Monitoring Of Physical Parameters Research Articles

Preparation and Application of Metal Nanoparticals Elaborated Fiber Sensors.

In recent years, surface plasmon resonance devices (SPR, or named plamonics) have attracted much more attention because of their great prospects in breaking through the optical diffraction limit and developing new photons and sensing devices. At the same time, the combination of SPR and optical fiber promotes the development of the compact micro-probes with high-performance and the integration of fiber and planar waveguide. Different from the long-range SPR of planar metal nano-films, the local-SPR (LSPR) effect can be excited by incident light on the surface of nano-scaled metal particles, resulting in local enhanced light field, i.e., optical hot spot. Metal nano-particles-modified optical fiber LSPR sensor has high sensitivity and compact structure, which can realize the real-time monitoring of physical parameters, environmental parameters (temperature, humidity), and biochemical molecules (pH value, gas-liquid concentration, protein molecules, viruses). In this paper, both fabrication and application of the metal nano-particles modified optical fiber LSPR sensor probe are reviewed, and its future development is predicted.

Fiber Bragg grating sensors for monitoring of physical parameters: a comprehensive review

Fiber Bragg grating has embraced the area of fiber optics since the early days of its discovery, and most fiber optic sensor systems today make use of fiber Bragg grating technology. Researchers have gained enormous attention in the field of fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based sensing due to its inherent advantages, such as small size, fast response, distributed sensing, and immunity to the electromagnetic field. Fiber Bragg grating technology is popularly used in measurements of various physical parameters, such as pressure, temperature, and strain for civil engineering, industrial engineering, military, maritime, and aerospace applications. Nowadays, strong emphasis is given to structure health monitoring of various engineering and civil structures, which can be easily achieved with FBG-based sensors. Depending on the type of grating, FBG can be uniform, long, chirped, tilted or phase shifted having periodic perturbation of refractive index inside core of the optical fiber. Basic fundamentals of FBG and recent progress of fiber Bragg grating-based sensors used in various applications for temperature, pressure, liquid level, strain, and refractive index sensing have been reviewed. A major problem of temperature cross sensitivity that occurs in FBG-based sensing requires temperature compensation technique that has also been discussed in this paper.

Thermal comfort models and perception of users in free-running school buildings of East-Mediterranean region

This paper explores the impact of natural ventilation on the indoor thermal environment through an extensive field survey of educational architecture in Cyprus performed both during the winter and summer periods. The study included seasonal indoor and outdoor monitoring of physical parameters, as well as a questionnaire-based survey. The study shows that the naturally ventilated spaces on the upper floor demonstrate operative temperature below the acceptable comfort zone during the winter period, while during the summer period, the findings show the vulnerability of the occupants to summertime temperatures. During the winter, a closed classroom shows the best results in terms of operative temperature; however, this conflicts with the air quality. During the summer, the case of cross-ventilation, both during the day and night, is the most efficient and operative way to passively cool educational premises. Moreover, the results of the subjective survey demonstrate that most students feel comfortable in both the winter and summer demonstrating high thermal tolerance. The results of the current study can be applied to inform strategies for the improvement of thermal comfort and reduction of energy use in educational buildings, as well as the design of new educational buildings.

A General-Purpose Configurable RFID Epidermal Board With a Two-Way Discrete Impedance Tuning

Current advances of the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology can boost the emerging class of biointegrated skin devices exploiting low-power (even passive) wireless communication and sensing interfaces. This work describes a small-size (3 cm × 3 cm) flexible UHF RFID board conceived for the rapid laboratory experimentation and suitable to multipurpose monitoring of physical parameters (e.g., temperature and sweat) over the skin and/or over clothing layers and medical plasters. An engineered open-loop antenna is coupled with a two-way discrete (four states) tuning circuit to compensate the frequency shifts that occur in real applications due to the intrinsic variability of the human body. The capability of the tuning mechanism to down/up-shift the operating frequency and to restore the default state is validated by means of both numerical simulation and measurements over some volunteers in realistic conditions.

Multi-Organs-on-Chips: Towards Long-Term Biomedical Investigations.

