Ultrasonic lamb wave energy transmission system for aircraft structural health monitoring applications

In this project an investigation of a wireless power transmission method utilising ultrasonic Lamb waves travelling along plates was performed. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first time such a system was investigated. The primary application for this method is the supply of power to wireless structural health monitoring (SHM) sensor nodes located in remote areas of the aircraft structure. A vibration generator is placed in a location where electricity supply is readily available. Ultrasonic waves generated by this device travel through the aircraft structure to a receiver in a remote wireless sensor node. The receiver converts the mechanical vibration of the ultrasonic waves back to electricity, which is used to power the sensor node. An experimental setup comprising a 1000 × 821 × 1.5 mm aluminium plate was designed to model an aircraft skin panel. Pairs of piezoelectric transducers were positioned along the longer edges of the plate. The electric impedance characteristics of three transducer types were measured. A circuit simulation MATLAB code was written. An input and output power measurement system was developed. The MFC M8528-P1 transducer type was identified as providing the best performance. The use of inductors to compensate for the capacitive characteristics of transducers was shown to provide up to 170-fold power throughput increase. The propagation of Lamb waves in the experimental plate was mapped using a scanning laser vibrometer and simulated using LISA finite difference method software. An optimised laboratory system transmitted 17 mW of power across a distance of 54 cm while being driven by a 20 V, 224 kHz signal. This figure can be easily increased by using a higher drive voltage. This shows that the system is capable of supplying sufficient power to wireless SHM sensor nodes, which currently have a maximum power requirement of approximately 200 mW