Electric potential and electric field imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Generazio, E. R.

2017-02-01

The technology and methods for remote quantitative imaging of electrostatic potentials and electrostatic fields in and around objects and in free space is presented. Electric field imaging (EFI) technology may be applied to characterize intrinsic or existing electric potentials and electric fields, or an externally generated electrostatic field made be used for "illuminating" volumes to be inspected with EFI. The baseline sensor technology (e-Sensor) and its construction, optional electric field generation (quasi-static generator), and current e-Sensor enhancements (ephemeral e-Sensor) are discussed. Demonstrations for structural, electronic, human, and memory applications are shown. This new EFI capability is demonstrated to reveal characterization of electric charge distribution creating a new field of study embracing areas of interest including electrostatic discharge (ESD) mitigation, crime scene forensics, design and materials selection for advanced sensors, dielectric morphology of structures, tether integrity, organic molecular memory, and medical diagnostic and treatment efficacy applications such as cardiac polarization wave propagation and electromyography imaging.

A copper-coated fiber Bragg grating current sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Danping; Zhao, Limin; Lin, Yingwen

2005-01-01

Conventional current transformer (CT) is based on the principles of electric magnetic induction with copper wire windings and iron cores, it is widely used in power systems. But it emerges more weakness as the applied voltage and power capacity more and more increase. Over the past 20 years optical current sensors have received significant attention by a number of groups around the world as next generation high voltage measurement devices, with a view to replacing iron-corn current transformers in the electric power industry. In the opposite side of conventional current transformer, optical fiber current sensor provides a solution of the existed problems. It brings the significant advantages that they are non-conductive and lightweight, which can allow for much simpler insulation and mounting designs as the application voltage increase to1000kV or more to day. In addition, optical sensors do not exhibit hysteresis and provide a much large dynamic range and frequency response than iron-core CT. Optical fiber Bragg grating current sensor is the most potential important one among the optical current sensors, but its current transferred sensibility and the capability of anti-variance of temperature and stress still in a lower level. In this paper, a copper coated Bragg grating current sensor are described. The sensibility is improved significantly.

Electricity from the Silk Cocoon Membrane

PubMed Central

Tulachan, Brindan; Meena, Sunil Kumar; Rai, Ratan Kumar; Mallick, Chandrakant; Kusurkar, Tejas Sanjeev; Teotia, Arun Kumar; Sethy, Niroj Kumar; Bhargava, Kalpana; Bhattacharya, Shantanu; Kumar, Ashok; Sharma, Raj Kishore; Sinha, Neeraj; Singh, Sushil Kumar; Das, Mainak

2014-01-01

Silk cocoon membrane (SCM) is an insect engineered structure. We studied the electrical properties of mulberry (Bombyx mori) and non-mulberry (Tussar, Antheraea mylitta) SCM. When dry, SCM behaves like an insulator. On absorbing moisture, it generates electrical current, which is modulated by temperature. The current flowing across the SCM is possibly ionic and protonic in nature. We exploited the electrical properties of SCM to develop simple energy harvesting devices, which could operate low power electronic systems. Based on our findings, we propose that the temperature and humidity dependent electrical properties of the SCM could find applications in battery technology, bio-sensor, humidity sensor, steam engines and waste heat management. PMID:24961354

Electricity from the silk cocoon membrane.

PubMed

Tulachan, Brindan; Meena, Sunil Kumar; Rai, Ratan Kumar; Mallick, Chandrakant; Kusurkar, Tejas Sanjeev; Teotia, Arun Kumar; Sethy, Niroj Kumar; Bhargava, Kalpana; Bhattacharya, Shantanu; Kumar, Ashok; Sharma, Raj Kishore; Sinha, Neeraj; Singh, Sushil Kumar; Das, Mainak

2014-06-25

Silk cocoon membrane (SCM) is an insect engineered structure. We studied the electrical properties of mulberry (Bombyx mori) and non-mulberry (Tussar, Antheraea mylitta) SCM. When dry, SCM behaves like an insulator. On absorbing moisture, it generates electrical current, which is modulated by temperature. The current flowing across the SCM is possibly ionic and protonic in nature. We exploited the electrical properties of SCM to develop simple energy harvesting devices, which could operate low power electronic systems. Based on our findings, we propose that the temperature and humidity dependent electrical properties of the SCM could find applications in battery technology, bio-sensor, humidity sensor, steam engines and waste heat management.

Electricity from the Silk Cocoon Membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tulachan, Brindan; Meena, Sunil Kumar; Rai, Ratan Kumar; Mallick, Chandrakant; Kusurkar, Tejas Sanjeev; Teotia, Arun Kumar; Sethy, Niroj Kumar; Bhargava, Kalpana; Bhattacharya, Shantanu; Kumar, Ashok; Sharma, Raj Kishore; Sinha, Neeraj; Singh, Sushil Kumar; Das, Mainak

2014-06-01

Silk cocoon membrane (SCM) is an insect engineered structure. We studied the electrical properties of mulberry (Bombyx mori) and non-mulberry (Tussar, Antheraea mylitta) SCM. When dry, SCM behaves like an insulator. On absorbing moisture, it generates electrical current, which is modulated by temperature. The current flowing across the SCM is possibly ionic and protonic in nature. We exploited the electrical properties of SCM to develop simple energy harvesting devices, which could operate low power electronic systems. Based on our findings, we propose that the temperature and humidity dependent electrical properties of the SCM could find applications in battery technology, bio-sensor, humidity sensor, steam engines and waste heat management.