With advantageous features such as minimizing the cost, time, and sample size requirements, organ-on-a-chip (OOC) systems have garnered enormous interest from researchers for their ability for real-time monitoring of physical parameters by mimicking the in vivo microenvironment and the precise responses of xenobiotics, i.e., drug efficacy and toxicity over conventional two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures, as well as animal models. Recent advancements of OOC systems have evidenced the fabrication of ‘multi-organ-on-chip’ (MOC) models, which connect separated organ chambers together to resemble an ideal pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) model for monitoring the complex interactions between multiple organs and the resultant dynamic responses of multiple organs to pharmaceutical compounds. Numerous varieties of MOC systems have been proposed, mainly focusing on the construction of these multi-organ models, while there are only few studies on how to realize continual, automated, and stable testing, which still remains a significant challenge in the development process of MOCs. Herein, this review emphasizes the recent advancements in realizing long-term testing of MOCs to promote their capability for real-time monitoring of multi-organ interactions and chronic cellular reactions more accurately and steadily over the available chip models. Efforts in this field are still ongoing for better performance in the assessment of preclinical attributes for a new chemical entity. Further, we give a brief overview on the various biomedical applications of long-term testing in MOCs, including several proposed applications and their potential utilization in the future. Finally, we summarize with perspectives.

Monitoring of Physical Parameters in Organic Waste Composting

The volume of biodegradable solid waste and its inadequate disposal have led to serious environmental problems, requiring efficient measures that prioritize the recycling of these wastes, promoting sustainability. The objective of this research was to monitor the behavior of physical parameters during the organic waste composting process. For this, 5 piles of organic waste were built through the composting technique developed according to the windrow method. The piles were composed of 70% of plant material, and 30% varied between manure and food remains. The piles were composed of 70% of plant material, and 30% varied between manure and food remains. The proportions were: I pile, 1:1 (15% manure and 15% rest of food); Pile II, 2:1 (20% manure and 10% rest of food); Cell III, 1:2 (10% manure and 20% rest of food); (30% manure and 0% rest of food) and the V pile in the ratio of 0:3 (0% manure and 30% rest of food). The evaluated parameters were temperature, moisture, pH, TOC, TN and C/N ratio. During the process of compost maturation, the parameters evaluated were kept within the established standards for the composting process.

The Intelligent Remote Control System Based on the Wireless Sensor Network

Remote control system is mainly used for industrial applications, such as the wireless control of factory equipment, and monitor factory environment parameters, like temperature, humidity, light intensity. This paper explores the current development of wireless sensor network (WSN) , and then this paper aim to construct an overall architecture of the remote control system on the basis of RS485 platform, and analyze and design the intelligent remote control system. Finally by testing the system, it prove to meet the specific needs of factory environment parameters monitoring. The system can achieve all kinds of physical parameter monitoring requirement from a remote device, such as humidity and light density. This remote control system based on the wireless sensor network provide a safety monitoring environment to operators.

Design of a hybrid (wired/wireless) acquisition data system for monitoring of cultural heritage physical parameters in Smart Cities.

Preventive conservation represents a working method and combination of techniques which helps in determining and controlling the deterioration process of cultural heritage in order to take the necessary actions before it occurs. It is acknowledged as important, both in terms of preserving and also reducing the cost of future conservation measures. Therefore, long-term monitoring of physical parameters influencing cultural heritage is necessary. In the context of Smart Cities, monitoring of cultural heritage is of interest in order to perform future comparative studies and load information into the cloud that will be useful for the conservation of other heritage sites. In this paper the development of an economical and appropriate acquisition data system combining wired and wireless communication, as well as third party hardware for increased versatility, is presented. The device allows monitoring a complex network of points with high sampling frequency, with wired sensors in a 1-wire bus and a wireless centralized system recording data for monitoring of physical parameters, as well as the future possibility of attaching an alarm system or sending data over the Internet. This has been possible with the development of three board’s designs and more than 5000 algorithm lines. System tests have shown an adequate system operation.

