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. 2014 Sep 5;14(9):16563-85.
doi: 10.3390/s140916563.

Feasibility of frequency-modulated wireless transmission for a multi-purpose MEMS-based accelerometer

Alessandro Sabato  1 , Maria Q Feng  2
Affiliations

Feasibility of frequency-modulated wireless transmission for a multi-purpose MEMS-based accelerometer

Alessandro Sabato et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Recent advances in the Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) technology have made wireless MEMS accelerometers an attractive tool for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of civil engineering structures. To date, sensors' low sensitivity and accuracy--especially at very low frequencies--have imposed serious limitations for their application in monitoring large-sized structures. Conventionally, the MEMS sensor's analog signals are converted to digital signals before radio-frequency (RF) wireless transmission. The conversion can cause a low sensitivity to the important low-frequency and low-amplitude signals. To overcome this difficulty, the authors have developed a MEMS accelerometer system, which converts the sensor output voltage to a frequency-modulated signal before RF transmission. This is achieved by using a Voltage to Frequency Conversion (V/F) instead of the conventional Analog to Digital Conversion (ADC). In this paper, a prototype MEMS accelerometer system is presented, which consists of a transmitter and receiver circuit boards. The former is equipped with a MEMS accelerometer, a V/F converter and a wireless RF transmitter, while the latter contains an RF receiver and a F/V converter for demodulating the signal. The efficacy of the MEMS accelerometer system in measuring low-frequency and low-amplitude dynamic responses is demonstrated through extensive laboratory tests and experiments on a flow-loop pipeline.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(a) Transmitter board block diagram. (b) Receiver board block diagram.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Circuit diagram of accelerometer transmitter board.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Prototype of the transmitter board.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Circuit diagram of the receiver board.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Prototype of the receiver board.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Setup for the static calibration test.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Results of accelerometer system calibration tests.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Calibration chart when receiver is 5 m away from transmitter.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Calibration chart when receiver is 15 m away from transmitter.
Figure 10.
Figure 10.
Calibration chart when receiver is 30 m away from transmitter.
Figure 11.
Figure 11.
Time histories of wirelessly transmitted signal (Indoor).
Figure 12.
Figure 12.
Time histories of wirelessly transmitted signal (Outdoor).
Figure 13.
Figure 13.
Effect of battery residual charge on sensor output.
Figure 14.
Figure 14.
Setup for the shaking table test (sinusoidal wave input).
Figure 15.
Figure 15.
Comparison of measurements by the two Sensors in time and frequency domains (5 Hz sinusoidal excitation).
Figure 16.
Figure 16.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (2 Hz sinusoidal excitation).
Figure 17.
Figure 17.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (1 Hz sinusoidal excitation).
Figure 18.
Figure 18.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (0.5 Hz sinusoidal excitation).
Figure 19.
Figure 19.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (0.2 Hz sinusoidal excitation).
Figure 20.
Figure 20.
Setup for the shaking table test (periodic waves input).
Figure 21.
Figure 21.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (5 Hz Periodic Wave Excitation).
Figure 22.
Figure 22.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (2 Hz Periodic Wave Excitation).
Figure 23.
Figure 23.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (1 Hz Periodic Wave Excitation).
Figure 24.
Figure 24.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (0.5 Hz Periodic Wave Excitation).
Figure 25.
Figure 25.
Setup for flow-loop pipeline test.
Figure 26.
Figure 26.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (8.00 × 10−4 m3·s−1 flow rate).
Figure 27.
Figure 27.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (1.35 × 10−3 m3·s−1 flow rate).
Figure 28.
Figure 28.
Comparison of measurements by the two sensors in time and frequency domains (2.00 × 10−3 m3·s−1 flow rate).
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References

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