Method and system employing finite state machine modeling to identify one of a plurality of different electric load types

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Du, Liang; Yang, Yi; Harley, Ronald Gordon

A system is for a plurality of different electric load types. The system includes a plurality of sensors structured to sense a voltage signal and a current signal for each of the different electric loads; and a processor. The processor acquires a voltage and current waveform from the sensors for a corresponding one of the different electric load types; calculates a power or current RMS profile of the waveform; quantizes the power or current RMS profile into a set of quantized state-values; evaluates a state-duration for each of the quantized state-values; evaluates a plurality of state-types based on the powermore » or current RMS profile and the quantized state-values; generates a state-sequence that describes a corresponding finite state machine model of a generalized load start-up or transient profile for the corresponding electric load type; and identifies the corresponding electric load type.« less

Field-effect enhanced triboelectric colloidal quantum dot flexible sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Lingju; Xu, Qiwei; Fan, Shicheng; Dick, Carson R.; Wang, Xihua

2017-10-01

Flexible electronics, which is of great importance as fundamental sensor and communication technologies for many internet-of-things applications, has established a huge market encroaching into the trillion-dollar market of solid state electronics. For the capability of being processed by printing or spraying, colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) play an increasingly important role in flexible electronics. Although the electrical properties of CQD thin-films are expected to be stable on flexible substrates, their electrical performance could be tuned for applications in flexible touch sensors. Here, we report CQD touch sensors employing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) triboelectric films. The electrical response of touching activity is enhanced by incorporating CQD field-effect transistors into the device architecture. Thanks to the use of the CQD thin film as a current amplifier, the field-effect CQD touch sensor shows a fast response to various touching materials, even being bent to a large curvature. It also shows a much higher output current density compared to a PDMS triboelectric touch sensor.

Inspection and analysis of the walls of fluid filled tubes by active electrolocation: a biomimetic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gottwald, Martin; Mayekar, Kavita; Reiswich, Vladislav; Bousack, Herbert; Damalla, Deepak; Biswas, Shubham; Metzen, Michael G.; von der Emde, Gerhard

2011-04-01

During their nocturnal activity period, weakly electric fish employ a process called "active electrolocation" for navigation and object detection. They discharge an electric organ in their tail, which emits electrical current pulses, called electric organ discharges (EOD). Local EODs are sensed by arrays of electroreceptors in the fish's skin, which respond to modulations of the signal caused by nearby objects. Fish thus gain information about the size, shape, complex impedance and distance of objects. Inspired by these remarkable capabilities, we have designed technical sensor systems which employ active electrolocation to detect and analyse the walls of small, fluid filled pipes. Our sensor systems emit pulsed electrical signals into the conducting medium and simultaneously sense local current densities with an array of electrodes. Sensors can be designed which (i) analyse the tube wall, (ii) detect and localize material faults, (iii) identify wall inclusions or objects blocking the tube (iv) and find leakages. Here, we present first experiments and FEM simulations on the optimal sensor arrangement for different types of sensor systems and different types of tubes. In addition, different methods for sensor read-out and signal processing are compared. Our biomimetic sensor systems promise to be relatively insensitive to environmental disturbances such as heat, pressure, turbidity or muddiness. They could be used in a wide range of tubes and pipes including water pipes, hydraulic systems, and biological systems. Medical applications include catheter based sensors which inspect blood vessels, urethras and similar ducts in the human body.

Method and system employing graphical electric load categorization to identify one of a plurality of different electric load types

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Yi; Du, Liang

A system for different electric loads includes sensors structured to sense voltage and current signals for each of the different electric loads; a hierarchical load feature database having a plurality of layers, with one of the layers including a plurality of different load categories; and a processor. The processor acquires voltage and current waveforms from the sensors for a corresponding one of the different electric loads; maps a voltage-current trajectory to a grid including a plurality of cells, each of which is assigned a binary value of zero or one; extracts a plurality of different features from the mapped gridmore » of cells as a graphical signature of the corresponding one of the different electric loads; derives a category of the corresponding one of the different electric loads from the database; and identifies one of a plurality of different electric load types for the corresponding one of the different electric loads.« less

The effect of conductor permeability on electric current transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirzaei, M.; Ripka, P.; Chirtsov, A.; Kaspar, P.; Vyhnanek, J.

2018-04-01

In this paper, experimental works and theoretical analysis are presented to analyze the influence of the conductor permeability on the precision of yokeless current sensors. The results of finite-element method (FEM) fit well the measured field values around the conductor. Finally we evaluate the difference in magnetic fields distribution around non-magnetic and magnetic conductor. The calculated values show that the permeability of the ferromagnetic conductor significally affects the reading of the electric current sensors even at DC.

Effectiveness of a worker-worn electric-field sensor to detect power-line proximity and electrical-contact.

PubMed

Zeng, Shengke; Powers, John R; Newbraugh, Bradley H

2010-06-01

Construction workers suffer the most electrocutions among all industries. Currently, there are no electrical contact warning devices on the market to protect workers. This paper proposes a worker-worn electric-field sensor. As the worker is in proximity to, or in contact with, a live power-circuit, the sensor sets off an audible/visual warning alarm. The sensor also has the potential to wirelessly trip a wireless-capable circuit breaker, and to trigger a wireless transmitter to notify emergency response of an electrical contact. An experiment was conducted to measure electric-field variation on simulated human-wrists (10 defrosted hog-legs) in various proximities and in electrical-contact to a simulated power-circuit. The purpose of these tests was to determine the feasibility of developing a worker-worn electric-field detection sensor for use in protecting workers from contact with energized electrical conductors. This study observed a significant electric-field-magnitude increase as a hog-leg approaches the live-circuit, and the distinct electric-field-magnitude jump as the leg contacts with the live-circuit. The observation indicates that this sensor can be an effective device to warn the workers of electrical hazards. Additionally, the sensor has the potential to wirelessly trip a wireless-capable circuit-breaker and trigger a wireless transmitter (such as a cell phone) to notify an emergency response. The prompt notification prevents the worker from further injury caused by postponed medical-care. Widespread use of this sensor could lower electrocution and electrically related injury rates in the construction industry. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Non-Contact Circuit for Real-Time Electric and Magnetic Field Measurements

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

addresses these needs, and additionally has “smart” features that adjust integrated circuits ( ICs ) on the sensor during start-up based upon the...Hall effect sensors, the datasheet information on the MLX91205 gives a dynamic range of 66 to 96 dB for frequencies of 10 Hz and 10 kHz, respectively...Electric Field Sensors. 18 August 2009. 4. Melexis. IMC-Hall Current Sensor, MLX91205 Datasheet . June. 2012 5. Vinci SJ, Hull DM. Electrostatic

Human responses to electricity: A literature review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, H. S.