Performance assessment of pilot horizontal sub-surface flow constructed wetlands for removal of diesel from wastewater by Scirpus grossus

One of the appropriate development technology options for the treatment of wastewater contaminated with diesel is constructed wetlands (CWs). Throughout 72 days of exposure, sampling was carried out for monitoring of physical parameters, plant growth and the efficiency of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal, as an indication for diesel contamination, to assess the pilot-scale performance. Four pilot CWs with a horizontal sub-surface flow system were applied using the bulrush of Scirpus grossus. The CWs were loaded with different diesel concentrations of 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.25% (Vdiesel/Vwater). The TPH removal efficiencies were 82, 71, and 67% at the end of 72 days for diesel concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.25% respectively. In addition, the high removal efficiency of total suspended solids and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 100 and 75.4% respectively, for a diesel concentration of 0.1%. It was concluded that S. grossus is a potential plant that can be used in a well-operated CW for restoring 0.1% diesel-contaminated water.

Suspended-core fibers for sensing applications

A brief review on suspended-core fibers for sensing applications is presented. A historical overview over the previous ten years about this special designed microstructure optical fiber is described. This fiber presents attractive optical properties for chemical/biological or gas measurement, but it can be further explored for alternative sensing solutions, namely, in-fiber interferometers based on the suspended-core or suspended-multi-core fiber, for physical parameter monitoring.

Implementation and Verification of a Low-Power UHF/LF Wireless Sensor Network as Part of the Intelligent Container

Abstract In this paper a new Low-Power UHF/LF Sensor System for the use in a container environment is presented. The aim is the dynamic and precise monitoring of physical parameters to minimize the loss of perishable food during transportation. Next to common UHF based Wireless Sensor Nodes [1] an LF interface is added that is able to wake up dedicated Sensor Nodes and request particular sensor values. A basestation is used to handle the communication and monitor the acquired sensor data. The whole system is adapted to the specific needs of transportation and is integrated in a 40 feet refrigerated container and long term measurements are taken to verify the proposed concept.

Optical Fiber Sensing System Based on Long-Period Gratings for Remote Refractive Index Measurement in Aqueous Environments

In the field of aqueous environment studies, long-period fiber gratings are very attractive for the real-time monitoring of physical parameters, such as temperature and salinity. However, due to the fiber jacket removal, these are fragile devices when applied in real conditions, where mechanical loads and contamination with algae and other organic materials must be taken into account. This work describes a refractive index sensing head that has been developed and characterized for in situ measurement of water salinity and resistance to hard conditions.

A study of the social and physical environment in catering kitchens and the role of the chef in promoting positive health and safety behaviour

This is the account of a mixed method study of chefs and their kitchens in order to identify the nature of their workplace and how this affects their ability to manage health and safety in the kitchen. It included extended periods of observation, monitoring of physical parameters, analysis of records of reported accidents, and a series of reflexive interviews. The findings were integrated and then fed back in a smaller number of second interviews in order to test whether the findings fitted in with the chefs' understanding of their world. Major factors identified included survival in a market environment, the status of the chef (and the kitchen) within organisations, marked autocracy of chefs, and an increasing tempo building up to service time with commensurate heat, noise, and activity. In particular during the crescendo, a threshold shift in risk tolerance was identified. The factors, their interplay, and their implications for health and safety in the catering kitchen are discussed.

Development of autonomous control in a closed microbial bioreactor.

Space-based life support systems which include ecological components will rely on sophisticated hardware and software to monitor and control key system parameters. Autonomous closed artificial ecosystems are useful for research in numerous fields. We are developing a bioreactor designed to study both microbe-environment interactions and autonomous control systems. Currently we are investigating N-cycling and N-mass balance in closed microbial systems. The design features of the system involve real-time monitoring of physical parameters (e.g. temperature, light), growth solution composition (e.g. pH, NOx, CO2), cell density and the status of important hardware components. Control of key system parameters is achieved by incorporation of artificial intelligence software tools that permit autonomous decision-making by the instrument. These developments provide a valuable research tool for terrestrial microbial ecology, as well as a testbed for implementation of artificial intelligence concepts. Autonomous instrumentation will be necessary for robust operation of space-based life support systems, and for use on robotic spacecraft. Sample data acquired from the system, important features of software components, and potential applications for terrestrial and space research will be presented.