Wireless sensors enable fast and easy recording of measurement data -also known as plug and play. Currently a very big challenge is providing of a stable long range power supply. The use of energy harvesting provides an opportunity to supply wireless sensors and to improve the stability of the sensor networks. To estimate the lifetime of sensors (in a network) a simulation tool based on MATLAB/Simulink was developed.
IndexTermsEnergy Harvesting, simulation, MATLAB/Simulink, Energy self-sufficient measurement, vibrations diagnostic
I. WIRELESS SENSORS FOR VIBRATION DIAGNOSTIC IN
TRAMSThe right time for replacement a bearing of a tram in the "Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe LVB" (Leipzig Public Transportation Service) can be found out only after costly inspections. This can result in an outage of the rail car lasting over several days.In the research project "TRAINCON" the University of Applied Sciences Leipzig (HTWK Leipzig), in cooperation with other project partners, developed methodology for wear detection using wireless and energy self-sufficient sensors. This methodology is based on several wireless, temporary affixed sensor nodes in a sensor network to measure for material wear. The measured data will be automatically recorded and if necessary preprocessed and finally sent over a base station where the master display is located. In a later stage an analysis of the measurement data will be performed and the system state will be automatically computed by using different types of evaluation methods. That way we will make it possible to infer a suggestion for a maintenance task.The use of energy self-sufficient sensors enables the use of the environmental energy to satisfy as much as possible, their energy requirements. The appropriate number of measurements depends on the type and distance of the data transfer as well as the available quantity of useable and storable environmental energy.
A. Sensor Systems in TramsTo enable wear detection over acoustic emissions (structure-borne sound) as characteristics it is necessary to use acceleration sensors with a sample rate of more than 10 kHz. Depending on the sampling time interval, it might result in a high number of measurements to be sent or to be preprocessed before sending (to be compressed). harvester transceiver energy management storage sensor acoustic emission μ-controller wireless sensornode environmental energy Fig. 1 Sensor systems on Trams (picture reference LVB)The sensors' requirements for deployment in a tram are as follows: -be wireless -highly reliable -high energy lifetime -small size
B. Energy Self-sufficient MeasurementThe use of energy harvesting, with other word to harvest the unused one as minor product accrued energy, provides 613
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.