The combination of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags with different types of sensors offers excellent potential for applications with regard to identification, diagnosis, and monitoring. This should be demonstrated by means of two examples of actual developments carried out by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). The Identification and diagnosis of concrete components is a major task in the maintenance of critical infrastructure, for instance concrete bridges with heavy traffic volume. A feasibility study investigates the application of RFID sensor systems for this task. The second example reviews the transportation of dangerous goods. Using modern technologies enables promising possibilities to reduce accidents and to avoid non-conformity with transportation regulations. Project results demonstrate an innovative technical solution for monitoring of dangerous goods transports with RFID sensor systems.
A 400 m² soil test field with gas injection system was built up for the purpose of large-scale validation, optimization, and characterization of a novel comprehensive monitoring method for underground gas storage areas. The method combines gas sensing technology with linear form factor for in-situ monitoring of gases in soil with the mapping capabilities of Computed Tomography (CT) to reconstruct time-series of gas distribution maps based on samples of orthogonally-aligned linear gas sensors. Several injection experiments with carbon dioxide (CO2) at different days with varying boundary conditions indicates the potential of the method for, e.g., rapid leakage detection with respect to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) issues.
A multifunctional sensor in line shape was developed and introduced in previous work for measuring of gas concentrations, temperature change, and strain. A current field study focuses on a spatially distributed monitoring of subsurface CO2 gas storage sites in near real time.
Mechanical impacts, e.g., caused by construction work, denudation, and seismic activity, can affect the integrity of underground gas storage sites. Thermal or moisture impacts, e.g., caused by weather conditions, can influence the gas distribution behavior. In this paper, we briefly describe the setup of a CO2 injection soil test field. This setup contains actuating elements for the investigation of mechanical and thermal impacts on distributed subsurface gas monitoring. A concept is given for evaluating these impacts and first experimental results are presented.
The combination of RFID tags and energy efficient sensors offers promising potential for identification, diagnosis, and monitoring applications - particularly when it comes to objacts, which require continuous observation and which are difficult to access with conventional tools. This paper presents two examples as an outlook for RFID sensor systems in embedded structures and in mobile applications.
Concept for investigating mechanical and thermal impacts on distributed subsurface gas monitoring
(2016)
A multifunctional sensor in line shape was developed and introduced in previous work for measuring of gas concentrations, temperature change, and strain. A current field study focuses on a spatially distributed monitoring of subsurface CO 2 gas storage sites in near real time.
Mechanical impacts, e.g., caused by construction work, denudation, and seismic activity, can affect the integrity of underground gas storage sites. Thermal or moisture impacts, e.g., caused by weather conditions, can influence the gas Distribution behavior. In this paper, we briefly describe the setup of a CO 2 injection soil test field. This setup contains actuating elements for the investigation of mechanical and thermal impacts on distributed subsurface gas monitoring. A concept is given for evaluating these impacts and first experimental results are presented.
In the near future, it will be important to adopt innovative approaches and technologies in order to further guarantee the reliability and availability of the highway network. New tools are therefore needed in order 'to obtain in-depth information about the condition of bridges and its development early enough before significant, precarious damage cases occur. In 2011, the research program "Intelligente Brücken (Smart Bridges)" was launched by the BASt together with the BMVI to evolve systems for information and holistic evaluation for bridge structures as a supplement to the current inspection-based maintenance management. Several projects dealt with the topic in the last few years and provided guidelines and a solid basis to move towards a first implementation considering the input of all research projects carried out so far.