A 4.

0 Sustainable Aquaponic System Based on the

Combined Use of Superabsorbing Natural
Hydrogels and Innovative Sensing Technologies for
the Optimization of Water Use
2021 IEEE 6th International Forum on Research and Technology for Society and Industry (RTSI) | 978-1-6654-4135-3/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/RTSI50628.2021.9597250

Marco Friuli Antonio Masciullo Federica Stella Blasi

Dept. of Engineering for Innovation Dept. of Engineering for Innovation Dept. of Engineering for Innovation
University of Salento University of Salento University of Salento
Lecce, Italy Lecce, Italy Lecce, Italy
marco.friuli@unisalento.it antonio.masciullo@unisalento.it federicastella.blasi@unisalento.it

Marco Mita Licinio Corbari Ivo Surano

Dept. of Engineering for Innovation Dept. of Engineering for Innovation Dept. of Engineering for Innovation
University of Salento University of Salento University of Salento
Lecce, Italy Lecce, Italy Lecce, Italy
marco.mita@unisalento.it lcorbari@clio.it ivo.surano@gmail.com

Abstract—Aquaponics couples aquaculture with hydroponics:
the water from the breeding tanks is filtered and pumped into
the hydroponic system. Aquaponics is gaining much attention
as a farming technique, thanks to its intrinsically sustainable
approach; however, aquaponic systems need continuous mainte-
nance and the processes need tight control. Starting from these
considerations, in this work, a 4.0-oriented acquaponic system
that integrates the relevant enabling technologies of the 4.0 Era
is presented. In particular, the proposed system relies on two
major technologies: i) the adoption of a dedicated microwave
reflectometry-based system for monitoring recycled water quality
inside the tanks; and ii) a superabsorbing hydrogel technology
to improve the system effectiveness. In addition, to these tech-
nologies also IoT was adopted for guaranteeing automation and
remote monitoring and control of the overall aquaponic system.
This paper describes the design, implementation and functional
validation of a prototype of the proposed aquaponic system.
Index Terms—4.0 Era, aquaponics, agriculture automation, in-
novative materials, microwave reflectometry, monitoring systems,
reflection scattering parameters, superabsorbent hydrogels.
I. I NTRODUCTION
The 4.0 Era paradigm [1]–[6] has permeated a number of
applications contexts, from constructions [7]–[9] to health-
care [10]–[13], from public administration to finance. Even
agriculture and animal husbandry, which are traditionally
considered as low-tech sectors, have started to increasingly
lean on the 4.0 enabling technologies [14]. In fact, agriculture
relies on sensors and ICT solutions to improve remote control
of typical soil/water parameters, to manage activities (e.g.
This work has received funding from Regione Puglia (Italy), within the
Public Call POR Puglia FESR 2014-2020 - Action 1.6 - INNONETWORK,
through the research project ISEPA – Improving Sustainability, Efficiency and
Profitability of large–scale Aquaponics.
automated irrigation linked to soil moisture levels, animal feed,
milking, etc.), and to rationalize resources, improve profits
and reduce the environmental impact. The combination of
emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT),
robotics, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain
technology, provides the opportunity to transform industrial
agriculture into the next generation, namely Agriculture 4.0.
If initially the application of new technologies was mainly
aimed at reducing production costs, it later proved useful to
obtain a rationalization of resources, optimizing both the eco-
nomic profile and the environmental impact of agricultural pro-
cesses. Practices of automation, remote control of parameters
and processes have become increasingly frequent, especially
following the spread of extra-soil cultivation practices (e.g.
hydroponics, vertical farming) or combined cycles of breeding
and agriculture such as aquaponics but also for traditional
agriculture practices such as weeds control [15], [16]. These
new practices were born to reduce the global environmental
impact (according to the principles of life cycle assessment)
of agricultural and livestock practices, acting in a circular
economy perspective (reuse of waste) and rationalizing the
use of resources, such as soil and water. These practices,
given their indoor layup, are particularly suitable for ICT-
based control (e.g. exploiting internet of things) with the aim
of optimizing the yield, the quality of the products by reducing
waste and to monitor the parameters that ensure the most
adequate growing conditions to products.
As well known, aquaponics couples aquaculture with hydro-
ponics: the water from the breeding tanks is filtered, purified
from toxic substances and its chemical-physical parameters
are brought back to values suitable for hydroponic cultivation.

