637 research outputs found
Utilization of Dynamic and Static Sensors for Monitoring Infrastructures
Infrastructures, including bridges, tunnels, sewers, and telecommunications, may be exposed to environmental-induced or traffic-induced deformation and vibrations. Some infrastructures, such as bridges and roadside upright structures, may be sensitive to vibration and displacement where several different types of dynamic and static sensors may be used for their measurement of sensitivity to environmental-induced loads, like wind and earthquake, and traffic-induced loads, such as passing trucks. Remote sensing involves either in situ, on-site, or airborne sensing where in situ sensors, such as strain gauges, displacement transducers, velometers, and accelerometers, are considered conventional but more durable and reliable. With data collected by accelerometers, time histories may be obtained, transformed, and then analyzed to determine their modal frequencies and shapes, while with displacement and strain transducers, structural deflections and internal stress distribution may be measured, respectively. Field tests can be used to characterize the dynamic and static properties of the infrastructures and may be further used to show their changes due to damage. Additionally, representative field applications on bridge dynamic testing, seismology, and earthborn/construction vibration are explained. Sensor data can be analyzed to establish the trend and ensure optimal structural health. At the end, five case studies on bridges and industry facilities are demonstrated in this chapter
Low-cost technologies used in corrosion monitoring
Globally, corrosion is the costliest cause of the deterioration of metallic and concrete structures, leading to significant financial losses and unexpected loss of life. Therefore, corrosion monitoring is vital to the assessment of structuresâ residual performance and for the identification of pathologies in early stages for the predictive maintenance of facilities. However, the high price tag on available corrosion monitoring systems leads to their exclusive use for structural health monitoring applications, especially for atmospheric corrosion detection in civil structures. In this paper a systematic literature review is provided on the state-of-the-art electrochemical methods and physical methods used so far for corrosion monitoring compatible with low-cost sensors and data acquisition devices for metallic and concrete structures. In addition, special attention is paid to the use of these devices for corrosion monitoring and detection for in situ applications in different industries. This analysis demonstrates the possible applications of low-cost sensors in the corrosion monitoring sector. In addition, this study provides scholars with preferred techniques and the most common microcontrollers, such as Arduino, to overcome the corrosion monitoring difficulties in the construction industry.The authors are indebted to the projects PID2021â126405OBâC31 and PID2021â126405OBâC32 funded by FEDER fundsâA Way to Make Europe and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Comâpetitiveness MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/, project PID2019â106555RBâI00 and project IDEAS 2.14 from Ports 4.0. It should also be noted that funding for this research was provided for Seyedâmilad Komarizadehasl by the European Social Fund and the Spanish Agencia Estatal de InvestiâgaciĂłn del Ministerio de Ciencia InnovaciĂłn y Universidades, grant (PRE2018â083238).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Dense and long-term monitoring of Earth surface processes with passive RFID -- a review
Billions of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) passive tags are produced
yearly to identify goods remotely. New research and business applications are
continuously arising, including recently localization and sensing to monitor
earth surface processes. Indeed, passive tags can cost 10 to 100 times less
than wireless sensors networks and require little maintenance, facilitating
years-long monitoring with ten's to thousands of tags. This study reviews the
existing and potential applications of RFID in geosciences. The most mature
application today is the study of coarse sediment transport in rivers or
coastal environments, using tags placed into pebbles. More recently, tag
localization was used to monitor landslide displacement, with a centimetric
accuracy. Sensing tags were used to detect a displacement threshold on unstable
rocks, to monitor the soil moisture or temperature, and to monitor the snowpack
temperature and snow water equivalent. RFID sensors, available today, could
monitor other parameters, such as the vibration of structures, the tilt of
unstable boulders, the strain of a material, or the salinity of water. Key
challenges for using RFID monitoring more broadly in geosciences include the
use of ground and aerial vehicles to collect data or localize tags, the
increase in reading range and duration, the ability to use tags placed under
ground, snow, water or vegetation, and the optimization of economical and
environmental cost. As a pattern, passive RFID could fill a gap between
wireless sensor networks and manual measurements, to collect data efficiently
over large areas, during several years, at high spatial density and moderate
cost.Comment: Invited paper for Earth Science Reviews. 50 pages without references.
31 figures. 8 table
Fiber optic sensors for industry and military applications
Fiber optic sensors (FOSs) have been widely used for measuring various physical and chemical measurands owing to their unique advantages over traditional sensors such as small size, high resolution, distributed sensing capabilities, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. This dissertation focuses on the development of robust FOSs with ultrahigh sensitivity and their applications in industry and military areas.
