Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2022) | Viewed by 22348

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Associate Professor, Department of Naval Architecture, School of Engineering, University of West Attica, 122 43 Athens, Greece
Interests: 3D/4D printing; measurement systems employing 3D/4D printing; measurement systems for marine engineering; screen-printing; new microsystems technologies; microsystems modeling and simulation; sensors interfacing; sensors/actuators on flexible substrates; silicon micromachining
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The proper operation of any modern vessel relies heavily on the information provided by the onboard measuring devices that quantify critical performance parameters. Consequently, the role of sensor devices and measurement systems in general is undoubtedly of great importance in the vast majority of marine engineering applications.

During the past three decades, the immensely expanding field of “microsensors”—a discipline originating from integrated circuit (IC) technology—has led to a new generation of sensing devices with remarkable capabilities and performances exceeding those of their macroscale counterparts. Accordingly, sensors employed on vessels followed the same trend, taking their role one step further by incorporating semiconductor-based technology into standard marine equipment and measurement systems.

This Special Issue of Applied Sciences aims to target this challenging and emerging field where advanced measuring devices (microsensors) and novel measurement systems meet marine technology. Researchers from both academia and industry are invited to submit unpublished research work related to the design and development of novel sensors/microsensors (e.g., gyroscopes, flow/pressure meters, and magnetic pick-ups) with the ability to be employed on a modern vessel, together with novel measurement systems and methods that advance the state-of-the-art technology of marine engineering.

Original research or review articles addressing areas that are complementary but closely related to the above, such as vessel automation systems employing novel sensing devices/methods or detection systems for safety and security, are also welcomed for publication.

Dr. Dimitrios-Nikolaos Pagonis
Associate Professor,
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Physical sensors
  • Chemical sensors
  • MEMs
  • Sensor technology and application
  • Sensor interface
  • Sensor networks
  • Novel measurement systems and methods
  • Automation systems employing novel sensing devices and techniques
  • Measurement of critical parameters in processes such as propulsion systems, navigation systems, and maritime communications
  • Condition monitoring
  • Detection systems for safety and security

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

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5 pages, 155 KiB  
Editorial
Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications
by Dimitrios Nikolaos Pagonis
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 3761; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14093761 - 28 Apr 2024
Viewed by 311
Abstract
In recent years, vast developments and applications of sensor technologies have been recorded in various industries, including shipbuilding [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)