978-1-6654-4135-3/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE

429
Authorized licensed use limited to: INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on August 12,2023 at 10:26:32 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Fig. 1. Aquaponics production system plant layup.
Then water is pumped into the hydroponic system. While
aquaponics is gaining much attention as a farming technique,
thanks to its intrinsically sustainable approach, aquaponic
systems still need continuous maintenance and the processes
need tight control.
Starting from these considerations, this work addresses the
design, implementation and functional validation of a 4.0-
oriented automated acquaponic system pototype. In particular,
the proposed system relies on two major key enabling tech-
nologies (KETs). The first is the development and adoption
of a dedicated microwave reflectometry-based system for
monitoring recycled water quality inside the tanks. The second
technology relies on superabsorbing hydrogel, with the aim
to further optimize water consumption (by reducing irrigation
intervals) and the delivery of the nutrients dissolved in it [17]–
[24]). In addition to these technologies, also IoT was employed
for allowing automation and remote monitoring and control of
the overall aquaponic system (water parameters and environ-
mental conditions e.g. light, temperature and humidity).
The goal is to assess the overall effectiveness in the treatment
and monitoring of water parameters as well as the effect of
the application of hydrogels in the growth and optimization of
the use of plant water.
430
Authorized licensed use limited to: INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on August 12,2023 at 10:26:32 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
The paper is organized as follows. Section II addresses
the design and implementation of the plant. Section III de-
scribes in detail the sensing technology adopted for monitoring
water quality and the superabsorbing hydrogel technology.
Section IV reports the result of the functional validation of
the system, while in Section V conclusions are drawn.
II. D ESIGN AND I MPLEMENTATION OF THE AQUAPONIC
S YSTEM
In the proposed aquaponic system, the water from the breed-
ing tanks (rich in nutritious nitrogenous substances deriving
from fish faeces), destined for disposal, after a completely
automated treatment process (filtering and Nitrogens conver-
sion by bacteria), is pumped into the hydroponic system, made
of a four automated lines based on Nutrient Film Technique
(NFT), with roots immersed in a thin nutrient water layer [25].
Fish derived water parameters like pH values, temperature,
quantity of dissolved oxygen, redox potential, amount of
nitrites, amount of nitrates, quantity of ammonia must be
within well-defined ranges to ensure both the survival of
farmed fish species and the growth of plants.
These parameters are provided through controlled bacteria use
and the filtering system, and they are constantly monitored by
sensors connected to the ICT monitoring network.
 Fig. 1 shows the layout of the plant. It consists of two com-
municating parts: the aquaculture system (aquaculture side)
and the hydroponic cultivation system (hydroponics side).
The whole hydroponic system is powered by the water
coming from the adjacent fish breeding tanks. In particular,
the aquaculture side includes three fish tanks from which water
(after filtering through biological and sand filers) is sent to a
setting/mixing tank, and then collected into a tank/filter, which
is the last element before the culturing system.
The hydroponic system includes three major subsystems: a
floating tank raft (raft basin); a Media Bed system (with
support substrate - in our case expanded clay); and a vertical
NFT system (an espalier system composed by pipes placed in
parallel in which the water flows).
The arrangement of the hydroponics section based on NFT
is shown in Fig. 2. The hydroponic system has four different
lines (connected to the water delivery system) made of tubular
structures with holes for small plastic open pot supports. Each
pot in standard setup contains a sponge support for stem, and
expanded clay as wetting agent for roots, as shown in the
bottom sketch of Fig. 2.
The aquatic system is completely automated. In fact, there
are sensors and solenoid valves that can be controlled by the
decision support system (DSS); in the hydroponic part there
are sensors for the light regulation and solenoid valves to
switch on/off the water flow and/or isolate the tanks from one Fig. 2. Hydroponics system based on NFT method.
another. Sensors for measuring pH, temperature, oxygen, OR
potential, ammonium ion, nitrates, pressures of the pumps and
volatile substances both in the water and in the environment, constant humidity levels to the shoots [26].
are positioned in the recovery tank that is the collection tank SAHs are polymer (natural or synthetic) based material able to
for filtered water in common with the two systems. The plant absorb and slowly release a large amount of liquid solutions
combines Nile tilapia breeding (aquaculture) and micro greens also containing nutrients or drugs. Here they were prepared
of typical South Italy’s plants species (hydroponics). through a crosslinking process described in [27]. SAH were
Environmental and water parameters are measured through prepared starting from a water-3% weight carbossimethyl
dedicated sensors to monitor pH, temperature, oxygen, OR cellulose (as natural gelling polymer) containing citric acid
potential, ammonium ion, nitrates, pressures of the pumps and as crosslinking agent. SAH was grained and then compressed
volatile substances. They are mainly positioned in the recovery into a 0.5 mm into a sandwich structure made of TNT fibers
tank that is the collection tank for filtered water in common and SAH core.
with the two sides. Additionally, the plant employs solenoid The use of hydrogel allows a) a gradual and prolonged release
valves to switch on/off the water flow and/or isolate the tanks of moisture to the root system of plants, reducing the frequency
from each other. Sensors and valves are remotely controlled of irrigation; b) the delivery of nutrients dissolved in the water
by a DSS to monitor and adjust the plant condition but also and therefore superior growth; c) physical support for the root
to set automated irrigation (e.g. irrigation intervals, duration, system and therefore better plant survival.
water amount etc.) As shown in Fig. 3, for assessing the benefits of hydrogel
technology, plants were also placed in pots containing the
III. T HE K EY E NABLING T ECHNOLOGIES A DOPTED IN developed SAH in place of expanded clay. As detailed in the
THE P ROPOSED AQUAPONICS S YSTEM following section, the plant growth in these pots was used as
A. Superabsorbing hydrogel (SAH) technology a figure of merit of the efficacy of the SAH technology.
As mentioned in Section I, the optimization of the
aquaponic system (and in particular of the water consumption B. Sensing technology for monitoring water: microwave re-
and the delivery of the nutrients dissolved in it) was also flectometry
pursued through the adoption of hydrogel technology. More To assess the quality of water, microwave reflectometry
specifically, superabsorbing hydrogel (SAH) based on natural (MR) measurements were carried out on the water sampled
polymers optimized for the absorption of water deriving from from different points of the plant. MR is an electromagnetic
the fish tanks. This was used as an alternative to the expanded measurement technique, largely used for monitoring purposes
clay usually employed to guarantee physical support and in a number of application fields [28]–[40]. MR operates in

