The Performance of a Wireless Sensor Network for Structural Health Monitoring

An issue associated with agricultural irrigation using reclaimed wastewater is the potential threat to underlying groundwater quality. A prime example is nitrate, which serves as a fertilizing agent but has the potential to leach into groundwater. In order to balance water reuse and groundwater protection, intelligent irrigation management and monitoring systems are required for such water reuse systems. In this work, a nonlinear programming-based control algorithm is proposed to optimize irrigation scheduling subject to contaminant transport constraints. In support of the algorithmic developments, a networked sensor array is being designed for deployment at an agricultural research plot. This array will supply real-time field information about water infiltration and distribution, nitrate propagation, and heat transport, to the irrigation scheduling algorithm. The control scheme (measurement, decision, and action) will be continuously updated using on-line feedback from sensors. The simulator on which the management algorithm depends is a one-dimensional form of the Richards equation coupled to energy and solute transport mass balances