Sustainable wireless sensor networks for long term monitoring of corrosion of water pipes

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We are witnessing much progress in the field of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) to monitor large scale strategic assets, namely, underground water supply systems in municipalities, roads and bridges, and the natural habitat. Powering a large number of wireless sensors for decades is a key challenge in designing WSNs. The reliability, life time, and usefulness of a large-scale WSN is determined by its power sources. Therefore, in this proposal we focus on powering up WSNs with non-conventional power sources. Specifically, we will conduct research in WSNs powered with electrical energy harvested from the environment of the individual sensors. Energy harvesting poses new computing and communication challenges, including the intermittency of available energy, which leads to energy supply being unavailable at certain times or inadequate for certain needs. Our two industry partners are Cistech Ltd. and Technologie Sanstream. They are interested in: (i) designing a sustainable WSN for monitoring the corrosion characteristics of water pipes protected by means of the well-known SACP (Sacrificial Anode for Cathodic Protection) technique; (ii) operating a prototype WSN for a city's water supply system; and (iii) estimating the service life of an SACP protection system. We call a WSN with energy harvesting (EH) sensor nodes an EH-WSN. In this proposal, we will focus on sustainable EH-WSNs for long-term monitoring of steel pipes supplying water to homes in a city by pursuing three objectives O1-O3. In O1, we will design a hierarchical low-power EH-WSN for SACP applications. In O2, we will design a scheduler for the optimal operation of sensor nodes in an EH-WSN where energy is harvested from the ground around an SACP site. In O3, we will design a model to estimate the service life of an SACP system. This collaborative project will provide Cistech and Sanstream with cutting edge research results to design sustainable WSNs for long term monitoring of critical infrastructure. Additional benefits to Canada include new applications of WSNs, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, lower cost of delivering water in emerging smart cities, and less disruption in water supply due to preventive maintenance.**********