1972-01-01

An extensive review of literature on research concerning biomedical sensors is presented for establishing standards for current limiting devices. The physiological and pathological responses of the human, when exposed to electricity are reported including the thresholds: for perception of electricity, pain by electric current, induction of muscular contraction by electric shock, and ventricular fibrillation. The passive electrical properties of cells and tissues are also reported.

Adaptive electric potential sensors for smart signal acquisition and processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prance, R. J.; Beardsmore-Rust, S.; Prance, H.; Harland, C. J.; Stiffell, P. B.

2007-07-01

Current applications of the Electric Potential Sensor operate in a strongly (capacitively) coupled limit, with the sensor physically close to or touching the source. This mode of operation screens the sensor effectively from the majority of external noise. To date however the full capability of these sensors operating in a remote mode has not been realised outside of a screened environment (Faraday cage). This paper describes the results of preliminary work in tailoring the response of the sensors to particular signals and so reject background noise, thereby enhancing both the dynamic range and signal to noise ratio significantly.

Design and Experimental Study of a Current Transformer with a Stacked PCB Based on B-Dot.

PubMed

Wang, Jingang; Si, Diancheng; Tian, Tian; Ren, Ran

2017-04-10

An electronic current transformer with a B-dot sensor is proposed in this study. The B-dot sensor can realize the current measurement of the transmission line in a non-contact way in accordance with the principle of magnetic field coupling. The multiple electrodes series-opposing structure is applied together with differential input structures and active integrating circuits, which can allow the sensor to operate in differential mode. Maxwell software is adopted to model and simulate the sensor. Optimization of the sensor structural parameters is conducted through finite-element simulation. A test platform is built to conduct the steady-state characteristic, on-off operation, and linearity tests for the designed current transformer under the power-frequency current. As shown by the test results, in contrast with traditional electromagnetic CT, the designed current transformer can achieve high accuracy and good phase-frequency; its linearity is also very good at different distances from the wire. The proposed current transformer provides a new method for electricity larceny prevention and on-line monitoring of the power grid in an electric system, thereby satisfying the development demands of the smart power grid.

Design and Experimental Study of a Current Transformer with a Stacked PCB Based on B-Dot

PubMed Central

Wang, Jingang; Si, Diancheng; Tian, Tian; Ren, Ran

2017-01-01

An electronic current transformer with a B-dot sensor is proposed in this study. The B-dot sensor can realize the current measurement of the transmission line in a non-contact way in accordance with the principle of magnetic field coupling. The multiple electrodes series-opposing structure is applied together with differential input structures and active integrating circuits, which can allow the sensor to operate in differential mode. Maxwell software is adopted to model and simulate the sensor. Optimization of the sensor structural parameters is conducted through finite-element simulation. A test platform is built to conduct the steady-state characteristic, on-off operation, and linearity tests for the designed current transformer under the power-frequency current. As shown by the test results, in contrast with traditional electromagnetic CT, the designed current transformer can achieve high accuracy and good phase-frequency; its linearity is also very good at different distances from the wire. The proposed current transformer provides a new method for electricity larceny prevention and on-line monitoring of the power grid in an electric system, thereby satisfying the development demands of the smart power grid. PMID:28394298

Magnetic Field Sensors Based on Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) Technology: Applications in Electrical Current Sensing

PubMed Central

Reig, Candid; Cubells-Beltran, María-Dolores; Muñoz, Diego Ramírez

2009-01-01

The 2007 Nobel Prize in Physics can be understood as a global recognition to the rapid development of the Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR), from both the physics and engineering points of view. Behind the utilization of GMR structures as read heads for massive storage magnetic hard disks, important applications as solid state magnetic sensors have emerged. Low cost, compatibility with standard CMOS technologies and high sensitivity are common advantages of these sensors. This way, they have been successfully applied in a lot different environments. In this work, we are trying to collect the Spanish contributions to the progress of the research related to the GMR based sensors covering, among other subjects, the applications, the sensor design, the modelling and the electronic interfaces, focusing on electrical current sensing applications. PMID:22408486

Polypyrrol/chitosan hydrogel hybrid microfiber as sensing artificial muscle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Yahya A.; Martínez, Jose G.; Al Harrasi, Ahmad S.; Kim, Seon J.; Fernández Otero, Toribio F.