431
Authorized licensed use limited to: INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on August 12,2023 at 10:26:32 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Fig. 3. Schematization of the alternative setup with two dishes of CMC
hydrogel used as substrate (left) and standard setup with expanded clay used
as a substrate (right).

Fig. 4. MR measurements results carried out with an “N type” coaxial

real-time and can be employed directly online, along any connector probe. Comparison of the |S11 (f )| for tap water, water from fish
tank, and filtered water.
industrial process; it is also flexible in terms of adaptability
to the specific operating contexts. Hence, this technology was
adopted to ensure the possibility of implementing an online
monitoring system that could provide real time information
about the quality of the water supplied to hydroponic plants.
In MR measurements, the measuring instrument generates a
low-power electromagnetic (EM) signal, which is propagated
along a probe inserted in the material under test (water in the
considered application). Due to the interaction between the
EM signal and the material under test, a portion of the EM
signal is reflected back towards the MR measuring instrument.
Through the analysis of the reflected signal, it is possible to
retrieve information about the dielectric characteristics of the
material under test.
For the MR measurements in the aquaponic system, an Fig. 5. MR measurements results carried out with an “N type” coaxial
open-ended coaxial probe with dimensions equal to those of connector probe: comparison between the |S11 (f )| for mains water and
a N-type electrical connectors was used. The probe can be filtered water, before and after the addition of the SAH.
inserted inside the liquid to be monitored. The MR measure-
ments were carried out by measuring the reflection scattering This behaviour is attributable to variation of the dielectric
parameter (S11 ): measurements were performed using a vector properties of the water, as a result of changes in the chemical
network analyzer (VNA), model VNA R&S ZVA50. To reduce characteristics.
the effect of systematic errors, a short-open-load (SOL) cali- To verify that the addition of SAH do not change the
bration was carried out. properties of water, MR measurements were also carried out
The quantity |S11 | is related to the frequency of the excitation on sample of tap water and of filtered water, before and after
signal (f ) and to the dielectric characteristics of the liquid, ε. the addition of SAH. Fig. 5 shows the obtained results. It
In particular, the resonant frequency, fr exhibited in the |S11 | can be seen that the resonant peaks of the resulting curve
shifts as a result of the dielectric characteristics of the liquid. exhibit the peaks as that of the filtered water. This confirms
IV. E XPERIMENTAL R ESULTS the effectiveness of the plant in water treatment.

