In recent years wireless sensor network systems have increasingly been used to monitor 6 infrastructure health. Advances in electronics and sensing systems have enabled the development 7 of various pressure sensing methods for pipe pressure monitoring. This article presents 8 laboratory based test results as part of the development and validation of a pipeline pressure 9 monitoring method based on force sensitive resistors (FSR). Additionally, in order to validate the 10 data, the proposed pressure sensing method is compared with a commercially available direct 11 pressure sensor. Analysis of the data shows a significant correlation (correlation factor =0.9928) 12 between the commercial sensor and the proposed sensor. These results showed that the proposed 13 method has an acceptable accuracy and reliability even though it is not ultimately intended for 14 absolute pressure measurements, but for monitoring relative pressure changes in pipes. 15

In recent years, wireless sensor network systems have increasingly been used to monitor infrastructure health. Advances in electronics and sensing systems have enabled the development of various pressure-sensing methods for pipe-pressure monitoring. This article presents laboratory-based test results as part of the development and validation of a pipeline pressure-monitoring method based on force sensitive resistors (FSR). Additionally, to validate the data, the proposed pressure-sensing method is compared with a commercially available direct-pressure sensor. Analysis of the data shows a significant correlation (correlation factor = 0.9928) between the commercial sensor and the proposed sensor. These results showed that the proposed method has an acceptable accuracy and reliability even though it is not ultimately intended for absolute-pressure measurements, but for monitoring relative pressure changes in pipes. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.

A power source consisting of an indirect conversion radioisotopic battery and a capacitor is developed in order to power a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) sensor node. Design, fabrication and testing of this power source is undertaken and reported upon. The storage capacitor was charged at a maximum determined power of 575 nW by the radioisotopic battery. The power cycle requirements of a WSN sensor node are examined and separated into clearly delineated segments. The power source under examination may be suitable to provide all or only some of the segments of power required by a WSN sensor node. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Indirect conversion radioisotopic batteries (ICRBs) are investigated for use as long-life power source for autonomous buried applications. As part of this work the optimum configuration of this class of battery has been experimentally investigated. An ICRB was buried at a depth of 90cm for two months during which time its voltage was monitored, with these results presented. The ICRB successfully demonstrated the buried operation of this class of battery and suggested that the power of the device halves at twice the half-life of the radioisotope used.

Asset owners are continually investigating advances in real time condition monitoring systems with a high spatial resolution in order to improve the management of their assets. Utility network providers would particularly welcome such a system due to the inaccessible nature of their assets and their large extent. However, this inaccessibility and extensive nature poses significant issues for any monitoring system in terms of where to position the sensors, the powering of these sensors and how to retrieve the data from these sensors. This paper describes research currently being undertaken at the University of Birmingham investigating the powering and sensor system configuration for a randomly and non-randomly distributed array of sensors for monitoring buried water pipes. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Several thousands of kilometres of pipes and cables are buried beneath our streets. As they are not visible and easily accessible, the monitoring of their integrity and quality of their contents is a challenge. Any information on these properties aids the utility owners to plan and manage their maintenance regime. Traditionally, expensive and very localised sensors have been used to provide irregular measurements of these properties. In order to have a complete picture of the utility network, cheaper sensors need to be investigated, which would allow large numbers of small sensors to be incorporated into (or near to) the pipe leading to so-called smart pipes. Assuming the lifetime of the sensors is of the same order as the buried asset itself, it will not be possible to power these sensors using traditional power sources. This paper focuses on the different options available to power the sensors (non-regenerative and generative) and introduces ideas for the communication between these sensors and power management systems.