Abstract
This paper proposes an innovative buried wireless sensor network (B-WSN) system for detecting leakage from pipeline joints caused by large ground movements such as earthquakes. The key challenge to any such system is that electromagnetic (EM) signal strength becomes significantly attenuated over short distances when wireless devices are buried in certain materials—notably soil, this paper’s focus. After simulation results indicated that the EM radio frequency was a key factor influencing the depth through which a signal can propagate in soil, the B-WSN system was developed, which includes a high-performance sub-1-GHz transceiver that utilizes a low-power band frequency at 433 MHz. Field testing indicated that the BWSN can achieve a penetration depth of 2.13 m. The system configuration includes a radio link budget of 120 dB, transmit power of 26 dBm, receive sensitivity of , and omnidirectional antenna gain of 1.5 dBi. The system works on multihop topology, meaning that each sensing node also acts as a relay node to assist other nodes buried deeper in the ground with data communication. For purposes of this paper, four hops were used, and this made wireless communication possible at an overall burial depth of 8 m. As such, the proposed B-WSN system would be compatible with most buried utility pipelines. The conducted full-scale pipeline-rupture experiment results further verified that the system can, in close to real time, pinpoint locations and subsequent patterns of water leakage caused by severe ground deformation. The findings also exemplify how the B-WSN system could aid structural evaluation of pipelines that are likely to experience large ground deformation. The average packet-loss rate was less than 0.1% during the experiment, and in terms of average power consumption, each sensing node used less than 26.5 mA per 30 s data-reporting period. Thus, the sensing nodes can be expected to function continuously for 27 days if powered by four standard industrial D-cell batteries, or for more than 2 years if the data-reporting period is changed to 1 h.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China, Taiwan, and Sinotech Engineering Consultants for financially supporting (ID: 105-2917-I-564 -053) this research. The authors are also grateful to Cornell University for supporting the Large-Scale Lifelines Testing Facility, and to Jitong Sun, Xiaoyan Huang, and Fei Du for their site work and technical support for B-WSN.
References
Akyildiz, I. F., and E. P. Stuntebeck. 2006. “Wireless underground sensor networks: Research challenges.” Ad Hoc Networks 4 (6): 669–686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adhoc.2006.04.003.
Akyildiz, I. F., Z. Sun, and M. C. Vuran. 2009. “Signal propagation techniques for wireless underground communication networks.” Phys. Commun. 2 (3): 167–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phycom.2009.03.004.
Ali, S., S. B. Qaisar, H. Saeed, M. F. Khan, M. Naeem, and A. Anpalagan. 2015. “Network challenges for cyber physical systems with tiny wireless devices: A case study on reliable pipeline condition monitoring.” Sensors 15 (4): 7172–7205. https://doi.org/10.3390/s150407172.
Almazyad, A. S., Y. M. Seddiq, A. M. Alotaibi, A. Y. Al-Nasheri, M. S. BenSaleh, A. M. Obeid, and S. M. Qasim. 2014. “A proposed scalable design and simulation of wireless sensor network-based long-distance water pipeline leakage monitoring system.” Sensors 14 (2): 3557–3577. https://doi.org/10.3390/s140203557.
Jawhar, I., N. Mohamed, M. M. Mohamed, and J. Aziz. 2008. “A routing protocol and addressing scheme for oil, gas, and water pipeline monitoring using wireless sensor networks.” In Proc., 5th IFIP Int. Conf. on Wireless and Optical Communications Networks, 1–5. New York: IEEE.
Jawhar, I., N. Mohamed, and K. Shuaib. 2007. “A framework for pipeline infrastructure monitoring using wireless sensor networks.” In Proc., Wireless Telecommunications Symp., 1–7. New York: IEEE.
Lai, T. T.-T., W.-J. Chen, K.-H. Li, P. Huang, and H.-H. Chu. 2012. “Triopusnet: Automating wireless sensor network deployment and replacement in pipeline monitoring.” In Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Information Processing in Sensor Networks, 61–72. New York: ACM.
Lassen, T. 2014. Long-range RF communication: Why narrowband is the de facto standard. Dallas: Texas Instruments.
O’Rourke, T. 2010. “Geohazards and large, geographically distributed systems.” Géotechnique 60 (7): 505–543. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2010.60.7.505.
Peplinski, N. R., F. T. Ulaby, and M. C. Dobson. 1995. “Dielectric properties of soils in the 0.3–1.3 GHz range.” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 33 (3): 803–807. https://doi.org/10.1109/36.387598.
Silva, A. R., and M. C. Vuran. 2010a. “Communication with aboveground devices in wireless underground sensor networks: An empirical study.” In Proc., IEEE Int. Conf. on Communications, 1–6. New York: IEEE.
Silva, A. R., and M. C. Vuran. 2010b. “Development of a testbed for wireless underground sensor networks.” EURASIP J. Wireless Commun. Networking 2010: 1–14.
Stoianov, I., L. Nachman, S. Madden, T. Tokmouline, and M. Csail. 2007. “PIPENET: A wireless sensor network for pipeline monitoring.” In Proc., 6th Int. Symp. on Information Processing in Sensor Networks, 264–273. New York: IEEE.
Sun, Z., P. Wang, M. C. Vuran, M. A. Al-Rodhaan, A. M. Al-Dhelaan, and I. F. Akyildiz. 2011. “MISE-PIPE: Magnetic induction-based wireless sensor networks for underground pipeline monitoring.” Ad Hoc Networks 9 (3): 218–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adhoc.2010.10.006.
Tan, X., Z. Sun, and I. F. Akyildiz. 2015. “A testbed of magnetic induction-based communication system for underground applications.” IEEE Antennas Propag. Mag. 57 (4): 74–87.
Vuran, M. C., and A. R. Silva. 2010. “Communication through soil in wireless underground sensor networks: Theory and practice.” In Sensor networks, 309–347. Berlin: Springer.
Wham, B. P., C. Argyrou, T. D. O’Rourke, H. E. Stewart, and T. K. Bond. 2017a. “PVCO pipeline performance under large ground deformation.” J. Pressure Vessel Technol. 139 (1): 011702. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4033939.
Wham, B. P., B. Berger, T. O’Rourke, C. Payiya-Ekkasut, and H. Stewart. 2017b. Performance evaluation of Bionax SR PVCO pipeline with extended bell joints under earthquake-induced ground deformation. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ.
Yu, H., and M. Guo. 2012. “An efficient oil and gas pipeline monitoring systems based on wireless sensor networks.” In Proc., Int. Conf. on Information Security and Intelligence Control, 178–181. New York: IEEE.
Yu, X., Z. Zhang, and W. Han. 2017. “Evaluation of communication in wireless underground sensor networks.” In Proc., IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 012083. Bristol, England: IOP Publishing.
Zaman, I., M. Gellhaar, J. Dede, H. Koehler, and A. Foerster. 2016. “Design and evaluation of MoleNet for wireless underground sensor networks.” In Proc., IEEE 41st Conf. on Local Computer Networks Workshops, 145–147. New York: IEEE.
Zemmour, H., G. Baudoin, and A. Diet. 2017. “Soil effects on the underground-to-aboveground communication link in ultrawideband wireless underground sensor networks.” IEEE Antennas Wirel. Propag. Lett. 16: 218–221. https://doi.org/10.1109/LAWP.2016.2570298.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 16, 2018
Accepted: Jan 7, 2019
Published online: Jun 22, 2019
Published in print: Nov 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Nov 22, 2019
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.