A. Aquaponic plant efficacy evaluation in water purification B. Effects of hydrogel use on irrigation intervals and plants
through MR measurements growth
MR measurements were carried out on different water The aim of the test was to assess reduction in irrigation
samples along the process: from the fish tank and from the interval by using CMC hydrogel rather than expanded clay as
filtered water. For comparison, MR measurements were also a substrate for plants.
carried out on tap water. Fig. 4 shows the comparison of the Same aged lettuce plants were used for the test. Different
obtained results in terms of S11 (f ). The reflection scattering irrigation intervals were used on lines from #1 to #4. In
parameters exhibit the typical resonant peaks. It can be noticed particular,
that the resonant peaks corresponding to the water sample from • line #1 was watered every seven days;
the fish tank occurs at f1 = 1.75 GHz and at f2 = 3.15 GHz. • line #2 was watered every other day;
The resonant peaks of the filtered water sample shift towards • line #3 was watered every three days;
lower frequency values, at f1 = 1.70 GHz and f2 = 3.05 GHz. • line #4 was watered every five days;

432
Authorized licensed use limited to: INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on August 12,2023 at 10:26:32 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

Fig. 6. Schematization of the experimental setup and irrigation intervals for
each line.
For each irrigation interval, three plants were prepared using
SAH and three were grown in standard settings, as shown in
Fig. 3. The irrigation scheme is shown in Fig. 6. Irrigation
time was two minutes, and all plants were subjected to a 16:8
light/dark ratio (provided by UV lamp) and 25◦ C.
Lettuce plants growth and vitality were visually evaluated by
monitoring them in a period of two weeks. As positive control
were used same-age lettuce plants in expanded clay setup,
and daily irrigation (typical irrigation interval in traditional
agriculture) and plants with no irrigation as negative control.
Fig. 7 shows the pictures of the lettuce plant evolution during
a two-week observation period. In particular, Fig. 8 shows the
zoom of the comparison between the plants with SAH and
the plants with clay, after the observation period. A survival
difference emerged between the different irrigation times and
for the same irrigation interval but different substrate.
With regard to rows #1 and #4, which correspond to the largest
irrigation intervals, it can be noticed that neither the plants with
clay nor the ones with SAH survived.
Observing row #3, with irrigation interval of three days, it can
be noticed that the plants in clay withered. On the other hand,
the plants with SAH were still healthy, although not luxuriant.
Observing row #2, which corresponds to an irrigation interval
of alternating days, the plants with SAH thrived, while the
plants in clay withered. As clearly emerged, alternate days
irrigation is possible if hydrogel substrate is used instead of
expanded clay. In fact, plants showed the same growth of
positive control.
V. C ONCLUSION
In this work, a 4.0-oriented automated prototypal aquaponic
system was presented. The proposed system relies on two
major key enabling technologies: i) the development and
adoption of a dedicated microwave reflectometry-based system
for monitoring recycled water quality inside the tanks; and ii)
a superabsorbent hydrogel technology to improve the effec-
tiveness of reducing water consumption compared to standard
artificial substrates such as expanded clay. In addition to these
technologies, also IoT was adopted for ensuring automation
and remote monitoring and control of the overall aquaponic
433
