idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Nachrichten, Termine, Experten

Grafik: idw-Logo
Grafik: idw-Logo

idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft

idw-Abo

idw-News App:

AppStore

Google Play Store



Instance:
Share on: 
10/10/2007 12:05

Knowing when the bridge breaks - wireless sensor network to assess building damage early

Dr. Ulrike Rockland Pressestelle
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)

    Damage commonly occurs in buildings when a component fails suddenly with a partial or total collapse as a consequence. This type of event leads to serious damage to property and if it is a bridge or a large hall, then people in particular are at risk. The often great age of bridges and the increasing volume of traffic (particularly heavy traffic) which they are expected to carry are in clear contradiction to each other. Thus the probability increases that the load-bearing capacity of a bridge decreases rapidly and often unnoticed with sometimes dire consequences.

    In order to prevent such accidents, the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing and the Berlin-based ScatterWeb Company are currently developing a special radio-based, self-configuring measuring system. This measuring system consists of a number of identically designed sensors which are self-sustaining, need no wiring, can act as both transmitters and receivers and are equipped with a special sensor technology making long-term monitoring of buildings or engineering facilities possible. This in particular applies to buildings and structures for transport and traffic and large-scale industrial facilities, where a subsequent wiring installation is difficult or impossible.

    In order to reliably monitor large or inaccessible objects over the long term, the radio range must be sufficient. The sensor unit uses strain gauges for stress analysis and contains interfaces for additional sensors. In addition, all components must exhibit a high accuracy of measurement and high energy-efficiency. The high network stability required can be ensured by the so-called multihop architecture which enables the exchange of failed modules and the integration of additional modules without interrupting the network operation.

    The project is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and unites two partners, both of whom are in a leading position in their fields. BAM's Division "Measurement and Testing Technology, Sensors" provides its competence in the field of sensor technology, experimental structure monitoring and early damage assessment while the ScatterWeb Company is prominent in the field of self-configuring wireless mesh networking.

    Contact:
    Dr.-Ing. Matthias Bartholmai
    Division VIII.1 "Measurement and Testing Technology, Sensors"
    Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM)
    12200 Berlin
    Phone: +49 30 8104-1912
    Fax: +49 30 8104-1917
    Email: matthias.bartholmai@bam.de

    Janis Anders
    ScatterWeb GmbH
    Charlottenstr. 16
    10117 Berlin
    Phone: +49 30 8020838-0
    Fax: +49 30 8020838-11
    Email: anders@scatterweb.net


    Images

    Criteria of this press release:
    Construction / architecture, Economics / business administration, Materials sciences, Traffic / transport
    transregional, national
    Research results, Transfer of Science or Research
    English


     

    Help

    Search / advanced search of the idw archives
    Combination of search terms

    You can combine search terms with and, or and/or not, e.g. Philo not logy.

    Brackets

    You can use brackets to separate combinations from each other, e.g. (Philo not logy) or (Psycho and logy).

    Phrases

    Coherent groups of words will be located as complete phrases if you put them into quotation marks, e.g. “Federal Republic of Germany”.

    Selection criteria

    You can also use the advanced search without entering search terms. It will then follow the criteria you have selected (e.g. country or subject area).

    If you have not selected any criteria in a given category, the entire category will be searched (e.g. all subject areas or all countries).