Strain Gauge-Enable Wireless Vibration Sensor Remotely Powered by Light

Abstract

This paper presents a low-power wireless strain sensor that can be remotely powered by a light source and can be dynamically interrogated with a low-cost wireless interrogator. Based on a conventional thin film strain gauge, the wireless sensor is capable of measuring both static and vibration deformations. The low power wireless operation was achieved via amplitude modulation of the antenna backscattering using a high frequency oscillatory signal whose frequency is controlled by the low-frequency strain signal. The wireless strain sensor can be powered continuously by harvesting the energy supplied from a remote light source using a small solar panel. A micro-processor based wireless interrogator was developed to recover the strain information from the wirelessly received signals dynamically. The implementation and characterization of the wireless strain sensor and wireless interrogator are presented.

A multifunctional device as both strain sensor and energy harvester for structural health monitoring

“…As a sensor, this voltage is directly used as the sensor signal from the piezoelectric transducer where the strain can be calculated using (1). As an energy harvester, this generated voltage is used as an electrical energy to power up electronic devices after going through a power management module (PMM) that performs power conditioning to convert the electrical energy into a suitable form.…”

“…The health of a structure can be estimated through monitoring of its physical behavior and environmental condition such as strain, acceleration, and temperature [1][2][3]. SHM systems are usually installed within the structures to gather these data.…”

“…Although this method offers a reliable and inexpensive solution, the requirement of wiring for data and power transmission of the system limits its wide deployment within a structure. The associated circuit is also bulky and power hungry [1,4].…”

K/Ka-Band Very High Data-Rate Receivers: A Viable Solution for Future Moon Exploration Missions

“…The main features of the receiver are: (i) to enable communication from Earth to lunar orbit (E-LO), from Earth to lunar surface (E-LS) and from a lunar orbit to lunar surface (LO-LS), even in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions; (ii) to acquire, demodulate and decode, with a low-density parity-check (LDPC) approach, uplink signals in the 22.55-23.15 GHz or in the 27.5-30 GHz bands, covering different data rates up to 100 Mbps; (iii) to implement the modulation schemes required by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) and to the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS), both in the classical way (based on ground-aided acquisition approach) and in autonomous mode (non-ground-aided). Another important requirement is to keep the power consumption below 12 W in such a way as to be compatible with the solar panels available on the market [5,6].…”

Single Piezoelectric Transducer as Strain Sensor and Energy Harvester Using Time-Multiplexing Operation

“…Battery-free WSNs can be realized by harvesting ambient energy as their energy source through energy harvesting to power up the system [3]. Vibration energy is one of the most attractive sources due to its abundance in engineering structures [4], [5]. Piezoelectric transducers are widely used as vibration energy harvesters due to their simple structures and high power generation capability [6], [7].…”