Innovative Use of UHF-RFID Wireless Sensors for Monitoring Cultural Heritage Structures
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. The RFID Technology
- A tag, which is composed of an antenna and an integrated circuit (IC) that has simple memory and simple control logic functions and is packaged as a plastic or paper label. The tag is powered up by other elements of the system through an electric or magnetic field, then it is able to transmit the information that contains. Reading and writing are allowed in handling such information in the tag memory, which stores a unique identification code.
- The battery-less microchip inside the tag receives power through electromagnetic waves that are collected by the antenna of the RFID tag, then it allows the sending and receiving of the data contained in the memory by modulating the field back-scattered by the antenna.
- The reader, the device used to interrogate tags also reads and filters the information back-scattered from the tags. Readers can include their own antenna in an integrated structure or can use a distinct antenna.
- The management system (server, host computer) acts as an information interface between the reader and the network. It allows us to obtain all the available information associated with tagged objects, the identification codes of each tag, and to manage the whole system for the purposes of the use case.
3. Experimental Investigation of the Application of the UHF-RFID Tags for Structural Monitoring
3.1. Laboratory Tests: Monitoring the Tags Displacements under Out-of-Plane Action
3.2. Results of the Laboratory Experimental Tests
3.2.1. Results of the 1st Laboratory Test
3.2.2. Results of the 2nd Laboratory Test
- The displacements detected by the tags quite perfectly match the displacements imposed;
- The altered response of some tags is due to interference in the environment and also to the more distant position of the tags in relation to the reader’s antenna;
- Measurements are intrinsically affected by the built-in errors of the reader and by the errors that occur during the processing of the data received specifically the standard deviations of the phase’s values).
3.3. In Situ Experiments: Monitoring the Out-of-Plane Displacements of the Tags on Brick Walls
4. Results of the In Situ Experimental Tests
4.1. Test on the 1st Wall: Comparison between Wireless Tags Displacements and Displacements of the Wired Transducer
4.2. Test on the 2nd Wall: Comparison between Wireless Tags Displacements and Displacements of the Wired Transducer
5. Conclusions
- The response of the t in the laboratory environment was demonstrated to be very satisfactory, proving that the new application of wireless RFID tags for the monitoring of out-of-plane displacements is feasible and potentially very reliable.
- A weaker response of some t can be attributed to the intrinsic measurement errors of the reader itself and the errors in processing the received data (standard deviations of the calculated mean values of the phases) and to environmental interference together with the position of the tags with respect to the antenna.
- In situ experiments showed a weaker response of the t which registered displacements lower than those recorded by the wired transducer used as reference. The high presence of metal in the environment affected negatively the transmission of the electromagnetic signals, modifying the phases and consequently the indirect measurements of displacements. Unluckily, the position of the experimental set-ups necessarily near a metal wall of the building site contributed to negatively affecting the displacement results and the set-ups required steel frames to constrain the single walls and to fix the load cell.
- Technology limits related to environmental interference can be overcome in future research by using commercial UHF-RFID tags for the real-time monitoring of an existing masonry facade that does not need a steel frame and can potentially respond adequately and properly transmit the electromagnetic signal.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
UHF-RFID | Ultra High-Frequency-Radio Frequency Identification |
SHM | Structural Health Monitoring |
WSNs | Wireless Sensor Networks |
IC | Integrated Circuit |
PET | Polyethylene terephthalate (polyester) |
EPC | Electronic Product Code |
RSSI | Received Signal Strength Indicator |
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Composition | Material | Thickness [μm] |
---|---|---|
Top | Aluminum | 9 ± 5% |
Support | Polyester PET | 38 ± 5% |
Tag | Operating frequency | Operating temperature |
840–960 MHz | −40 °C to +85 °C |
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Gregori, A.; Castoro, C.; Mercuri, M.; Di Natale, A.; Di Giampaolo, E. Innovative Use of UHF-RFID Wireless Sensors for Monitoring Cultural Heritage Structures. Buildings 2024, 14, 1155. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14041155
Gregori A, Castoro C, Mercuri M, Di Natale A, Di Giampaolo E. Innovative Use of UHF-RFID Wireless Sensors for Monitoring Cultural Heritage Structures. Buildings. 2024; 14(4):1155. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14041155
Chicago/Turabian StyleGregori, Amedeo, Chiara Castoro, Micaela Mercuri, Antonio Di Natale, and Emidio Di Giampaolo. 2024. "Innovative Use of UHF-RFID Wireless Sensors for Monitoring Cultural Heritage Structures" Buildings 14, no. 4: 1155. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14041155