from the power stage is then converted into the square wave form through
the switching of the MOSFETs.
Flow Chart

Figure 4: Flowchart Showing Selection of Different Frequencies

Observations

Figure 5: Experimental Setup for Observations

The test setup is arranged using transformer, transmitter system and digital Storage oscilloscope. The induced
polarization transmitter system is simulated and tested for generation of different frequencies using push button
selection. The simulated output signal from the transmitter unit is stored and displayed on the display screen of the
Digital Storage Oscilloscope.

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III. Results

Figure 6: Output Waveform–0.1 Hz

Figure 7: Output Waveform–0.3 Hz

Figure 8: Output Waveform–1.0 Hz

Figure 9: Output Waveform–10 Hz

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Jour of Adv Research in Dynamical & Control Systems, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2017

IV. Conclusion
The IP transmitter power supply using microcontroller is tested and output is observed and recorded. The system
is safe and reliable for operation. The basic objective is to optimize the frequency according to the soil conditions. In
India selected frequencies vary from 0 to 4Hz (east coast to west coast). The related data is transferred and stored in
the computer where the data is then interpreted and studied.

References
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