• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.123-130
• /
• 2005

It is necessary, in the light of the importance of long-term slope stability problem, to develop a simple method or tool which can figure out the possible failure zone resulted from weathering effect and other factors. The FBG sensor system is used to estimate the correlations between the temperature and the slope in Kimhae, and to find a failure zone in slopes effectively. This research is to seek for the correlation between the soil temperature distribution and the strain distribution in a active zone by analyzing the data from the in-situ measurement so that the possible failure zone should be well defined based on the correlation. For instance, the zone of high temperature fluctuation can be regarded as one of the possible sliding zone due to the weathering effect while the constant temperature depth of the ground, if exists would not be relatively affected by the weathering process.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.93-100
• /
• 2011

Maintenance of adequate soil water potential during the period of crop growth is necessary to support optimum plant growth and yields. A better understanding of soil water movement within and below the rooting zone can facilitate optimal irrigation scheduling aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of water stress on crop growth and development and the leaching of water below the root zone which can have adverse environmental effects. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a portable irrigation controller with an Watermark sensor for the cultivation of drip-irrigated vegetable crops in a greenhouse. The control capability of the irrigation controller for a soil water potential of -20 kPa was evaluated under summer conditions by cultivating 45-day-old tomato plants grown in three differently textured soils (sandy loam, loam, and loamy sands). Water contents through each soil profile were continuously monitored using three Sentek probes, each consisting of three capacitance sensors at 10, 20, and 30 cm depths. Even though a repeatable cycling of soil water potential occurred for the potential treatment, the lower limit of the Watermark (about 0 kPa) obtained in this study presented a limitation of using the Watermark sensor for optimal irrigation of tomato plants where -20 kPa was used as a point for triggering irrigations. This problem might be related to the slow response time and inadequate soil-sensor interface of the Watermark sensor as compared to a porous and ceramic cup-based tensiometer with a sensitive pressure transducer. In addition, the irrigation time of 50 to 60 min at each of the irrigation operation gave a rapid drop of the potential to zero, resulting in over irrigation of tomatoes. There were differences in water content among the three different soil types under the variable rate irrigation, showing a range of water contents of 16 to 24%, 17 to 28%, and 24 to 32% for loamy sand, sandy loam, and loam soils, respectively. The greatest rate increase in water content was observed in the top of 10 cm depth of sandy loam soil within almost 60 min from the start of irrigation.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.132-147
• /
• 2016

In this study the Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS) sensor onboard the Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) sensor onboard the Global Change Observation Mission-Water (GCOM-W1) based soil moisture retrievals were revised to obtain better accuracy of soil moisture and higher data acquisition rate over East Asia. These satellite-based soil moisture products are revised against a reference land model data set, called Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), using Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) matching and regression approach. Since MIRAS sensor is perturbed by radio frequency interferences (RFI), the worst part of soil moisture retrieval, East Asia, constantly have been undergoing loss of data acquisition rate. To overcome this limitation, the threshold of RFI, DQX, and composite days were suggested to increase data acquisition rate while maintaining appropriate data quality through comparison of land surface model data set. The revised MIRAS and AMSR2 products were compared with in-situ soil moisture and land model data set. The results showed that the revising process increased correlation coefficient values of SMOS and AMSR2 averagely 27% 11% and decreased the root mean square deviation (RMSD) decreased 61% and 57% as compared to in-situ data set. In addition, when the revised products' correlation coefficient values are calculated with model data set, about 80% and 90% of pixels' correlation coefficients of SMOS and AMSR2 increased and all pixels' RMSD decreased. Through our CDF-based revising processes, we propose the way of mutual supplementation of MIRAS and AMSR2 soil moisture retrievals.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.183-195
• /
• 2014

Scour is one of the leading causes of overwater bridge failures worldwide. While monitoring systems have already been implemented or are still being developed, they suffer from limitations such as high costs, inaccuracies, and low reliability, among others. Also, most sensors only measure scour depth at one location and near the pier. Thus, the objective is to design a simple, low cost, scour hole topography monitoring system that could better characterize the entire depth, shape, and size of bridge scour holes. The design is based on burying a robust, waterproofed, piezoelectric sensor strip in the streambed. When scour erodes sediments to expose the sensor, flowing water excites it to cause the generation of time-varying voltage signals. An algorithm then takes the time-domain data and maps it to the frequency-domain for identifying the sensor's resonant frequency, which is used for calculating the exposed sensor length or scour depth. Here, three different sets of tests were conducted to validate this new technique. First, a single sensor was tested in ambient air, and its exposed length was varied. Upon verifying the sensing concept, a waterproofed prototype was buried in soil and tested in a tank filled with water. Sensor performance was characterized as soil was manually eroded away, which simulated various scour depths. The results confirmed that sensor resonant frequencies decreased with increasing scour depths. Finally, a network of 11 sensors was configured to form a distributed monitoring system in the lab. Their exposed lengths were adjusted to simulate scour hole formation and evolution. Results showed promise that the proposed sensing system could be scaled up and used for bridge scour topography monitoring.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.34 no.9
• /
• pp.19-32
• /
• 2018

