Design and validation of a fast wireless low-frequency vibration inspection system for offshore platform structures

Abstract

Structural health monitoring has become increasingly important in the effective evaluation of structural health conditions and the maintenance service of structures. The validity and convenience of obtaining sensor data are critical for data mining, feature extraction, and condition assessment. A fast wireless low-frequency vibration inspection system (FWLVIS) based on wireless sensor networks for offshore platform structural vibration inspection is presented in this paper. The designed system consists of intelligent acquisition equipment and eight wireless nodes with low-frequency acceleration sensors, while the entire system has 64 collection channels. The wireless nodes integrated with a vibration sensing unit, an embedded low-power micro-processing unit, a wireless transceiver unit, and a large-capacity power unit perform functions, which could perform data collection, initial analysis, data storage, and wireless transmission. The intelligent acquisition equipment integrated with a high-performance computation unit, a wireless transceiver unit, a mobile power source, and the embedded data analysis software could completely control the multi-wireless nodes, receive and analyze the data, and implement the parameter identification. Experiments are performed on a single pendulum, and then on an offshore platform model is constructed to verify the FWLVIS. The experimental results show that the system has the following characteristics: fast arrangement, high sampling rate, high resolution, and capacity for low-frequency inspection. Thus, the system has good application prospects and practical value in the field of structural health monitoring and non-destructive inspection.