Sensor Geogrid Monitoring for Subsurface Infrastructure Health
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing infrastructure monitoring methods, such as visual inspection, are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and subjective, often failing to detect substructure issues until damage has occurred, necessitating costly repairs.
Innovation Solution
A sensor-enabled geogrid system with integrated sensors and a microcontroller-equipped sensor pod, connected to a computing network, applies multi-parameter algorithms to provide real-time data on infrastructure health, condition, and status below the surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If visual inspection methods are used to assess infrastructure health, then the inspection process is simple and requires minimal equipment, but the method is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and fails to detect substructure issues until damage has occurred
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection with an automated sensor system that uses electronic sensors, microcontrollers, and wireless communication to monitor infrastructure health. The sensor pod automatically collects data from multiple sensors and transmits it to a server, eliminating the need for human inspectors to physically examine infrastructure and enabling continuous monitoring without labor constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The infrastructure monitoring system performs self-inspection through automatically deployed sensor pods that continuously monitor structural health parameters. The system serves itself by automatically collecting, processing, and analyzing data without requiring external human intervention, enabling proactive detection of issues before they become visible through traditional inspection methods.
2Reliability
If sensors are added to infrastructure for monitoring, then real-time data collection is enabled, but accurate sensor placement is difficult and requires removal of existing materials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates sensors into infrastructure materials during the construction phase rather than attempting to install them afterward. The sensor pod is embedded within the infrastructure material (such as concrete or soil) before the material is finalized, ensuring accurate sensor placement without requiring removal of existing materials. This preliminary integration ensures the sensors are positioned correctly to monitor the intended infrastructure components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the sensor, microcontroller, and protective enclosure into an integrated sensor pod that can be installed as a single unit. This merging of components simplifies the installation process compared to installing separate sensors and processing units, and the pod can be embedded into infrastructure materials as one assembly, reducing the complexity of sensor placement.
3Ease of operation
If traditional visual inspection is used, then personnel costs are the primary expense, but the method is subjective and prone to human error in judging condition severity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces subjective human judgment with objective electronic sensing and automated data processing. Sensors objectively measure infrastructure parameters such as strain, displacement, and environmental conditions, and the microcontroller processes this data without human intervention. This eliminates the subjectivity and variability inherent in visual inspection by inspectors with different experience levels and judgment criteria.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous feedback through automated sensor monitoring that provides real-time data on infrastructure health. The system continuously collects data from sensors, processes it through the microcontroller, and transmits it to a server for analysis, creating a closed-loop feedback system that objectively monitors condition changes over time without human subjectivity.
4Reliability
If infrastructure monitoring is implemented, then proactive maintenance can be achieved, but the system complexity increases with multiple sensors and processing components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates multiple sensors and processing functions into an integrated sensor pod that combines the sensor array, microcontroller, and wireless communication module in a single unit. This merging reduces the number of separate components that need to be installed and managed, while the modular pod design allows the system to maintain proactive monitoring capabilities without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the sensor pod as a universal monitoring unit that can be deployed across different infrastructure types and locations. The multi-functional pod handles multiple sensing tasks (structural monitoring, environmental sensing, data processing) within a single device, reducing the need for specialized separate components for each function and simplifying the overall system architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A below the surface infrastructure monitoring system includes a polymeric geogrid comprising one or more sensors attached thereto; a sensor pod attached to the geogrid via fasteners and comprising a microcontroller, a wireless communications adapter, and a protective enclosure for receiving signals from the sensors; and a computing network comprising an infrastructure processing engine configured to receive the sensor signals and apply a multi-parameter algorithm using the received signals and data stored in a database to assess subsurface conditions.