Research

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13 pages, 6744 KiB  
Article
Zinc Oxide-Based Rotational–Linear Triboelectric Nanogenerator
by Achilleas Bardakas, Apostolos Segkos and Christos Tsamis
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(6), 2396; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14062396 - 12 Mar 2024
Viewed by 796
Abstract
In this study, we evaluate a prototype harvesting device that converts rotational motion to linear motion for harvesting rotational energy. Triboelectric materials are attached to the parts of the device that execute linear motion, resulting in a contact-separation mode of operation of triboelectric [...] Read more.
In this study, we evaluate a prototype harvesting device that converts rotational motion to linear motion for harvesting rotational energy. Triboelectric materials are attached to the parts of the device that execute linear motion, resulting in a contact-separation mode of operation of triboelectric generators. As a triboelectric material, thin layers of ZnO nanoparticles deposited on Kapton films are evaluated. The design of the rotational–linear triboelectric nanogenerator (RL-TENG) exhibits several advantages since it does not suffer from the issues related to rotational tribogenerators such as wear and increased temperature during operation. Moreover, our approach can result in the modular design of energy-harvesting devices for a variety of applications. As a demonstrator, cups were attached to the rotating axis of the RL-TENG to harvest wind energy that is suitable for maritime applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)
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15 pages, 6227 KiB  
Article
Design of a Mass Air Flow Sensor Employing Additive Manufacturing and Standard Airfoil Geometry
by Dimitrios-Nikolaos Pagonis, Vasiliki Benaki, Grigoris Kaltsas and Antonios Pagonis
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(24), 11579; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112411579 - 7 Dec 2021
Viewed by 2332
Abstract
This work concerns the design, fabrication, and preliminary characterization of a novel sensor for determining the air intake of low and medium power internal combustion engines employed at various applications in the marine industry. The novelty of the presented sensor focuses on the [...] Read more.
This work concerns the design, fabrication, and preliminary characterization of a novel sensor for determining the air intake of low and medium power internal combustion engines employed at various applications in the marine industry. The novelty of the presented sensor focuses on the fabrication process, which is based on additive manufacturing combined with PCB technology, and the design of the sensing elements housing geometry, which is derived through suitable CFD simulations and is based on standard airfoil geometry. The proposed process enables low-cost, fast fabrication, effective thermal isolation, and facile electrical interconnection to the corresponding circuitry of the sensor. For initial characterization purposes, the prototype device was integrated into a DIESEL engine testbed while a commercially available mass air flow sensor was employed as a reference; the proper functionality of the developed prototype has been validated. Key features of the proposed device are low-cost, fast on-site manufacturing of the device, robustness, and simplicity, suggesting numerous potential applications in marine engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)
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18 pages, 6731 KiB  
Article
A Case Study of Floating Offshore Super-Long Steel Pipeline Combing with Field Monitoring
by Jin Yu, Chonghong Ren, Yanyan Cai, Jian Chen, Yuanqing Wang and Weiyun Chen
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(21), 10186; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112110186 - 30 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1783
Abstract
How to control deformation and avoid resonance is the key to ensuring the safety of the super-long pipeline when it is floating in the sea. Based on the deformation warning value of pipeline prototype composite material obtained from laboratory tests, the raw water [...] Read more.
How to control deformation and avoid resonance is the key to ensuring the safety of the super-long pipeline when it is floating in the sea. Based on the deformation warning value of pipeline prototype composite material obtained from laboratory tests, the raw water pipeline project in Tong’an Xiamen adopts wireless communication equipment to transmit data, supplemented by aerial photography technology to monitor and feedback the strain and vibration during the dynamic construction of long-distance pipeline floating transportation. Combined with dynamic construction, this monitoring method avoids excessive deformation and resonance of the steel pipeline during floating transportation, and prevents the destruction of the anticorrosive coating. The airtightness test after completion shows that the whole pipeline meets the acceptance requirements. The monitoring results show that the strain at the bent position of the pipeline is large in the process of floating transportation, and the jacking speed and position of the tugboats have an important influence on the deformation of the pipeline. The same type of project should focus on these aspects and timely feedback monitoring data. At the same time, the study also provides detailed strain, modal analysis and effective monitoring technology for the safety of offshore steel pipeline floating transportation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)
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13 pages, 3087 KiB  
Article
Temperature Compensated Wide-Range Micro Pressure Sensor with Polyimide Anticorrosive Coating for Harsh Environment Applications
by Mengru Jiao, Minghao Wang, Ye Fan, Bangbang Guo, Bowen Ji, Yuhua Cheng and Gaofeng Wang
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(19), 9012; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11199012 - 28 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2407
Abstract
In this work, a MEMS piezoresistive micro pressure sensor (1.5 × 1.5 × 0.82 mm) is designed and fabricated with SOI-based micromachining technology and assembled using anodic bonding technology. In order to optimize the linearity and sensitivity over a wide effective pressure range [...] Read more.
In this work, a MEMS piezoresistive micro pressure sensor (1.5 × 1.5 × 0.82 mm) is designed and fabricated with SOI-based micromachining technology and assembled using anodic bonding technology. In order to optimize the linearity and sensitivity over a wide effective pressure range (0–5 MPa) and temperature range (25–125 °C), the diaphragm thickness and the insulation of piezoresistors are precisely controlled by an optimized micromachining process. The consistency of the four piezoresistors is greatly improved by optimizing the structure of the ohmic contact pads. Furthermore, the probability of piezoresistive breakdown during anodic bonding is greatly reduced by conducting the top and bottom silicon of the SOI. At room temperature, the pressure sensor with 40 µm diaphragm demonstrates reliable linearity (0.48% F.S.) and sensitivity (33.04 mV/MPa) over a wide pressure range of 0–5.0 MPa. In addition, a polyimide protection layer is fabricated on the top surface of the sensor to prevent it from corrosion by a moist marine environment. To overcome the linearity drift due to temperature variation in practice, a digital temperature compensation system is developed for the pressure sensor, which shows a maximum error of 0.43% F.S. in a temperature range of 25–125 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)
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17 pages, 5628 KiB  
Article
A Novel Principal Component Analysis Integrating Long Short-Term Memory Network and Its Application in Productivity Prediction of Cutter Suction Dredgers
by Ke Yang, Jun-Lang Yuan, Ting Xiong, Bin Wang and Shi-Dong Fan
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(17), 8159; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11178159 - 2 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1971