In this study, the applicability and practicality of landslides monitoring by using wireless sensor network (WSN) was analysed. WSN system consists of a sensor node for collecting and transmitting data using IEEE 802.14e standard, a gateway for collecting data and transmitting the data to the monitoring server. In the topology of the sensor network, a highly flexible and reliable mesh type was adopted, and three testbeds were chosen in each location of Seoul metropolitan area. Soil moisture sensors, tensiometers, inclinometers, and a rain gauge were installed at each testbed and sensor node to monitor the landslide. For the estimation of the optimal network topology between sensor nodes, the susceptibility assessment of landslides, forest density and viewshed analysis of terrain were conducted. As a result, the network connection works quite well and measured value of the volumetric water content and matric suction simulates well the general trend of the soil water characteristic curve by the laboratory test. As such, it is noted that WSN system, which is the reliable technique, can be applied to the landslide monitoring.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.13-34
• /
• 2022

Soil moisture data have been collected at 11 agrometeorological stations operated by The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). This study aimed to verify the accuracy of soil moisture data of KMA and develop a correction formula to be applied to improve their quality. The soil of the observation field was sampled to analyze its physical properties that affect soil water content. Soil texture was classified to be sandy loam and loamy sand at most sites. The bulk density of the soil samples was about 1.5 g/cm³ on average. The content of silt and clay was also closely related to bulk density and water holding capacity. The EnviroSCAN model, which was used as a reference sensor, was calibrated using the self-manufactured "reference soil moisture observation system". Comparison between the calibrated reference sensor and the field sensor of KMA was conducted at least three times at each of the 11 sites. Overall, the trend of fluctuations over time in the measured values of the two sensors appeared similar. Still, there were sites where the latter had relatively lower soil moisture values than the former. A linear correction formula was derived for each site and depth using the range and average of the observed data for the given period. This correction formula resulted in an improvement in agreement between sensor values at the Suwon site. In addition, the detailed approach was developed to estimate the correction value for the period in which a correction formula was not calculated. In summary, the correction of soil moisture data at a regular time interval, e.g., twice a year, would be recommended for all observation sites to improve the quality of soil moisture observation data.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.39-46
• /
• 2014

Purpose: Monitoring and control of environmental condition is highly important for optimum control of the conditions, especially in greenhouses and plant factories, and the condition is not uniform within the facility. Objectives of the study were to investigate variability in soil water content and to provide information useful for better irrigation control. Methods: Experiments were conducted in a strawberry-growing greenhouse (greenhouse 1) and a cherry tomato-growing greenhouse (greenhouse 2) in winter. Soil water content, electrical conductivity (EC), and temperature were measured over the entire area, at different distances from an irrigation pump, and on ridge and furrow areas. Results: When measured over the entire greenhouse area, soil water content decreased and temperature and electrical conductivity increased over time from morning to afternoon after irrigation. Water content decreased by distance from the irrigation pump up to 70 m and increased after that, and temperature showed an inverse pattern. Soil water contents on the ridge were lower than those on the furrow, and the differences were 10.2~18.4%, indicating considerable variability. The lowest EC were observed on the furrow and highest values were observed on the ridge. Soil water contents were less and temperature levels were greater at the window side than in the center locations. Conclusions: Selection of number and location of soil water content sensor would be the first step for better water content monitoring and irrigation control. Results of the study would provide basic data useful for optimum sensor location and control for underground greenhouse environment.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.133-142
• /
• 2002

This is a fundamental study to develop a sensor to detect weeds in paddy field using machine vision adopted spectralphotometric technique in order to use the sensor to spread herbicide selectively. A set of spectral reflectance data was collected from dry and wet soil and leaves of rice and 6 kinds of weed to select desirable wavelengths to classify soil, rice and weeds. Stepwise variable selection method of discriminant analysis was applied to the data set and wavelengths of 680 and 802 m were selected to distinguish plants (including rice and weeds) from dry and wet soil, respectively. And wavelengths of 580 and 680 nm were selected to classify rice and weeds by the same method. Validity of the wavelengths to distinguish the plants from soil was tested by cross-validation test with built discriminant function to prove that all of soil and plants were classified correctly without any failure. Validity of the wavelengths for classification of rice and weeds was tested by the same method and the test resulted that 98% of rice and 83% of weeds were classified correctly. Feasibility of CCD color camera to detect weeds in paddy field was tested with the spectral reflectance data by the same statistical method as above. Central wavelengths of RGB frame of color camera were tried as tile effective wavelengths to distingush plants from soil and weeds from plants. The trial resulted that 100% and 94% of plants in dry soil and wet soil, respectively, were classified correctly by the central wavelength or R frame only, and 95% of rice and 85% of weeds were classified correctly by the central wavelengths of RGB frames. As a result, it was concluded that CCD color camera has good potential to be used to detect weeds in paddy field.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2005.08a
• /
• pp.210-211
• /
• 2005

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.19 no.2 s.63
• /
• pp.82-89
• /
• 2005

This study deals with the development of the extended Kalman filter(EKF) algorithm for the localization of underwater mining vehicles. Both simulation and experimental studies in a test bed are carried out. For the experiments, a scale dawn tracked vehicle is run in a soil bin containing cohesive soil of bentonite-water mixture. To develop the EKF algorithm, we use a kinematic model including the inner/outer track slips and the slip angle for the vehicle. The measurements include the inner and outer wheel speeds from encoders, the heading angle from a compass sensor and a fiber optic rate gyro, and x and y coordinate position values from a vision system. The vision sensor replaces the LBL(Long Base Line) sonar system used in the real underwater positioning situations. Artificial noise signals mimicking the real LBL noise signal are added to the vision sensor information. To know the mean slip values of the tracks in both straight and cornering maneuver, several trial running experiments are executed before applying the EKF algorithm. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the EKF algorithm in rejecting the sensor measurements noise. Also, the simulation and experimental results show close correlations.