Authorized licensed use limited to: INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on August 12,2023 at 10:26:32 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Fig. 7. Picture of the experimental setup and indication of the irrigation
interval for each line.
Fig. 8. Difference in growth between lettuce plants at week #2, for different
irrigation intervals and growth substrates.
system and in particular of hydroponics environmental condi-
tions and irrigation management (i.e. irrigation frequency and
duration).
Results of the experimental validation showed that: i) recycled
water can be successfully purified and employed in hydro-
ponics and ii) through the combined use of an automated
aquaponic plant and superabsorbing hydrogels, it is possible
to optimise water consumption. In particular, here emerged
as it is possible to halve irrigation frequency compared to
traditional agriculture for lettuce plants. Although results refer
to a specific type of plant, they could be generalized to other
species. In addition, once identified the minimum irrigation
interval for a specific species using the hydrogel, by exploiting
the possibility to control separately the irrigation on every
line of the espalier system, it could be possible to allow
the simultaneous growth of different species, guaranteeing an
optimized water consumption.
R EFERENCES
[1] P. D’Amore and A. Tedesco, “Technologies for the implementation of a
security system on rail transportation infrastructures,” Topics in Safety,
Risk, Reliability and Quality, vol. 27, pp. 123–141, 2015.
[2] A. Drago, S. Marrone, N. Mazzocca, A. Tedesco, and V. Vittorini,
“Model-driven estimation of distributed vulnerability in complex railway
networks,” in Proceedings - IEEE 10th International Conference on
Ubiquitous Intelligence and Computing, UIC 2013 and IEEE 10th
 International Conference on Autonomic and Trusted Computing, ATC
2013, pp. 380–387.
[3] L. Angrisani, S. Grazioso, G. Di Gironimo, D. Panariello, and
A. Tedesco, “On the use of soft continuum robots for remote mea-
surement tasks in constrained environments: A brief overview of appli-
cations,” in 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Measurements and
Networking, (M&N), 2019, pp. 1–5.
[4] A. Sforza, C. Sterle, P. D’Amore, A. Tedesco, F. De Cillis, and R. Setola,
“Optimization models in a smart tool for the railway infrastructure
protection,” in Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries
Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinfor-
matics), vol. 8328 LNCS, pp. 191–196.
[5] S. Grazioso, A. Tedesco, M. Selvaggio, S. Debei, S. Chiodini, Egidio De
Benedetto, G. Di Gironimo, and A. Lanzotti, “Design of a soft growing
robot as a practical example of cyber–physical measurement systems,”
in 2021 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Industry 4.0 &
IoT (MetroInd4.0 & IoT), 2021, pp. 23–26.
[6] S. Grazioso, A. Tedesco, M. Selvaggio, S. Debei, and S. Chiodini,
“Towards the development of a cyber-physical measurement system
(CPMS): case study of a bioinspired soft growing robot for remote
measurement and monitoring applications,” ACTA IMEKO, vol. 10,
no. 2, pp. 103–109, 2021.
[7] A. Cataldo, E. De Benedetto, G. Cannazza, E. Piuzzi, and N. Giaquinto,
“Embedded TDR wire-like sensing elements for monitoring applica-
tions,” Measurement, vol. 68, pp. 236–245, 2015.
[8] A. Cataldo, E. De Benedetto, and G. Cannazza, “Hydration monitoring
and moisture control of cement-based samples through embedded wire-
like sensing elements,” IEEE Sensors Journal, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 1208–
1215, 2015.
[9] E. Pittella, L. Angrisani, A. Cataldo, E. Piuzzi, and F. Fabbrocino, “Em-
bedded split ring resonator network for health monitoring in concrete