2011-04-01

An electrochemical actuator demands that it should act as a sensor of the working conditions for its efficient application in devices. Actuation and sensing characteristics of a biopolymer/conducting polymer hybrid microfiber artificial muscle fabricated through wet spinning of a chitosan solution followed by in situ chemical polymerization with pyrrol employing bis(triflouro methane sulfonyl) imide as dopant and ferric chloride as a catalyst is presented. The polypyrrol/chitosan hybrid microfiber was investigated by FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrical conductivity measurement, cyclic voltammetric and chronopotentiometric methods. The electrochemical measurements related to the sensing abilities were performed as a function of applied current, concentration and temperature keeping two of the variables constant at a given time using NaCl as electrolyte. Cyclic voltammograms confirmed that the electro activity is imparted by polypyrrol (pPy). The fiber showed an electrical conductivity of 3.21x10-1 Scm-1and an average linear electrochemical actuation strain of 0.54%. The chronopotentiometric responses during the oxidation/reduction processes of the microfiber for the different anodic/cathodic currents and the linear fit observed for the consumed electrical energy during the reaction for various applied currents suggested that it can act as a sensor of applied current. The chronopotentiometric responses and the linear fit of consumed electrical energy at different temperatures suggested that the actuator can act as a temperature sensor. Similarly a semi logarithmic dependence of the consumed electrical energy with concentration of the electrolyte during reaction is suggestive of its applicability as a concentration sensor. The demand that an electrochemical actuator to be a sensor of the working conditions, for its efficient application in devices is thus verified in this material.

Apparatus for detecting the presence of a liquid

DOEpatents

Kronberg, James W.

1995-01-01

An apparatus for detecting the presence of a liquid in a region, including an electrically passive sensor adapted for contacting the liquid, and an electrically active detector. The sensor is a circuit with a pair of spaced-apart terminals connected to a switch that closes in the presence of the liquid. The detector carries an alternating current with a resonant frequency. When the sensor is placed in a region and liquid is present in the region, the circuit of the sensor is closed. By bringing the detector close to the sensor, an alternating current is induced in the sensor that will, in turn, alter the resonant frequency of the detector. The change in the resonant frequency is signaled by a transducer. The switch can operate by a change in conductivity of a material between the terminals of the sensor or by expansion of a liquid absorber that pushes the two terminals together, or by a change in the conductivity of the space between the terminals as a result of the presence of the liquid. The detector generates an audible or visible signal, or both, in response to the change in current.

Apparatus for detecting the presence of a liquid

DOEpatents

Kronberg, J.W.

1993-01-01

This invention is comprised of an apparatus for detecting the presence of a liquid in a region, including an electrically passive sensor adapted for contacting the liquid, and an electrically active detector. The sensor is a circuit with a pair of spaced-apart terminals connected to a switch that closes in the presence of the liquid. The detector carries an alternating current with a resonant frequency. When the sensor is placed in a region and liquid is present, the circuit of the sensor is closed. By bringing the detector close to the sensor, an alternating current is induced in the sensor that will, in turn, alter the resonant frequency of the detector. This change is signaled by a transducer. The switch can operate by a change in conductivity of a material between the terminals of the sensor or by expansion of a liquid absorber that pushes the two terminals together, or by a change in the conductivity of the space between the terminals as a result of the liquid. The detector generates an audible or visible signal, or both, in response to the current change.

KEA-71 Smart Current Signature Sensor (SCSS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perotti, Jose M.

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the development and uses of the Smart Current Signature Sensor (SCSS), also known as the Valve Health Monitor (VHM) system. SCSS provides a way to not only monitor real-time the valve's operation in a non invasive manner, but also to monitor its health (Fault Detection and Isolation) and identify potential faults and/or degradation in the near future (Prediction/Prognosis). This technology approach is not only applicable for solenoid valves, and it could be extrapolated to other electrical components with repeatable electrical current signatures such as motors.

Electric Potential and Electric Field Imaging with Dynamic Applications: 2017 Research Award Innovation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Generazio, Ed

2017-01-01

The technology and methods for remote quantitative imaging of electrostatic potentials and electrostatic fields in and around objects and in free space is presented. Electric field imaging (EFI) technology may be applied to characterize intrinsic or existing electric potentials and electric fields, or an externally generated electrostatic field may be used for illuminating volumes to be inspected with EFI. The baseline sensor technology (e-Sensor) and its construction, optional electric field generation (quasi-static generator), and current e- Sensor enhancements (ephemeral e-Sensor) are discussed. Critical design elements of current linear and real-time two-dimensional (2D) measurement systems are highlighted, and the development of a three dimensional (3D) EFI system is presented. Demonstrations for structural, electronic, human, and memory applications are shown. Recent work demonstrates that phonons may be used to create and annihilate electric dipoles within structures. Phonon induced dipoles are ephemeral and their polarization, strength, and location may be quantitatively characterized by EFI providing a new subsurface Phonon-EFI imaging technology. Initial results from real-time imaging of combustion and ion flow, and their measurement complications, will be discussed. These new EFI capabilities are demonstrated to characterize electric charge distribution creating a new field of study embracing areas of interest including electrostatic discharge (ESD) mitigation, crime scene forensics, design and materials selection for advanced sensors, combustion science, on-orbit space potential, container inspection, remote characterization of electronic circuits and level of activation, dielectric morphology of structures, tether integrity, organic molecular memory, atmospheric science, and medical diagnostic and treatment efficacy applications such as cardiac polarization wave propagation and electromyography imaging.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Domengie, F., E-mail: florian.domengie@st.com; Morin, P.; Bauza, D.

We propose a model for dark current induced by metallic contamination in a CMOS image sensor. Based on Shockley-Read-Hall kinetics, the expression of dark current proposed accounts for the electric field enhanced emission factor due to the Poole-Frenkel barrier lowering and phonon-assisted tunneling mechanisms. To that aim, we considered the distribution of the electric field magnitude and metal atoms in the depth of the pixel. Poisson statistics were used to estimate the random distribution of metal atoms in each pixel for a given contamination dose. Then, we performed a Monte-Carlo-based simulation for each pixel to set the number of metalmore » atoms the pixel contained and the enhancement factor each atom underwent, and obtained a histogram of the number of pixels versus dark current for the full sensor. Excellent agreement with the dark current histogram measured on an ion-implanted gold-contaminated imager has been achieved, in particular, for the description of the distribution tails due to the pixel regions in which the contaminant atoms undergo a large electric field. The agreement remains very good when increasing the temperature by 15 °C. We demonstrated that the amplification of the dark current generated for the typical electric fields encountered in the CMOS image sensors, which depends on the nature of the metal contaminant, may become very large at high electric field. The electron and hole emissions and the resulting enhancement factor are described as a function of the trap characteristics, electric field, and temperature.« less

