Development and implementation of Geo-nerve monitoring system using time domain reflectometry

It remains a challenging task to detect possible geo-environmental disasters. The task requires mechanisms to aggregate, analyze, and display real-time engineering parameters continuously and promptly, i.e., water level (WL), suspended sediment concentration (SSC), etc. Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is an electromagnetic (EM) wave based technique and has been widely deployed in field monitoring for decades. It embraces advantages of versatility and long-term durability. However, to interpret the TDR waveforms requires sophisticated signal processing knowledge. It is complicated for practical engineers or disciplines. In the paper, a TDR Geo-nerve automated monitoring system is designed and deployed for solving the aforementioned problems. The system encompasses an embedded component with computing capabilities, and it integrates both TDR devices and conventional electronic sensors. In addition, the system provides a user-friendly graphical user interfaces (GUI) including applications of TDR functionalities. The system transforms and interprets TDR waveforms into engineering parameters in real-time via interactive activities. Furthermore, the system has been implemented to fields at Shihman reservoir channel in northern Taiwan. The results demonstrate and validate that the integrated, multiagent TDR Geo-Nerve monitoring system can provide advances of accuracy, reliability, and multi-function for field measurements.