Development and performance analysis of wireless sensor node for structural health monitoring using fast fourier and wavelet transform

Abstract

This paper presents development and performance analysis of a sensor node including accelerometer, temperature and humidity sensors for wireless sensor network (WSN) system intended for structural health monitoring (SHM) application. The developed prototype integrates software and hardware based on ARM controller, having excellent processing capability in terms of increased on board RAM and better power management facility. Data from sensor nodes are reliably transmitted to the base station, i.e. sink placed at a distance of about 30m. The system is verified using accelerometer data received at the base station through Fast Fourier Transform and found equivalent with that of a standard vibration data logger. Accelerometer data has also been explored in time-frequency domain using wavelet transform. The study also points out the best wavelet basis in the parlance of low frequency SHM applications.