Semiconductor neutron detector

DOEpatents

Ianakiev, Kiril D [Los Alamos, NM; Littlewood, Peter B [Cambridge, GB; Blagoev, Krastan B [Arlington, VA; Swinhoe, Martyn T [Los Alamos, NM; Smith, James L [Los Alamos, NM; Sullivan, Clair J [Los Alamos, NM; Alexandrov, Boian S [Los Alamos, NM; Lashley, Jason Charles [Santa Fe, NM

2011-03-08

A neutron detector has a compound of lithium in a single crystal form as a neutron sensor element. The lithium compound, containing improved charge transport properties, is either lithium niobate or lithium tantalate. The sensor element is in direct contact with a monitor that detects an electric current. A signal proportional to the electric current is produced and is calibrated to indicate the neutrons sensed. The neutron detector is particularly useful for detecting neutrons in a radiation environment. Such radiation environment may, e.g. include gamma radiation and noise.

Electricity Submetering on the Cheap: Stick-on Electricity Meters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lanzisera, Steven; Lorek, Michael; Pister, Kristofer

2014-08-17

We demonstrate a low-cost, 21 x 12 mm prototype Stick-on Electricity Meter (SEM) to replace traditional in-circuit-breaker-panel current and voltage sensors for building submetering. A SEM sensor is installed on the external face of a circuit breaker to generate voltage and current signals. This allows for the computation of real and apparent power as well as capturing harmonics created by non-linear loads. The prototype sensor is built using commercially available components, resulting in a production cost of under $10 per SEM. With no highvoltage install work requiring an electrician, home owners or other individuals can install the system in amore » few minutes with no safety implications. This leads to an installed system cost that is much lower than traditional submetering technology.. Measurement results from lab characterization as well as a real-world residential dwelling installation are presented, verifying the operation of our proposed SEM sensor. The SEM sensor can resolve breaker power levels below 10W, and it can be used to provide data for non-intrusive load monitoring systems at full sample rate.« less

Electronic Energy Meter Based on a Tunnel Magnetoresistive Effect (TMR) Current Sensor.

PubMed

Vidal, Enrique García; Muñoz, Diego Ramírez; Arias, Sergio Iván Ravelo; Moreno, Jaime Sánchez; Cardoso, Susana; Ferreira, Ricardo; Freitas, Paulo

2017-09-26

In the present work, the design and microfabrication of a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) electrical current sensor is presented. After its physical and electrical characterization, a wattmeter is developed to determine the active power delivered to a load from the AC 50/60 Hz mains line. Experimental results are shown up to 1000 W of power load. A relative uncertainty of less than 1.5% with resistive load and less than 1% with capacitive load was obtained. The described application is an example of how TMR sensing technology can play a relevant role in the management and control of electrical energy.

Electronic Energy Meter Based on a Tunnel Magnetoresistive Effect (TMR) Current Sensor

PubMed Central

García Vidal, Enrique; Ravelo Arias, Sergio Iván; Sánchez Moreno, Jaime; Ferreira, Ricardo; Freitas, Paulo

2017-01-01

In the present work, the design and microfabrication of a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) electrical current sensor is presented. After its physical and electrical characterization, a wattmeter is developed to determine the active power delivered to a load from the AC 50/60 Hz mains line. Experimental results are shown up to 1000 W of power load. A relative uncertainty of less than 1.5% with resistive load and less than 1% with capacitive load was obtained. The described application is an example of how TMR sensing technology can play a relevant role in the management and control of electrical energy. PMID:28954425

Non-Destructive Current Sensing for Energy Efficiency Monitoring in Buildings with Environmental Certification

PubMed Central

Mota, Lia Toledo Moreira; Mota, Alexandre de Assis; Coiado, Lorenzo Campos

2015-01-01

Nowadays, buildings environmental certifications encourage the implementation of initiatives aiming to increase energy efficiency in buildings. In these certification systems, increased energy efficiency arising from such initiatives must be demonstrated. Thus, a challenge to be faced is how to check the increase in energy efficiency related to each of the employed initiatives without a considerable building retrofit. In this context, this work presents a non-destructive method for electric current sensing to assess implemented initiatives to increase energy efficiency in buildings with environmental certification. This method proposes the use of a sensor that can be installed directly in the low voltage electrical circuit conductors that are powering the initiative under evaluation, without the need for reforms that result in significant costs, repair, and maintenance. The proposed sensor consists of three elements: an air-core transformer current sensor, an amplifying/filtering stage, and a microprocessor. A prototype of the proposed sensor was developed and tests were performed to validate this sensor. Based on laboratory tests, it was possible to characterize the proposed current sensor with respect to the number of turns and cross-sectional area of the primary and secondary coils. Furthermore, using the Least Squares Method, it was possible to determine the efficiency of the air core transformer current sensor (the best efficiency found, considering different test conditions, was 2%), which leads to a linear output response. PMID:26184208

Non-Destructive Current Sensing for Energy Efficiency Monitoring in Buildings with Environmental Certification.

