Micro-Measurement and Monitoring System for Ageing Underground Infrastructures (Underground M3)

土木工程师在21世纪世纪面临的最大挑战之一是对老化基础设施的管理。这一点在世界各地主要城市地下的隧道和管道网络中表现得最为明显。这些地下基础设施大部分是在半个多世纪前建造的，有广泛的证据表明这些旧的基础设施正在恶化。计算机视觉和微型机电传感器的发展提供了有趣的可能性，可以从根本上改变现有的状态评估和监测方法的基础范式。未来的监控系统无疑将包括无线传感器网络（WSN），并将围绕自主节点的功能进行设计。网络中的每个节点将把特定的传感能力与通信、数据处理和电源集成在一起。该提案包括一个综合研究计划，以评估和开发原型WSN系统，称为地下M3系统，用于老化地下基础设施的状态评估和监测。拟议的研究的主要目的是开发一个系统，使用捆绑的方法来监测恶化的程度和速度。建议该系统包括（1）第1层：利用计算机视觉的进步进行微检测，以及（2）第2层：利用MEMS和无线通信的进步进行微监测和通信。这些潜在的低成本技术将能够降低与报废结构相关的成本，这对于恢复、维修和再利用的可行性至关重要。另一个重要的好处是，它们可以提供更高的安全水平，以科普气候变化、洪水警报和地震等自然灾害。该研究将与一个跨学科的合作伙伴小组密切合作，包括负责地下基础设施维护和运营的公共和私营部门机构。

One of the greatest challenges facing civil engineers in the 21st century is the stewardship of ageing infrastructure. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the networks of tunnels and pipelines that lie beneath the major cities around the world. Much of this underground infrastructure was constructed more than half a century ago and there is widespread evidence of deterioration of this old infrastructure. Advances in the development of computer vision and miniature electromechanical sensors offer intriguing possibilities that can radically alter the paradigms underlying existing methods of condition assessment and monitoring. Future monitoring systems will undoubtedly comprise Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and will be designed around the capabilities of autonomous nodes. Each node in the network will integrate specific sensing capabilities with communication, data processing and power supply. This proposal comprises an integrated research program to evaluate and develop prototype WSN systems called the Underground M3 system for condition assessment and monitoring of ageing underground infrastructure. The main aim of the proposed research is to develop a system that uses a tied approach to monitor the degree and rate of deterioration. It is proposed that the system comprises of (1) Tier 1: Micro-detection using advances in computer vision and (2) Tier 2: Micro-monitoring and communication using advances in MEMs and wireless communication. These potentially low-cost technologies will be able to reduce costs associated with end-of-life structures, which is essential to the viability of rehabilitation, repair and reuse. Another important benefit is the increased safety levels they can provide to cope with natural disasters such as climate change, flood warnings and earthquakes. The research will be conducted in close co-operation with an interdisciplinary group of partners including public and private sector agencies responsible for maintenance and operation of underground infrastructure.