structures,” IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Magazine, vol. 23,
no. 9, pp. 14–20, 2020.
[10] R. Schiavoni, G. Monti, E. Piuzzi, L. Tarricone, A. Tedesco,
E. De Benedetto, and A. Cataldo, “Feasibility of a wearable reflec-
tometric system for sensing skin hydration,” Sensors, vol. 20, no. 10,
2020.
[11] P. Arpaia, E. De Benedetto, and L. Duraccio, “Design, implementation,
and metrological characterization of a wearable, integrated AR-BCI
hands-free system for health 4.0 monitoring,” Measurement, vol. 177,
2021.
[12] P. Arpaia, E. De Benedetto, C. Dodaro, L. Duraccio, and G. Servillo,
“Metrology-based design of a wearable augmented reality system for
monitoring patient’s vitals in real time,” IEEE Sensors Journal, vol. 21,
no. 9, pp. 11 176–11 183, 2021.
[13] L. Corchia, G. Monti, E. De Benedetto, A. Cataldo, L. Angrisani,
P. Arpaia, and L. Tarricone, “Fully-textile, wearable chipless tags for
identification and tracking applications,” Sensors, vol. 20, no. 2, 2020.
[14] E. Y, H. S, and K. N, “Automation in agriculture,” in Springer Handbook
of Automation. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2009,
p. 353–373.
[15] S. Beckers, “Aquaponics: a positive impact circular economy approach
to feeding,” in Field Actions Science Reports, 2019, pp. 78–84.
[16] M. Friuli, P. Nitti, L. Cafuero, A. Prete, M. Zafar, M. Madaghiele,
and C. Demitri, “Cellulose acetate and cardanol based seed coating for
intraspecific weeding coupled with natural herbicide spraying,” J Polym
Environ, vol. 28, no. 10, p. 2893–2904, 2020.
[17] B. Palazzo et al., “Fabrication, characterization and cell cultures on a
novel composite chitosan-nanohap scaffold,” International Journal of
Immunopathology and Pharmacology, vol. 24, no. 1, 2011.
[18] E. Varoni, M. Tschon, B. Palazzo, P. Nitti, L. Martini, and L. Rimon-
dini, “Agarose gel as biomaterial or scaffold for implantation surgery:
characterization, histological and histomorphometric study on soft tissue
response,” Connective Tissue Research, vol. 53, no. 3, p. 548–554, 2012.
[19] P. Nitti, F. Scalera, A. Sannino, F. Gervaso, and G. Peretti, “La tecnica
dell’electrospinning nella medicina rigenerativa,” Sigascot News, vol. 21,
no. 3, 2015.
[20] P. Nitti, N. Gallo, L. Natta, F. Scalera, B. Palazzo, A. Sannino,
and F. Gervaso, “Influence of nanofiber orientation on morphological
and mechanical properties of electrospun chitosan mats,” Journal of
Healthcare Engineering, no. 3651480, 2018.
[21] P. Nitti et al., “Effect of L-arginine on the stability of chitosan-based
aligned electrospun mats,” Polymer Testing, vol. 91, no. 106758, 2020.
434
Authorized licensed use limited to: INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY. Downloaded on August 12,2023 at 10:26:32 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
[22] L. Salvatore et al., “Potential of electrospun poly(3-
hydroxybutyrate)/collagen blends for tissue engineering applications,”
Journal of Healthcare Engineering, no. 6573947, 2018.
[23] P. Nitti, S. Kunjalukkal Padmanabhan, S. Cortazzi, E. Stanca,
L. Siculella, A. Licciulli, and D. C., “Enhancing bioactivity of hydrox-
yapatite scaffolds using fibrous type i collagen,” Frontiers in Bioengi-
neering and Biotechnology, vol. 9, no. 631177, 2021.
[24] N. Calabriso, E. Stanca, A. Rochira, F. Damiano, B. Giannotti, L.and Di
Chiara Stanca, M. Massaro, E. Scoditti, C. Demitri, P. Nitti, A. Palermo,
L. Siculella, and M. Carluccio, “Angiogenic properties of concentrated
growth factors (cgfs): The role of soluble factors and cellular compo-
nents,” Pharmaceutics, vol. 13, no. 635, 2021.
[25] C. G. M and B. J. P, “Rapid start-up of a biological filter in a closed
aquaculture system,” in Aquaculture, 1977, pp. 85–88.