Abstract
Dredging is a basic construction for waterway improvement, harbor basin maintenance, land reclamation, environmental protection dredging, and deep-sea mining. The dredging process of cutter suction dredgers is so complex that the operational data show strong characteristics of dynamic, nonlinearity, and time delay, which [...] Read more.
Dredging is a basic construction for waterway improvement, harbor basin maintenance, land reclamation, environmental protection dredging, and deep-sea mining. The dredging process of cutter suction dredgers is so complex that the operational data show strong characteristics of dynamic, nonlinearity, and time delay, which make it difficult to predict the productivity accurately via basic principles models. In this paper, we propose a novel integrating PCA-LSTM model to improve the productivity prediction of cutter suction dredger. Firstly, multiple variables are reduced in dimension and selected by PCA method based on the working mechanism of cutter suction dredger. Then the productivity is predicted via mud concentration in long short-term memory network with relevant operational time-series data. Finally, the proposed method is successfully applied to an actual case study in China. Also, it performs well in the cross-validation and comparative study for several important characteristics: (i) it involves the operational parameters based on the mechanism analysis; and (ii) it is a deep-learning-based approach that can deal with operation series data with a special memory mechanism. This study provides a heuristic idea for integrating the data-driven method and supervision of human knowledge for application in practical engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)
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17 pages, 25188 KiB  
Article
Measuring Ocean Surface Current in the Kuroshio Region Using Gaofen-3 SAR Data
by Yan Li, Jinsong Chong, Kai Sun, Yawei Zhao and Xue Yang
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7656; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167656 - 20 Aug 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1597
Abstract
The Kuroshio is the strongest warm current in the western North Pacific, which plays a crucial role in climate and human activities. In terms of this, the accurate acquisition of ocean surface current velocity and direction in the Kuroshio region is of great [...] Read more.
The Kuroshio is the strongest warm current in the western North Pacific, which plays a crucial role in climate and human activities. In terms of this, the accurate acquisition of ocean surface current velocity and direction in the Kuroshio region is of great research value. Gaofen-3 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) provides data support for the study of ocean surface current measurements in the Kuroshio region, but no relevant experimental result has been published yet. In this paper, four available stripmap mode SARs’ data acquired by Gaofen-3 in the Kuroshio region are used for measuring the ocean surface current field. In general, the Doppler centroid anomaly (DCA) estimation is a common method to infer ocean surface currents from single-antenna stripmap data, but only the radial velocity component can be retrieved. In order to measure current vectors, a novel method combining the sub-aperture processing and the least squares (LS) technology is suggested and demonstrated by applying to the Gaofen-3 SAR data processing. The experiment’s results agree well with model-derived ocean current data, indicating that the Gaofen-3 SAR has the capability to accurately retrieve the ocean surface current field in the Kuroshio region and motivate further research by providing more data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)
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17 pages, 685 KiB  
Article
Engine Malfunctioning Conditions Identification through Instantaneous Crankshaft Torque Measurement Analysis
by Konstantinos-Marios Tsitsilonis and Gerasimos Theotokatos
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3522; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083522 - 14 Apr 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2666
Abstract
In this study a coupled thermodynamics and crankshaft dynamics model of a large two-stroke diesel engine was utilised, to map the relationship of the engine Instantaneous Crankshaft Torque (ICT) with the following frequently occurring malfunctioning conditions: (a) change in Start of [...] Read more.
In this study a coupled thermodynamics and crankshaft dynamics model of a large two-stroke diesel engine was utilised, to map the relationship of the engine Instantaneous Crankshaft Torque (ICT) with the following frequently occurring malfunctioning conditions: (a) change in Start of Injection (SOI), (b) change in Rate of Heat Release (RHR), (c) change in scavenge air pressure, and (d) blowby. This was performed using frequency analysis on the engine ICT, which was obtained through a series of parametric runs of the coupled engine model, under the various malfunctioning and healthy operating conditions. This process demonstrated that engine ICT can be successfully utilised to identify the distinct effects of malfunctions (c) or (d), as they occur individually in any cylinder. Furthermore by using the same process, malfunctions (a) and (b) can be identified as they occur individually for any cylinder, however there is no distinct effect on the engine ICT among these malfunctions, since their effect on the in-cylinder pressure is similar. As a result, this study demonstrates the usefulness of the engine ICT as a non-intrusive diagnostic measurement, as well as the benefits of malfunctioning conditions mapping, which allows for quick and less resource intensive identification of engine malfunctions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)
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20 pages, 34806 KiB  
Article
A Novel Methodology for Hydrocarbon Depth Prediction in Seabed Logging: Gaussian Process-Based Inverse Modeling of Electromagnetic Data
by Hanita Daud, Muhammad Naeim Mohd Aris, Khairul Arifin Mohd Noh and Sarat Chandra Dass
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1492; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041492 - 7 Feb 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1658
Abstract
Seabed logging (SBL) is an application of electromagnetic (EM) waves for detecting potential marine hydrocarbon-saturated reservoirs reliant on a source–receiver system. One of the concerns in modeling and inversion of the EM data is associated with the need for realistic representation of complex [...] Read more.
Seabed logging (SBL) is an application of electromagnetic (EM) waves for detecting potential marine hydrocarbon-saturated reservoirs reliant on a source–receiver system. One of the concerns in modeling and inversion of the EM data is associated with the need for realistic representation of complex geo-electrical models. Concurrently, the corresponding algorithms of forward modeling should be robustly efficient with low computational effort for repeated use of the inversion. This work proposes a new inversion methodology which consists of two frameworks, namely Gaussian process (GP), which allows a greater flexibility in modeling a variety of EM responses, and gradient descent (GD) for finding the best minimizer (i.e., hydrocarbon depth). Computer simulation technology (CST), which uses finite element (FE), was exploited to generate prior EM responses for the GP to evaluate EM profiles at “untried” depths. Then, GD was used to minimize the mean squared error (MSE) where GP acts as its forward model. Acquiring EM responses using mesh-based algorithms is a time-consuming task. Thus, this work compared the time taken by the CST and GP in evaluating the EM profiles. For the accuracy and performance, the GP model was compared with EM responses modeled by the FE, and percentage error between the estimate and “untried” computer input was calculated. The results indicate that GP-based inverse modeling can efficiently predict the hydrocarbon depth in the SBL. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)
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Review

