Energy harvester design method to power wireless sensor nodes for in pipe monitoring applications

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2016-7
Qureshi, Fassahat Ullah
A sensor network, used to monitor water, oil or gas pipelines, consists of a group of wireless sensor nodes (WSN) that are linked using a communication infrastructure. Traditional batteries are commonly used to power sensor nodes, but they have limited lifetime and require regular maintenance. Thus, their utility is limited in locations that are difficult to access, such as underwater pipelines. Therefore, using an energy harvester to power the sensor node becomes a desirable option. A method for near-optimal piezoelectric (PZT) bimorph energy harvester module design with minimum impact on the pipe performance is proposed in this study to enable a self-powered wireless sensor node for in-pipe monitoring. An analytical model is presented as the starting point of this research, which is further validated through finite element simulations using COMSOL software in 2D (two dimensional) environment. Geometry sensitivity analysis and optimization is done through finite element simulations. The boundary conditions of the recently constructed Turkey-Cyprus water pipeline are considered for finite element analysis with a flow velocity of 1.4 m/s. Performance impact analysis is also done in terms of head loss to compare two PZT cantilever energy harvesters attached to I- and D-shaped bluff bodies. Series and parallel arrangements of energy harvesters are compared with respect to generated power, and impact on pipe performance. The geometrically designed energy harvester is able to generate a power of 0.82 mW corresponding to a head loss of 3 mm, which is considered to be a near optimal design. It is concluded from the analysis that 15 PZT cantilevers in parallel arrangement are needed to maintain 4096 bits per second (bps) transmission of 512-Byte data packet once per 5 minutes with the piezoelectric harvester, using an integrated 7.1 J super capacitor that can fit into the bluff body together with the power electronics and acoustic transceiver.

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Citation Formats
F. U. Qureshi, “Energy harvester design method to power wireless sensor nodes for in pipe monitoring applications,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2016.