Firstly, novel fiber-optic extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) inclinometers for one- and two-dimensional tilt measurements with 20 nrad resolution were demonstrated. Compared to in-line fiber optic inclinometers, an extrinsic sensing motif was used in our prototype inclinometer. The variations in tilt angle of the inclinometer was converted into the cavity length changes of the EFPI which can be accurately measured with high resolution. The developed fiber optic inclinometers showed high resolution and great temperature stability in both experiments and practical applications. Secondly, a smart helmet was developed with a single embedded fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor for real-time sensing of blunt-force impact events to helmets. The combination of the transient impact data from FBG and the analyses using machine-learning model provides accurate predictions of the magnitudes, the directions and the types of the impact events. The use of the developed smart helmet system can serve as an early-stage intervention strategy for mitigating and managing traumatic brain injuries within the Golden Hour --Abstract, page iv
Intelligent Circuits and Systems
ICICS-2020 is the third conference initiated by the School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Lovely Professional University that explored recent innovations of researchers working for the development of smart and green technologies in the fields of Energy, Electronics, Communications, Computers, and Control. ICICS provides innovators to identify new opportunities for the social and economic benefits of society.ă This conference bridges the gap between academics and R&D institutions, social visionaries, and experts from all strata of society to present their ongoing research activities and foster research relations between them. It provides opportunities for the exchange of new ideas, applications, and experiences in the field of smart technologies and finding global partners for future collaboration. The ICICS-2020 was conducted in two broad categories, Intelligent Circuits & Intelligent Systems and Emerging Technologies in Electrical Engineering
Photovoltaics and Electrification in Agriculture
Integration of photovoltaics and electrification in agriculture. Works on the integration of photovoltaics in agriculture, as well as electrification and microgrids in agriculture. In addition, some works on sustainability in agriculture are added
Catalytic steam reformer tubes non-destructive inspection technology investigation and advancement : a dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Manawatu Campus, New Zealand
Catalytic Steam reforming is a chemical synthesis process used in the production of
hydrogen by mixing hydrocarbon with steam in the presence of a metal-based catalyst. This
is achieved in a steam reformer plant where the mixture of gases is elevated to high pressure
and temperature through a continuous process for efficient mass production of syngas to meet
the global hydrogen demand. One of the challenges in operating a steam reformer plant is
monitoring and maintaining the tubular reactors (Reformer tube). Under the severe service
conditions the tubes a subjected to various degradation mechanism which ultimately
determine the service life. With the tubes accounting to over 20% of the capital cost of a
reformer plant, it is of great significance to maximise the service life of each tubes, which has
been the motivation to the advancement in metallurgy and NDT technology around reformer
tubes from the introduction of Catalytic Steam reforming in the early 20th century.
Under the influence of long-term exposure of mechanical stressing and elevated temperature,
reformer tube is subjected to a material degrading phenomenon call creep deformation. In
1952, F.R. Larson and J. Miller devised the Larson-Miller Parameter which predicts the
lifetime of a material based on service temperature and stress-rupture time and for decades
this method was used design and managed reformer tubes on a time-based strategy of 10,000
service hour. However, case studies have time and time shown premature rupture of reformer
tube causing unexpected downtime resulting in significant loss in production and asset.
Hence engineers and researchers have worked on a more direct method of assessing the
remaining service life of reformer tubes.
Inline pipe inspection is a hot area of research in robotics and automation. Eddy current, laser
profilometry, ultrasonic and infrared thermography is the four technology that is currently
dominating the Reformer industry, of which laser profilometry assessment being the only
method capable of early stage creep detection. While other fields of pipe inspection have
advanced and industrially applied over past decades, it is the author's opinion that NDT
technology for reformer tube is outdated with areas of innovation. The aim of this research is
to investigate an alternative solution to overcome the challenges and limited faced in modern
systems and contribute to the advancement of NDT of Catalytic Steam reformer tubes.
Presented in this dissertation is a new framework for an autonomous Reformer Tube
inspection system, which incorporates a number of innovative elements for improved creep damage assessment. The program for this work is comprised of three studies. In the first
study, the challenges around process profilometry dataset is demonstrated, the limitation in
the available methods is discussed, and the impacts in regards to detection creep deformation
is identified. Based on the finding, a three-stage creep detection algorithm (CDA) is derived,
offering a dynamic solution to distinguish two modes of isotropic and anisotropic creep
deformation. The system is experimentally assessed using a set of profilometry measurements
collected from retire reformer tube.
In the second study, a novel method for tracking a motion of an object moving inside a
reformer tube is devised. Literature study showed that conventional profilometry system
suffers from measurement uncertainty cause from an uncontrolled rotation of measurement
instruction during an inspection. Because location information gives valuable insight as to the
performance of the plant, the long-range optic solution is conceptualised, based on polarising
filters and Malus Law, to overcome these limitations. In this research, a proof of concept
experiment is conducted to evaluate and justify the conceptual method through the
development of a working prototype. This novel technique is named Optical Position
Tracking (OPT) system.
Presented in the final study is an autonomous reformer tube inspection system developed on
the basis of the results and finding in the first portion of the research. The contribution of this
research is demonstrated with a working prototype justifying the practicality of CDA and the
OPT system. The design incorporates wireless communication, modular design, and modern
semiconductor sensing technology. In conclusion, this research met the first milestone for an
ongoing research to progress the NTD industry
Innovative Methods and Materials in Structural Health Monitoring of Civil Infrastructures
In the past, when elements in sructures were composed of perishable materials, such as wood, the maintenance of houses, bridges, etc., was considered of vital importance for their safe use and to preserve their efficiency. With the advent of materials such as reinforced concrete and steel, given their relatively long useful life, periodic and constant maintenance has often been considered a secondary concern. When it was realized that even for structures fabricated with these materials that the useful life has an end and that it was being approached, planning maintenance became an important and non-negligible aspect. Thus, the concept of structural health monitoring (SHM) was introduced, designed, and implemented as a multidisciplinary method. Computational mechanics, static and dynamic analysis of structures, electronics, sensors, and, recently, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) are required, but it is also important to consider new materials, especially those with intrinsic self-diagnosis characteristics, and to use measurement and survey methods typical of modern geomatics, such as satellite surveys and highly sophisticated laser tools
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