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Title On the feasibility of IoT-based smart meters for earthquake early warning
ID_Doc 42741
Authors Taale, A; Ventura, CE; Marti, J
Title On the feasibility of IoT-based smart meters for earthquake early warning
Year 2021
Published Earthquake Spectra, 37, 3
DOI 10.1177/8755293020981964
Abstract The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer built into a smart meter (SM) has a nominal digital resolution of 16 bits. However, this resolution collapses to 7 bits of information per sample when used in an urban environment. This collapse in resolution limits the sensitivity required to effectively operate the earthquake early warning platform (EEWP). In this study, we evaluate the performance of the MEMS sensor in present SMs with respect to a reference sensor, with a special focus on its poor noise power spectral density (PSD, similar to 1 mg/root Hz ). We also explore the general capacity of the SM in an IoT-based EEWP and provide explicit information regarding the 16-bit digital MEMS accelerometer. Then, we investigate the functionality of the sensor in the context of event detection in the presence of background vibration. When the value of acceleration root mean square (RMS) exceeds 20 mg, the meter's error decreases to <20%, whereas the peak ground acceleration error decreases to <20% for the peak value greater than similar to 70 mg. The MEMS sensor is unreliable for motions with a peak acceleration of less than 148 mg or those with an RMS value less than 46 mg. However, we note that SMs exhibit reasonable amplitude and phase coherence for frequencies above 1 Hz with respect to the reference accelerometer. To enhance the sensitivity, averaging 1000 coherent accelerometer observations enhances the digital resolution to 14 bits, which allows the efficient usage of the network bandwidth. Since the accelerometer is used as an anti-tampering mechanism, the SM is similar to a tiltmeter. Therefore, it is necessary to reconfigure SMs for early warning systems. Despite the challenges, the use of SM for an IoT-based EEWP is technically feasible.
Author Keywords Earthquake early warning platform; ground motion observation; Internet of Things; microelectromechanical accelerometer; multi-service grid network; smart city; smart meter
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000683857500017
WoS Category Engineering, Civil; Engineering, Geological
Research Area Engineering
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