Low-cost and Reliable Integrated Hardware and Software Framework for Remotely Operated Water Release from Storage Units

Authors

Vivek Verma, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Civil Engineering

First Advisor's Name

Arturo S. Leon

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Hector R. Fuentes

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Paul A. Indeglia

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Seung Jae Lee

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fifth Advisor's Name

Ou Bai

Fifth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Keywords

automated siphon, dynamic storage management, flood mitigation, real-time, smart wetland, automated operation, software defined radio, internet of things

Date of Defense

7-2-2021

Abstract

The main contribution of this research is towards the broader area of water management that can be used for multiple purposes. For instance, floods can be mitigated using a novel approach based on the integrated dynamic management of water storage units such as reservoirs, wetlands, and ponds. This approach will enable adaptive water release from storage units hours or days ahead of rainfall events, thereby maximizing storage capacity and minimizing flooding.

This approach can be implemented by retrofitting water storage units using siphon hydraulic systems and are remotely controlled in an integrated manner using the decision support system. To make it feasible in a relatively inexpensive way, this dissertation developed a modular, scalable, and integrated hardware-software platform for interfacing automated siphons/gates, sensors, and sensor control/communication to enable remote operation of hundreds and thousands of gates in storage units. In this study, a siphon hydraulic system was developed and used to implement and test the hardware and software integrated control system.

The hardware architecture includes water level sensors, bilge pump, air-vent, and actuated butterfly valve. The software architecture is designed and developed in C-sharp language and displays near real-time data from the sensors employed in the lab. It also displays the functioning or malfunctioning condition of all digital and analogic lab hardware. The latter can be used to schedule maintenance operations without visiting the lab.

Various cutting-edge technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Software Defined Radios (SDR), and Virtual Private Network (VPN) is employed to integrate the hardware and software architecture. All the data collection and operations are performed remotely using 4G/5G cellular communication. Extensive experiments were performed in the lab, and the results indicate that the systems are reliable. Reliability is defined as the probability that the system will perform its intended function adequately without failure.

The operational reliability of sensors and other field hardware, such as liquid level sensors, bilge pumps, and air vents, has been analyzed using the Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) using the ExtendSim software. In this method, the components of the system are linked through graphic blocks following their functional logic or operational relationship. The results of the operational reliability of the system are obtained through Monte Carlo simulations. The cost analysis is also performed for several scenarios based on redundancy, maintenance cost, and the components' life span.

Identifier

FIDC010261

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0213-4734

Recommended Citation

Verma, Vivek, "Low-cost and Reliable Integrated Hardware and Software Framework for Remotely Operated Water Release from Storage Units" (2021). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4734.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4734