PubMed

Mota, Lia Toledo Moreira; Mota, Alexandre de Assis; Coiado, Lorenzo Campos

2015-07-10

Nowadays, buildings environmental certifications encourage the implementation of initiatives aiming to increase energy efficiency in buildings. In these certification systems, increased energy efficiency arising from such initiatives must be demonstrated. Thus, a challenge to be faced is how to check the increase in energy efficiency related to each of the employed initiatives without a considerable building retrofit. In this context, this work presents a non-destructive method for electric current sensing to assess implemented initiatives to increase energy efficiency in buildings with environmental certification. This method proposes the use of a sensor that can be installed directly in the low voltage electrical circuit conductors that are powering the initiative under evaluation, without the need for reforms that result in significant costs, repair, and maintenance. The proposed sensor consists of three elements: an air-core transformer current sensor, an amplifying/filtering stage, and a microprocessor. A prototype of the proposed sensor was developed and tests were performed to validate this sensor. Based on laboratory tests, it was possible to characterize the proposed current sensor with respect to the number of turns and cross-sectional area of the primary and secondary coils. Furthermore, using the Least Squares Method, it was possible to determine the efficiency of the air core transformer current sensor (the best efficiency found, considering different test conditions, was 2%), which leads to a linear output response.

Electric current locator

DOEpatents

King, Paul E [Corvallis, OR; Woodside, Charles Rigel [Corvallis, OR

2012-02-07

The disclosure herein provides an apparatus for location of a quantity of current vectors in an electrical device, where the current vector has a known direction and a known relative magnitude to an input current supplied to the electrical device. Mathematical constants used in Biot-Savart superposition equations are determined for the electrical device, the orientation of the apparatus, and relative magnitude of the current vector and the input current, and the apparatus utilizes magnetic field sensors oriented to a sensing plane to provide current vector location based on the solution of the Biot-Savart superposition equations. Description of required orientations between the apparatus and the electrical device are disclosed and various methods of determining the mathematical constants are presented.

Apparatus for detecting the presence of a liquid

DOEpatents

Kronberg, J.W.

1995-10-31

An apparatus is described for detecting the presence of a liquid in a region, including an electrically passive sensor adapted for contacting the liquid, and an electrically active detector. The sensor is a circuit with a pair of spaced-apart terminals connected to a switch that closes in the presence of the liquid. The detector carries an alternating current with a resonant frequency. When the sensor is placed in a region and liquid is present in the region, the circuit of the sensor is closed. By bringing the detector close to the sensor, an alternating current is induced in the sensor that will, in turn, alter the resonant frequency of the detector. The change in the resonant frequency is signaled by a transducer. The switch can operate by a change in conductivity of a material between the terminals of the sensor or by expansion of a liquid absorber that pushes the two terminals together, or by a change in the conductivity of the space between the terminals as a result of the presence of the liquid. The detector generates an audible or visible signal, or both, in response to the change in current. 12 figs.

Electrically detected displacement assay (EDDA): a practical approach to nucleic acid testing in clinical or medical diagnosis.

PubMed

Liepold, P; Kratzmüller, T; Persike, N; Bandilla, M; Hinz, M; Wieder, H; Hillebrandt, H; Ferrer, E; Hartwich, G

2008-07-01

This paper introduces the electrically detected displacement assay (EDDA), a electrical biosensor detection principle for applications in medical and clinical diagnosis, and compares the method to currently available microarray technologies in this field. The sensor can be integrated into automated systems of routine diagnosis, but may also be used as a sensor that is directly applied to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reaction vessel to detect unlabeled target amplicons within a few minutes. Major aspects of sensor assembly like immobilization procedure, accessibility of the capture probes, and prevention from nonspecific target adsorption, that are a prerequisite for a robust and reliable performance of the sensor, are demonstrated. Additionally, exemplary results from a human papillomavirus assay are presented.

Gradient-Type Magnetoelectric Current Sensor with Strong Multisource Noise Suppression.

PubMed

Zhang, Mingji; Or, Siu Wing

2018-02-14

A novel gradient-type magnetoelectric (ME) current sensor operating in magnetic field gradient (MFG) detection and conversion mode is developed based on a pair of ME composites that have a back-to-back capacitor configuration under a baseline separation and a magnetic biasing in an electrically-shielded and mechanically-enclosed housing. The physics behind the current sensing process is the product effect of the current-induced MFG effect associated with vortex magnetic fields of current-carrying cables (i.e., MFG detection) and the MFG-induced ME effect in the ME composite pair (i.e., MFG conversion). The sensor output voltage is directly obtained from the gradient ME voltage of the ME composite pair and is calibrated against cable current to give the current sensitivity. The current sensing performance of the sensor is evaluated, both theoretically and experimentally, under multisource noises of electric fields, magnetic fields, vibrations, and thermals. The sensor combines the merits of small nonlinearity in the current-induced MFG effect with those of high sensitivity and high common-mode noise rejection rate in the MFG-induced ME effect to achieve a high current sensitivity of 0.65-12.55 mV/A in the frequency range of 10 Hz-170 kHz, a small input-output nonlinearity of <500 ppm, a small thermal drift of <0.2%/℃ in the current range of 0-20 A, and a high common-mode noise rejection rate of 17-28 dB from multisource noises.

Gradient-Type Magnetoelectric Current Sensor with Strong Multisource Noise Suppression

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

A novel gradient-type magnetoelectric (ME) current sensor operating in magnetic field gradient (MFG) detection and conversion mode is developed based on a pair of ME composites that have a back-to-back capacitor configuration under a baseline separation and a magnetic biasing in an electrically-shielded and mechanically-enclosed housing. The physics behind the current sensing process is the product effect of the current-induced MFG effect associated with vortex magnetic fields of current-carrying cables (i.e., MFG detection) and the MFG-induced ME effect in the ME composite pair (i.e., MFG conversion). The sensor output voltage is directly obtained from the gradient ME voltage of the ME composite pair and is calibrated against cable current to give the current sensitivity. The current sensing performance of the sensor is evaluated, both theoretically and experimentally, under multisource noises of electric fields, magnetic fields, vibrations, and thermals. The sensor combines the merits of small nonlinearity in the current-induced MFG effect with those of high sensitivity and high common-mode noise rejection rate in the MFG-induced ME effect to achieve a high current sensitivity of 0.65–12.55 mV/A in the frequency range of 10 Hz–170 kHz, a small input-output nonlinearity of <500 ppm, a small thermal drift of <0.2%/℃ in the current range of 0–20 A, and a high common-mode noise rejection rate of 17–28 dB from multisource noises. PMID:29443920

Particle Simulations of the Guard Electrode Effects on the Photoelectron Distribution Around an Electric Field Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyake, Y.; Usui, H.; Kojima, H.

