System Architecture
Depending on the application and monitoring purpose, different sensors are used for Structural Health Monitoring. Sensors are installed on the structure providing static or dynamic data about the structure behavior.
Dynamic sensors are connected to the EtherCAT based data acquisition devices. Multiple EtherCAT devices can be connected to the same network giving the possibility to build a virtually unlimited channel chain by using a single cable delivering power, synchronization, and data. The whole EtherCAT chain is synchronized to 1us independent of the cable length. Node-node distances can be up to 100m. Wireless DAQ devices are used to connect static sensors.
Data from wireless and Wired DAQ devices are collected and processed by Measurement Units (Computer) running the DewesoftX software. Processed data is sent over the TCP/IP network to the factory or cloud server. Data can be accessed and viewed on the client PC or stored in the time series database (Historian) and served to SCADA systems or Cloud Software using standard interfaces such as OPC/UA or XCP to truly support Industry 4.0 applications.