Distributed Vibration Measurements to Prevent Structural Damage – A Novel Application of Wireless Sensor Networks

Seismic campaigns and hydrocarbon production activities can generate extensive amount of vibrations which can impact on the structural stability of equipment, infrastructures and buildings. This paper describes a novel application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) designed to monitor in real time the amplitude and the frequency of vibrations reaching infrastructures and buildings, with the purpose of preventing structural damages. To address this application, a joint effort has been carried out by Eni and ABB to prototype a distributed vibration sensor network through the integration of an accelerometer into a WSN platform. The paper will present the design of the WSN architecture, as well as the tests and results that were achieved.