2010-12-01

In tenuous space plasma environment, photoelectrons emitted due to solar illumination produce a high-density photoelectron cloud localized in the vicinity of a spacecraft body and an electric field sensor. The photoelectron current emitted from the sensor has also received considerable attention because it becomes a primary factor in determining floating potentials of the sunlit spacecraft and sensor bodies. Considering the fact that asymmetric photoelectron distribution between sunlit and sunless sides of the spacecraft occasionally causes a spurious sunward electric field, we require quantitative evaluation of the photoelectron distribution around the spacecraft and its influence on electric field measurements by means of a numerical approach. In the current study, we applied the Particle-in-Cell plasma simulation to the analysis of the photoelectron environment around spacecraft. By using the PIC modeling, we can self-consistently consider the plasma kinetics. This enables us to simulate the formation of the photoelectron cloud as well as the spacecraft and sensor charging in a self-consistent manner. We report the progress of an analysis on photoelectron environment around MEFISTO, which is an electric field instrument for the BepiColombo/MMO spacecraft to Mercury’s magnetosphere. The photoelectron guard electrode is a key technology for ensuring an optimum photoelectron environment. We show some simulation results on the guard electrode effects on surrounding photoelectrons and discuss a guard operation condition for producing the optimum photoelectron environment. We also deal with another important issue, that is, how the guard electrode can mitigate an undesirable influence of an asymmetric photoelectron distribution on electric field measurements.

Magnetic-Field-Response Measurement-Acquisition System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodward, Stanley E.; Shams, Qamar A.; Fox, Robert L.; Taylor, Bryant D.

2006-01-01

A measurement-acquisition system uses magnetic fields to power sensors and to acquire measurements from sensors. The system alleviates many shortcomings of traditional measurement-acquisition systems, which include a finite number of measurement channels, weight penalty associated with wires, use limited to a single type of measurement, wire degradation due to wear or chemical decay, and the logistics needed to add new sensors. Eliminating wiring for acquiring measurements can alleviate potential hazards associated with wires, such as damaged wires becoming ignition sources due to arcing. The sensors are designed as electrically passive inductive-capacitive or passive inductive-capacitive-resistive circuits that produce magnetic-field-responses. One or more electrical parameters (inductance, capacitance, and resistance) of each sensor can be variable and corresponds to a measured physical state of interest. The magnetic-field- response attributes (frequency, amplitude, and bandwidth) of the inductor correspond to the states of physical properties for which each sensor measures. For each sensor, the measurement-acquisition system produces a series of increasing magnetic-field harmonics within a frequency range dedicated to that sensor. For each harmonic, an antenna electrically coupled to an oscillating current (the frequency of which is that of the harmonic) produces an oscillating magnetic field. Faraday induction via the harmonic magnetic fields produces an electromotive force and therefore a current in the sensor. Once electrically active, the sensor produces its own harmonic magnetic field as the inductor stores and releases magnetic energy. The antenna of the measurement- acquisition system is switched from a transmitting to a receiving mode to acquire the magnetic-field response of the sensor. The rectified amplitude of the received response is compared to previous responses to prior transmitted harmonics, to ascertain if the measurement system has detected a response inflection. The "transmit-receive-compare" of sequential harmonics is repeated until the inflection is identified. The harmonic producing the amplitude inflection is the sensor resonant frequency. Resonant frequency and response amplitude are stored and then correlated to calibration data.

Measuring electrically charged particle fluxes in space using a fiber optic loop sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The purpose of this program was to demonstrate the potential of a fiber optic loop sensor for the measurement of electrically charged particle fluxes in space. The key elements of the sensor are a multiple turn loop of low birefringence, single mode fiber, with a laser diode light source, and a low noise optical receiver. The optical receiver is designed to be shot noise limited, with this being the limiting sensitivity factor for the sensor. The sensing element is the fiber optic loop. Under a magnetic field from an electric current flowing along the axis of the loop, there is a non-vanishing line integral along the fiber optic loop. This causes a net birefringence producing two states of polarization whose phase difference is correlated to magnetic field strength and thus, current in the optical receiver electronic processing. The objectives in this program were to develop a prototype laser diode powered fiber optic sensor. The performance specification of a minimum detectable current density of 1 (mu)amp/sq m-(radical)Hz, should be at the shot noise limit of the detection electronics. OPTRA has successfully built and tested a 3.2 m diameter loop with 137 turns of low birefringence optical fiber and achieved a minimum detectable current density of 5.4 x 10(exp-5) amps/(radical)Hz. If laboratory space considerations were not an issue, with the length of optical fiber available to us, we would have achieved a minimum detectable current density of 4 x 10(exp -7) amps/(radical)Hz.

An embedded measurement system for the electrical characterization of EGFET as a pH sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diniz Batista, Pablo

2014-02-01

This work presents the development of an electronic system for the electrical characterization of pH sensors based on the extended gate field effect transistor (EGFET). We designed an electronic circuit with a microcontroller (PIC15F14K50) as the main component in order to provide two programmable output voltages as well as circuits to measure electric current and voltages. The instrument performance analysis was carried out using a glass electrode as a sensitive membrane for investigating the EGFET operation as a pH sensor. The results show that the system is an alternative to the commercial equipment for the electrical characterization of sensors based on field effect devices. In addition, some of the key features expected of this electronic module are: low cost, flexibility, portability and communication with a personal computer using a USB port.

