Design and development af a lightweight low-cost sensor unit for the parallel measurement of particles, gaseous air pollutants, atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konradin Weber ◽  
Christian Fischer ◽  
Detlef Amend ◽  
Martin Lange ◽  
Tobias Pohl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Lightweight Design ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Sensor Unit ◽  
Battery Capacity ◽  
Temperature And Humidity ◽  
Parallel Measurement

<p>There are frequent measurement tasks, where lightweight low-cost sensor units are of interest for the parallel measurement of several environmental parameters. Moreover, often measurements of environmental parameters are necessary not only at one specific point, but distributed over a large area or at different altidudes. In this case it makes sense to utilize lightweight low-cost sensor units. Because of the low price the can be produced in many exemplares und used at several places in parallel.</p> <p>The Laboratory for Environmental Measurement Techniques (UMT) at the Duesseldorf University of Applied Sciences (HSD) has developed such electronic units with following features:</p> <ul> <li>They can measure particulate matter PM10, PM2.5, PM1, PNC and size distribution using particulate sensors of different brands, e.g. Alphasense sensors R2 or N3 or Sensirion SDS 30.</li> <li>Additionally they have analog interfaces so that they can be equipped with sensor units for gaseous pollutants, e.g, Alphasense sensors for SO<sub>2</sub>, NO<sub>2</sub>, Ozone and many other gases like CO<sub>2</sub> using Sensirion sensors.</li> <li>In parallel atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity can be measured by additional dedicated sensors.</li> <li>The sensor units are equipped with a SD card memory and optionally with I<sup>2</sup>C or RS232 interface.</li> <li>Additionally the data can be transmitted in a wireless way to a server on 433 MHz, 868 MHz, 2.4 GHz ISM-band or via LTE or IRIDIUM.</li> <li>The main electronic unit is of lightweight design. Therefore the low-cost sensor units can be used easily on mobile platformes like drones or bicycles.</li> <li>The sensor unit has a low power consumption, so it can be operated independently for days or weeks, depending on the battery capacity.</li> <li>A GPS module enables a timestamp for the data and gives position and altitude.</li> </ul> <p>Several fully installed measurement units have been tested by UMT groundbased at industrial and heavily polluted urban sites in Germany. Moreover, such a unit has been operated on a measurement drone for taking vertical and horizontal pollutant profiles. It is planned to use these sensor units also at volcanic sites in a mobile and stationary way. The low-cost sensor units have been intercompared with certified air pollution measurement systems to assure the data quality.</p>

Computer simulation study about the dependence of amorphous silicon photonic waveguides efficiency on the material quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 30502
Author(s):  
Alessandro Fantoni ◽  
João Costa ◽  
Paulo Lourenço ◽  
Manuela Vieira
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Simulation Analysis ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Deposition Process ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Sidewall Roughness ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Fabrication Defects ◽  
The Impact

Amorphous silicon PECVD photonic integrated devices are promising candidates for low cost sensing applications. This manuscript reports a simulation analysis about the impact on the overall efficiency caused by the lithography imperfections in the deposition process. The tolerance to the fabrication defects of a photonic sensor based on surface plasmonic resonance is analysed. The simulations are performed with FDTD and BPM algorithms. The device is a plasmonic interferometer composed by an a-Si:H waveguide covered by a thin gold layer. The sensing analysis is performed by equally splitting the input light into two arms, allowing the sensor to be calibrated by its reference arm. Two different 1 × 2 power splitter configurations are presented: a directional coupler and a multimode interference splitter. The waveguide sidewall roughness is considered as the major negative effect caused by deposition imperfections. The simulation results show that plasmonic effects can be excited in the interferometric waveguide structure, allowing a sensing device with enough sensitivity to support the functioning of a bio sensor for high throughput screening. In addition, the good tolerance to the waveguide wall roughness, points out the PECVD deposition technique as reliable method for the overall sensor system to be produced in a low-cost system. The large area deposition of photonics structures, allowed by the PECVD method, can be explored to design a multiplexed system for analysis of multiple biomarkers to further increase the tolerance to fabrication defects.

A novel low cost texturization method for large area commercial mono-crystalline silicon solar cells

2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (20) ◽  
pp. 3557-3567 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Gangopadhyay ◽  
K.H. Kim ◽  
S.K. Dhungel ◽  
U. Manna ◽  
P.K. Basu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

scholarly journals Superhydrophobicity and Durability in Recyclable Polymers Coating

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8244
Author(s):  
Francesca Cirisano ◽  
Michele Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Treatment ◽  
Superhydrophobic Surface ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Spray Coating ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Average Roughness ◽  
Water Contact ◽  
Alkaline Environments ◽  
Fine Control ◽  
Recycle And Reuse

Highly hydrophobic and superhydrophobic materials obtained from recycled polymers represent an interesting challenge to recycle and reuse advanced performance materials after their first life. In this article, we present a simple and low-cost method to fabricate a superhydrophobic surface by employing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) powder in polystyrene (PS) dispersion. With respect to the literature, the superhydrophobic surface (SHS) was prepared by utilizing a spray- coating technique at room temperature, a glass substrate without any further modification or thermal treatment, and which can be applied onto a large area and on to any type of material with some degree of fine control over the wettability properties. The prepared surface showed superhydrophobic behavior with a water contact angle (CA) of 170°; furthermore, the coating was characterized with different techniques, such as a 3D confocal profilometer, to measure the average roughness of the coating, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to characterize the surface morphology. In addition, the durability of SH coating was investigated by a long-water impact test (raining test), thermal treatment at high temperature, an abrasion test, and in acidic and alkaline environments. The present study may suggest an easy and scalable method to produce SHS PS/PTFE films that may find implementation in various fields.

