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Quantitative Shape Measurement of An Inflatable Rubber Dam Using Inertial Sensors

Hu, Yonghui, Yan, Yong, Efstratiou, Christos, Vela-Orte, David (2020) Quantitative Shape Measurement of An Inflatable Rubber Dam Using Inertial Sensors. In: IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference. 2020 IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC). . IEEE (doi:10.1109/I2MTC43012.2020.9128397) (KAR id:83762)

Abstract

Shape measurement is of great importance for the effective control and safe operation of inflatable rubber dams. This paper presents for the first time a method to measure the cross-sectional shape of a rubber dam by placing an array of inertial measurement units (IMUs) on the peripheral of the rubber dam. The IMU array measures tangent angles of the dam peripheral by fusing accelerometer and gyroscope measurements. A continuous tangent angle function is derived by interpolating the tangent angles at discrete locations using a cubic spline. Finally, the shape is reconstructed by integrating the tangent angle function along the peripheral of the rubber dam. The performance of the measurement system is validated against a camera on a purpose-built test rig. Experimental results show that the measured and reference shapes are very similar, with a maximum similarity index of 8.5% under typical conditions. In addition, it is demonstrated that the system is robust against node failure by excluding readings of faulty nodes from shape reconstruction.

Item Type: Conference or workshop item (Paper)
DOI/Identification number: 10.1109/I2MTC43012.2020.9128397
Subjects: T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) > TA165 Engineering instruments, meters etc. Industrial instrumentation
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Engineering and Digital Arts
Depositing User: Christos Efstratiou
Date Deposited: 27 Oct 2020 12:51 UTC
Last Modified: 08 Dec 2022 23:49 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/83762 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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