TY - GEN
T1 - A Wireless, Multi-Channel Printed Capacitive Strain Gauge System for Structural Health Monitoring
AU - Ranganatha, Kshama L.
AU - Novich, Kaelee
AU - Phero, Timothy
AU - Fujimoto, Kiyo T.
AU - Litteken, Doug
AU - Estrada, Dave
AU - Jaques, Brian J.
AU - Johnson, Benjamin C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 IEEE.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Structural health monitoring of soft structural iles plays a key role within the space industry to ensure the safety and integrity of space habitats, parachutes, and decelerator systems. Strain monitoring could be an effective means to evaluate structural integrity, but conventional monitoring systems are not suitable because they are intended for large, rigid structures. To overcome the limitations of rigid sensors, we recently proposed using printed capacitive strain gauges (CSGs) on flexible substrates to monitor the structural health of soft structure materials. Here, we present a strategy and implementation of a wireless, multi-channel readout system for distributed monitoring of soft structural iles with printed CSGs. The system is comprised of localized sensor motes and a wireless Bluetooth hub. The sensor mote employs a relaxation oscillator frontend to convert capacitance to frequency with a high dynamic range using only three interface wires per mote. The mote's high dynamic range ensures compatibility with various gauge designs and accommodates significant process variation associated with printed gauges. Each hub enables users to read 8 channels of data wirelessly at a sampling rate of 100Hz and can be scaled to higher channel counts through the use of additional hubs. The sensor motes and wireless hub are miniaturized to accommodate flexible substrates, such as a Kevlar strap. The system is tested and exhibits excellent linearity and dynamic range.
AB - Structural health monitoring of soft structural iles plays a key role within the space industry to ensure the safety and integrity of space habitats, parachutes, and decelerator systems. Strain monitoring could be an effective means to evaluate structural integrity, but conventional monitoring systems are not suitable because they are intended for large, rigid structures. To overcome the limitations of rigid sensors, we recently proposed using printed capacitive strain gauges (CSGs) on flexible substrates to monitor the structural health of soft structure materials. Here, we present a strategy and implementation of a wireless, multi-channel readout system for distributed monitoring of soft structural iles with printed CSGs. The system is comprised of localized sensor motes and a wireless Bluetooth hub. The sensor mote employs a relaxation oscillator frontend to convert capacitance to frequency with a high dynamic range using only three interface wires per mote. The mote's high dynamic range ensures compatibility with various gauge designs and accommodates significant process variation associated with printed gauges. Each hub enables users to read 8 channels of data wirelessly at a sampling rate of 100Hz and can be scaled to higher channel counts through the use of additional hubs. The sensor motes and wireless hub are miniaturized to accommodate flexible substrates, such as a Kevlar strap. The system is tested and exhibits excellent linearity and dynamic range.
KW - capacitive strain gauge
KW - space habitat
KW - structural health monitoring
KW - structural ile
KW - wireless sensors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123642441&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/SENSORS47087.2021.9639749
DO - 10.1109/SENSORS47087.2021.9639749
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85123642441
T3 - Proceedings of IEEE Sensors
BT - 2021 IEEE Sensors, SENSORS 2021 - Conference Proceedings
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 20th IEEE Sensors, SENSORS 2021
Y2 - 31 October 2021 through 4 November 2021
ER -