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56 pages, 15832 KiB  
Review
Advanced Development of Sensors’ Roles in Maritime-Based Industry and Research: From Field Monitoring to High-Risk Phenomenon Measurement
by Aditya Rio Prabowo, Tuswan Tuswan and Ridwan Ridwan
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 3954; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11093954 - 27 Apr 2021
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 5381
Abstract
The development of human civilization over the last decade has reached a landmark as Industry 4.0 has been widely introduced. Several aspects of industry and manufacturing activities are changing due to the Internet of Things (IoT), location detection technologies, and advanced human–machine interfaces. [...] Read more.
The development of human civilization over the last decade has reached a landmark as Industry 4.0 has been widely introduced. Several aspects of industry and manufacturing activities are changing due to the Internet of Things (IoT), location detection technologies, and advanced human–machine interfaces. To enact industrial affairs under those specifications, a sensor is required to transform physical events into numerical information. The use of sensors in marine applications also appears in research and studies, in which the sensor is used for both monitoring the phenomena of a designated subject and data acquisition. Achievements in quantifying complex phenomena in critical maritime designs are fascinating subjects to discuss regarding their development and current states, which may be reliable references for further research on developing sensors and related measurement analysis tools in marine, shipbuilding, and shipping fields. This comprehensive review covers several discussion topics, including the origins and development of sensor technology, applied sensor engineering in logistic and shipping activities, the hydrodynamic characterization of designed hulls, the monitoring of advanced machinery performance, Arctic-based field observations, the detection of vibration-based damage to offshore structures, corrosion control and monitoring, and the measurement of explosions on critical maritime infrastructures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors and Measurement Systems for Marine Engineering Applications)
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