[26] C. Demitri, M. Madaghiele, and Sannino, “Biodegradable cellulose-
based hydrogels: Design and applications,” in Materials, 2009, p.
353–373.
[27] C. Demitri, F. Scalera, M. Madaghiele, A. Sannino, and A. Maffezzoli,
“Potential of cellulose-based superabsorbent hydrogels as water reservoir
in agriculture,” in Int. J. Polym. Sci., 2013, p. 435073.
[28] E. Piuzzi, G. Cannazza, A. Cataldo, E. De Benedetto, L. De Giorgi,
F. Frezza, G. Leucci, S. Pisa, E. Pittella, S. Prontera, and F. Timpani,
“A comparative assessment of microwave-based methods for moisture
content characterization in stone materials,” Measurement, vol. 114, pp.
493–500.
[29] A. Cataldo, G. Monti, E. De Benedetto, G. Cannazza, L. Tarricone, and
L. Catarinucci, “Assessment of a TD-based method for characterization
of antennas,” IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement,
vol. 58, no. 5, pp. 1412–1419, 2009.
[30] A. Cataldo, E. De Benedetto, G. Cannazza, E. Piuzzi, and E. Pittella,
“TDR-based measurements of water content in construction materials for
in-the-field use and calibration,” IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation
and Measurement, vol. 67, no. 5, pp. 1230–1237, 2018.
[31] A. Cataldo, E. De Benedetto, G. Cannazza, A. Masciullo, N. Giaquinto,
G. D’Aucelli, N. Costantino, A. De Leo, and M. Miraglia, “Recent ad-
vances in the TDR-based leak detection system for pipeline inspection,”
Measurement, vol. 98, pp. 347–354, 2017.
[32] A. Cataldo, E. De Benedetto, G. Cannazza, G. Monti, and E. Piuzzi,
“TDR-based monitoring of rising damp through the embedding of wire-
like sensing elements in building structures,” Measurement, vol. 98, pp.
355–360, 2017.
[33] A. Cataldo, E. De Benedetto, G. Cannazza, G. Leucci, L. De Giorgi,
and C. Demitri, “Enhancement of leak detection in pipelines through
time-domain reflectometry/ground penetrating radar measurements,” IET
Science, Measurement and Technology, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 696–702,
2017.
[34] N. Giaquinto, A. Cataldo, G. D’Aucelli, E. De Benedetto, and G. Can-
nazza, “Water detection using bi-wires as sensing elements: Comparison
between capacimetry-based and time-of-flight-based techniques,” IEEE
Sensors Journal, vol. 16, no. 11, pp. 4309–4317, 2016.
[35] E. Piuzzi, A. Cataldo, G. Cannazza, and E. De Benedetto, “An improved
reflectometric method for soil moisture measurement exploiting an in-
novative triple-short calibration,” IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation
and Measurement, vol. 59, no. 10, pp. 2747–2754, 2010.
[36] N. Giaquinto, G. D’Aucelli, E. De Benedetto, G. Cannazza, A. Cataldo,
E. Piuzzi, and A. Masciullo, “Criteria for automated estimation of time
of flight in TDR analysis,” IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and
Measurement, vol. 65, no. 5, pp. 1215–1224, 2016.
[37] A. Cataldo, G. Cannazza, E. De Benedetto, and N. Giaquinto, “Experi-
mental validation of a TDR-based system for measuring leak distances
in buried metal pipes,” Progress in Electromagnetics Research, vol. 132,
pp. 71–90, 2012.
[38] A. Cataldo, E. De Benedetto, A. Masciullo, and G. Cannazza, “A new
measurement algorithm for TDR-based localization of large dielectric
permittivity variations in long-distance cable systems,” Measurement,
vol. 174, 2021.
[39] A. Cataldo, E. De Benedetto, L. Angrisani, G. Cannazza, and E. Piuzzi,
“A microwave measuring system for detecting and localizing anoma-
lies in metallic pipelines,” IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and
Measurement, vol. 70, 2021.
[40] A. Cataldo, R. Schiavoni, A. Masciullo, G. Cannazza, F. Micelli, and
E. De Benedetto, “Combined punctual and diffused monitoring of
concrete structures based on dielectric measurements,” Sensors, vol. 21,
no. 14, 2021.