Modelling of radio frequency waves in concrete

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Giatec's concrete sensors are designed to be embedded within the concrete, during casting, in order to collect data regarding the concrete temperature and/or humidity. The sensors periodically collect and store the data internally. In order to access and download the sensor data, the user connects to the sensor, through Bluetooth, using a smart phone or a tablet. This method allows users to collect data very conveniently with no specialized equipment which is a significant commercial advantage for Giatec.**Since the sensors use radio frequency (RF) waves to communicate with the smart phones, there is a limited depth (approximately 2 inches) at which the sensor can be installed. This limitation can be remedied if the effect of concrete properties and sensor hardware configuration on the propagation of RF waves is understood. This will allow Giatec to enhance its current method and produce sensors that can be embedded deeper within the concrete. In order to allow the sensors to be embedded deeper inside the concrete and overcome the current limitations, changes in the sensor hardware configurations are required. Furthermore, understanding the effect of concrete characteristics is necessary to ensure that the sensors' communication protocol will be valid for the wide range of concrete characteristics available in the field. Achieving this requires numerous very time consuming and rather expensive experiments. Numerical modelling, on the other hand, will allow Giatec to understand the current sensor system and optimize it for a wide range of cases that are very challenging to test experimentally.