Simulated raindrop's characteristic measurements. A new approach of image processing tested under laboratory rainfall simulation

Abstract The size of the drops determines soil erosion and runoff rates, and then the fate of ecosystems. Various raindrop measurement techniques and tools have been developed to determine natural and simulated raindrop size distributions and mean drop size. There is a need to improve the procedure to determine the raindrop properties, and this is why we develop a new technique to analyze drop size distribution and fall velocity. For this purpose a rainfall simulator with two oscillating Veejet 80100 nozzles in laboratory condition, and high speed imaging technique and edge detection approach in image processing was applied to identify and measure drop size and calculate drop velocity. The …