I propose a new measurement experiment using Arduino, working as DAQ (data acquisition instrument). I proceed as described in the articles Arduino and Excel with PLX-DAQ and Voltage divider measurements with PLX-DAQ: I mount my circuit on breadboard powered by the Arduino board at 5V. I propose to analyze the charge and discharge of a capacitor and collect data in a Excel spreadsheet.
In this lab test, I use the following devices: 1 capacitor 3300µF (electrolytic), 1 resistor 1kΩ,1 switch, 5V Arduino supply.
I write the Arduino sketch reported below.
#define sensorPin A0 // select the input pin for the potentiometer
int sensorValue = 0; // variable to store the value coming from the sensor 0-1023
float sensorVoltage = 0; // variable to store the voltage coming from the sensor 0-5V
int cont = 0;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial.println("CLEARDATA");
Serial.println("LABEL,t,COUNTER,V-CONDENSATORE");
}
void loop() {
// read the value from the sensor
sensorValue = analogRead(sensorPin);
// calculate voltage
sensorVoltage = sensorValue*5.0/1023.0;
// send value to USB
Serial.print("DATA,TIME,");
Serial.print(cont++);
Serial.print(",");
Serial.println(sensorVoltage);
// delay 100ms
delay(100);
}
The figure below shows a measurement test with data collection in Excel and a 2-Dline type graph to represent voltage measured on capacitor.
