Wireless Sensor Network for Monitoring of Geo-Structural Systems

Presented in this paper is a wireless sensor network capable of large scale deployments for remote monitoring of geo-structural systems. The Wireless Sensor System (WSS) developed at Clarkson University allows for real-time, high-rate wireless data collection from an array of different sensors, including extensometers (strain gages) and accelerometers. The sensor network offers an economic solution for demanding large-scale monitoring applications, common in civil engineering. The developed wireless sensor network affords dense sensor deployments for distributed monitoring to provide insight into both the geotechnical and structural response of an entire system. This paper presents the capabilities of the wireless sensor network along with preliminary results from a field deployment of the system on a single-span integral abutment bridge in which real-time wireless data from an array of accelerometers was collected simultaneously with strain transducers through a single sensor network.