Novel Concrete Temperature Monitoring Method Based on an Embedded Passive RFID Sensor Tag

Abstract

This paper firstly introduces the importance of temperature control in concrete measurement, then a passive radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor tag embedded for concrete temperature monitoring is presented. In order to reduce the influences of concrete electromagnetic parameters during the drying process, a T-type antenna is proposed to measure the concrete temperature at the required depth. The proposed RFID sensor tag is based on the EPC generation-2 ultra-high frequency (UHF) communication protocol and operates in passive mode. The temperature sensor can convert the sensor signals to corresponding digital signals without an external reference clock due to the adoption of phase-locked loop (PLL)-based architecture. Laboratory experimentation and on-site testing demonstrate that our sensor tag embedded in concrete can provide reliable communication performance in passive mode. The maximum communicating distance between reader and tag is 7 m at the operating frequency of 915 MHz and the tested results show high consistency with the results tested by a thermocouple.

Wireless Sensing of Concrete Setting Process

“…The results of the peak temperature values achieved during the first hours of the hydration reaction in Figure 9 , are in good agreement with those presented by [ 8 , 9 ] obtained using semi-embedded T-tag RFID sensors and also validated using thermocouples. The presented RFID sensor has also proven to remain well matched throughout the variations produced in the dielectric properties of the medium (validating the results presented in Figure 4 for the antenna Impedance Coupling Factor) and not interfering with the evolution of the setting process as it is fully wireless.…”

“…The potentiality of wireless coupled sensors has also been shown in [ 5 , 6 ] by embedding inside the concrete a strain sensor electromagnetically coupled to an external antenna, and in [ 7 ], RFID technology is used to couple a concrete-embedded strain gauge to an external reader to monitor 3-axis acceleration of concrete structures. Current systems, such as those in [ 8 , 9 ], employ passive RFID sensor T-tags to monitor the setting process of concrete. However, these systems present a poor performance at the beginning of the setting reaction of concrete, where substantial changes in the dielectric properties of the material are produced, as consequence of their probe-like based design.…”

Smartphone-Based Data Collection System for Repetitive Concrete Temperature Monitoring in High-Rise Building Construction

“…Kim et al [15] proposed a new temperature measurement method using the surface acoustic wave. Liu et al [16] improved the transfer distance of the embedded module using the embedded RFID sensor tag and outlined an economical system. However, again, those two studies had limits with respect to reusability because embedded sensor nodes were used.…”

Hash Functions and Benchmarks for Resource Constrained Passive Devices: A Preliminary Study

“…(a) Intel CRFID device: WISP4.1DL [4], [5]; and (b) Farsens Spider CRFID device [6]. deeply embedded applications [3] where battery replacements are not practicable. The challenge of providing basic security services to this emerging class of devices employing ultra low power computing platforms is significantly more difficult as a result of intermittent powering, and severe computation and energy limitations.…”