Investigation the influence of miniaturized RFID tag sensor on coupling effect

Abstract

Purpose The skin and skeleton of aircraft are connected by adhesives or rivets to bear and transfer aerodynamic load. It is easy for crack and fracture damage to occur under the action of cyclic load, thus reducing aircraft bearing capacity/integrity and causing serious security risks. Therefore, it is particularly important that passive wireless radio frequency identification (RFID) sensors be used for the health monitoring of aircraft skin in its whole life cycle. This paper aims to investigate the influence of miniaturization on the coupling effect between RFID tag sensors. Design/methodology/approach Two groups of crack sensing systems based on RFID tags were designed. Gain and mutual impedance of sensor tags were analyzed via mode analysis. The reliability of crack detection of both sensing systems was compared using a preset experimental scheme. Findings Miniaturized antennas can reduce edge influence and the coupling effect. Gain and mutual impedance decrease with the increase in distance between dual tags. Backscatter power shows a decreasing trend and threshold power to activate tags in reader antenna increases. Results show that the miniaturization of size is more suitable for the application of multiple sensors. Originality/value By comparing two groups of sensing systems, the consistency of crack detection sensitivity is better when small tags are placed in parallel, which provides a theoretical basis for the application of small, passive and densely distributed crack sensors in the future.

Wireless Power Supply Sensing Tags Based on Anti-Collision Algorithm for Sensing Systems

“…The cold start charging time was much longer than the hot start charging time. To better validate the wireless energy collection performance of the sensing tags, similar designs from references [40] and [41] were selected for comparison. Reference [40] was a wireless sensor that could achieve self powered energy collection, while reference [41] designed a miniaturized RFID tag sensor.…”

A Review of Radio Frequency Identification Sensing Systems for Structural Health Monitoring

“…With a circular patch antenna as a crack sensor, a linear relationship between the resonance frequency and crack parameters, i.e., depth, length, width, and cross-sectional area, has been obtained [ 8 ]. A rectangular patch antenna was developed for crack depth and length detection with mm resolution [ 9 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ]. Crack localization [ 69 ] and multi-tag coupling [ 9 , 70 ] were further investigated.…”

“…A rectangular patch antenna was developed for crack depth and length detection with mm resolution [ 9 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ]. Crack localization [ 69 ] and multi-tag coupling [ 9 , 70 ] were further investigated. A 3D antenna was designed in [ 45 ] for crack depth evaluation.…”

“…In practical application, the miniaturization of antennas enables a denser distribution of sensor tags within the same monitoring area [ 70 ]. Meanwhile, the reduction of antenna dimensions could increase the current in a specific area and thus improve the crack and corrosion sensitivity and resolution [ 11 , 45 ].…”

A Concise State-of-the-Art Review of Crack Monitoring Enabled by RFID Technology

“…RFID sensing technology has the advantages of wireless operation and low cost, which makes it highly competitive in the field of structure health monitoring [9][10][11][12][13]. Therefore, this study systematically summarizes the research progress of crack monitoring based on RFID technology in recent years.…”