Abstract
Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are now capable of powering the abundant low power electronics from very small (just a few degrees Celsius) temperature gradients. This factor along with the continuously lowering cost and size of TEGs, has contributed to the growing number of miniaturized battery-free sensor modules powered by TEGs. In this article, we present the design of an ambient-powered wireless bolt for high-end electro-mechanical systems. The bolt is equipped with a temperature sensor and a low power RF chip powered from a TEG. A DC-DC converter interfacing the TEG with the RF chip is used to step-up the low TEG voltage. The work includes the characterizations of different TEGs and DC-DC converters to determine the optimal design based on the amount of power that can be generated from a TEG under different loads and at temperature gradients typical of industrial environments. A prototype system was implemented and the power consumption of this system under different conditions was also measured. Results demonstrate that the power generated by the TEG at very low temperature gradients is sufficient to guarantee continuous wireless monitoring of the critical fasteners in critical systems such as avionics, motorsport and aerospace.
Highlights
The average number of sensors on electromechanical systems (EMS), which includes different aerial and ground vehicles, complex infrastructures such as manufacturing plants, underwater oil &gas pipelines has undergone an exponential increase
The characterization of the thermoelectric modules was conducted to verify the data reported by the manufacturer before employing the Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) for use and to obtain more information about the power density and the power factor, parameters that were not reported on the technical document provided by the manufacturer
The smart bolt system consists of a CC1310 low power wireless MCUs from Texas instruments
Summary
Gas pipelines has undergone an exponential increase Those EMS building blocks that are not fitted with sensors and are not monitored and controlled by an automation system in real-time must undergo a periodic manual inspection and maintenance. This manual inspection which has a probability of being either premature or overdue is unreliable and adds extra costs. In EMS, critical fasteners that are located close to a large source of heat, such as an engine, are subject to a continuous rapid heating and cooling which will eventually render them brittle [1]. It is important to monitor the health of critical fasteners in EMS, especially those whose failure can lead to a total failure or significant reduction in performance of the whole EMS
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