scholarly journals The contribution of Geomatics to increase safety and security in ports

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurizio Soldani
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Port Security ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Water Quality Control ◽  
Port Authorities ◽  
Graphical Interfaces ◽  
Port Areas

AbstractIn this paper, the advantages achievable from the use of two prototype systems that are being developed to increase safety and security in ports are shown. Both systems start by monitoring environmental parameters in harbors, and then process data acquired. The first system has been conceived to be helpful to port communities (port authorities, pilots) to optimize harbor waterside management (ship’s navigation and cargo, dock performances, boat moorings, refloating of stranded ships, water quality control). By monitoring and processing sea level and atmospheric pressure in port areas, it can help port communities, e.g., to choose the best time when a ship with a certain draft can enter or leave a harbor, or to plan the best route inside the basin for that vessel (port safety). The second system, instead, has been designed for port protection purposes: by monitoring and processing the Earth’s magnetic field below the sea surface in harbors (where the natural field is disturbed by a high artificial component), it is able to detect the possible presence of intruders (e.g., divers) swimming underwater in prohibited areas (port security). Here, the results of monitoring and processing activities of the two systems performed in Livorno and La Spezia harbors are shown (Italy). The processing procedures and the graphical interfaces of the systems are based on applications under development by the research team the author belongs to, by using C# and C++ languages; Matlab environment has been employed for simulations.

scholarly journals Turning Base Transceiver Stations into Scalable and Controllable DC Microgrids Based on a Smart Sensing Strategy

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1202
Author(s):  
Miguel Tradacete ◽  
Carlos Santos ◽  
José A. Jiménez ◽  
Fco Javier Rodríguez ◽  
Pedro Martín ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Market ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Energy Storage System ◽  
Electricity Grid ◽  
Dc Microgrids ◽  
Smart Sensing ◽  
Battery Energy

This paper describes a practical approach to the transformation of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) into scalable and controllable DC Microgrids in which an energy management system (EMS) is developed to maximize the economic benefit. The EMS strategy focuses on efficiently managing a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) along with photovoltaic (PV) energy generation, and non-critical load-shedding. The EMS collects data such as real-time energy consumption and generation, and environmental parameters such as temperature, wind speed and irradiance, using a smart sensing strategy whereby measurements can be recorded and computing can be performed both locally and in the cloud. Within the Spanish electricity market and applying a two-tariff pricing, annual savings per installed battery power of 16.8 euros/kW are achieved. The system has the advantage that it can be applied to both new and existing installations, providing a two-way connection to the electricity grid, PV generation, smart measurement systems and the necessary management software. All these functions are integrated in a flexible and low cost HW/SW architecture. Finally, the whole system is validated through real tests carried out on a pilot plant and under different weather conditions.

scholarly journals Interaction-tailored organization of large-area colloidal assemblies

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1582-1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Rizzato ◽  
Elisabetta Primiceri ◽  
Anna Grazia Monteduro ◽  
Adriano Colombelli ◽  
Angelo Leo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Film Formation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Interparticle Distance ◽  
Particle Interactions ◽  
Polystyrene Spheres ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Nanoscale Patterning ◽  
Particle Solution ◽  
Number Of Particles ◽  
Deposition Conditions

Colloidal lithography is an innovative fabrication technique employing spherical, nanoscale crystals as a lithographic mask for the low cost realization of nanoscale patterning. The features of the resulting nanostructures are related to the particle size, deposition conditions and interactions involved. In this work, we studied the absorption of polystyrene spheres onto a substrate and discuss the effect of particle–substrate and particle–particle interactions on their organization. Depending on the nature and the strength of the interactions acting in the colloidal film formation, two different strategies were developed in order to control the number of particles on the surface and the interparticle distance, namely changing the salt concentration and absorption time in the particle solution. These approaches enabled the realization of large area (≈cm2) patterning of nanoscale holes (nanoholes) and nanoscale disks (nanodisks) of different sizes and materials.

Patterning Organic Fluorescent Molecules with SAM Patterns

2011 ◽  
Vol 1335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiong Wu ◽  
Juanyuan Hao ◽  
Shoulei Shi ◽  
Weifeng Wang ◽  
Nan Lu
Keyword(s):  
Organic Molecules ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Substrate Surface ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Self Assembled Monolayer ◽  
Storage Duration ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
High Throughput Method ◽  
Self Assembled ◽  
Fluorescent Molecules

ABSTRACTWe report a low-cost and high-throughput method to fabricate large-area light emitting pattern via thermal evaporation of organic molecules on the patterned self-assembled monolayer of homogenous 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. This method is based on the selective deposition of the organic light emitting molecules on the template of self-assembled monolayer (SAM), which is patterned with nanoimprinting lithography. The selectivity can be controlled by adjusting the design of the pattern, the storage duration and the substrate temperature. The deposition selectivity of the molecules may be caused by the different binding energy of the molecules with the SAM and the substrate surface.

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