Biosensing with Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Coupling between Fluorophores and Nanocarbon Allotropes

PubMed Central

Ding, Shaowei; Cargill, Allison A.; Das, Suprem R.; Medintz, Igor L.; Claussen, Jonathan C.

2015-01-01

Nanocarbon allotropes (NCAs), including zero-dimensional carbon dots (CDs), one-dimensional carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and two-dimensional graphene, exhibit exceptional material properties, such as unique electrical/thermal conductivity, biocompatibility and high quenching efficiency, that make them well suited for both electrical/electrochemical and optical sensors/biosensors alike. In particular, these material properties have been exploited to significantly enhance the transduction of biorecognition events in fluorescence-based biosensing involving Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET). This review analyzes current advances in sensors and biosensors that utilize graphene, CNTs or CDs as the platform in optical sensors and biosensors. Widely utilized synthesis/fabrication techniques, intrinsic material properties and current research examples of such nanocarbon, FRET-based sensors/biosensors are illustrated. The future outlook and challenges for the research field are also detailed. PMID:26110411

Rain Drop Charge Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

S, Sreekanth T.

begin{center} Large Large Rain Drop Charge Sensor Sreekanth T S*, Suby Symon*, G. Mohan Kumar (1) , S. Murali Das (2) *Atmospheric Sciences Division, Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram 695011 (1) D-330, Swathi Nagar, West Fort, Thiruvananthapuram 695023 (2) Kavyam, Manacaud, Thiruvananthapuram 695009 begin{center} ABSTRACT To study the inter-relations with precipitation electricity and precipitation microphysical parameters a rain drop charge sensor was designed and developed at CESS Electronics & Instrumentation Laboratory. Simultaneous measurement of electric charge and fall speed of rain drops could be done using this charge sensor. A cylindrical metal tube (sensor tube) of 30 cm length is placed inside another thick metal cover opened at top and bottom for electromagnetic shielding. Mouth of the sensor tube is exposed and bottom part is covered with metal net in the shielding cover. The instrument is designed in such a way that rain drops can pass only through unhindered inside the sensor tube. When electrically charged rain drops pass through the sensor tube, it is charged to the same magnitude of drop charge but with opposite polarity. The sensor tube is electrically connected the inverted input of a current to voltage converter operational amplifier using op-amp AD549. Since the sensor is electrically connected to the virtual ground of the op-amp, the charge flows to the ground and the generated current is converted to amplified voltage. This output voltage is recorded using a high frequency (1kHz) voltage recorder. From the recorded pulse, charge magnitude, polarity and fall speed of rain drop are calculated. From the fall speed drop diameter also can be calculated. The prototype is now under test running at CESS campus. As the magnitude of charge in rain drops is an indication of accumulated charge in clouds in lightning, this instrument has potential application in the field of risk and disaster management. By knowing the charge magnitude of initial drops from a precipitation event, gross cloud charge can be estimated and necessary precautions can be taken during convective cloud events. Being a site of high lightning incidence in tropics, Kerala state is affected in India and calls for much attention in lightning hazards mitigation. Installing this charge sensor and atmospheric electric field mill, an attempt to a better warning system can be attempted.

Development of Magneto-Resistive Angular Position Sensors for Space Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahn, Robert; Langendorf, Sven; Seifart, Klaus; Slatter, Rolf; Olberts, Bastian; Romera, Fernando

2015-09-01

Magnetic microsystems in the form of magneto- resistive (MR) sensors are firmly established in automobiles and industrial applications. They measure path, angle, electrical current, or magnetic fields. MR technology opens up new sensor possibilities in space applications and can be an enabling technology for optimal performance, high robustness and long lifetime at reasonable costs. In a recent assessment study performed by HTS GmbH and Sensitec GmbH under ESA Contract a market survey has confirmed that space industry has a very high interest in novel, contactless position sensors based on MR technology. Now, a detailed development stage is pursued, to advance the sensor design up to Engineering Qualification Model (EQM) level and to perform qualification testing for a representative pilot space application.The paper briefly reviews the basics of magneto- resistive effects and possible sensor applications and describes the key benefits of MR angular sensors with reference to currently operational industrial and space applications. The results of the assessment study are presented and potential applications and uses of contactless magneto-resistive angular sensors for spacecraft are identified. The baseline mechanical and electrical sensor design will be discussed. An outlook on the EQM development and qualification tests is provided.

Semiconductor sensor for optically measuring polarization rotation of optical wavefronts using rare earth iron garnets

DOEpatents

Duncan, Paul G.

2002-01-01

Described are the design of a rare earth iron garnet sensor element, optical methods of interrogating the sensor element, methods of coupling the optical sensor element to a waveguide, and an optical and electrical processing system for monitoring the polarization rotation of a linearly polarized wavefront undergoing external modulation due to magnetic field or electrical current fluctuation. The sensor element uses the Faraday effect, an intrinsic property of certain rare-earth iron garnet materials, to rotate the polarization state of light in the presence of a magnetic field. The sensor element may be coated with a thin-film mirror to effectively double the optical path length, providing twice the sensitivity for a given field strength or temperature change. A semiconductor sensor system using a rare earth iron garnet sensor element is described.

Analysis of electrical tomography sensitive field based on multi-terminal network and electric field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yongbo; Su, Xingguo; Xu, Meng; Wang, Huaxiang

2010-08-01

Electrical tomography (ET) aims at the study of the conductivity/permittivity distribution of the interested field non-intrusively via the boundary voltage/current. The sensor is usually regarded as an electric field, and finite element method (FEM) is commonly used to calculate the sensitivity matrix and to optimize the sensor architecture. However, only the lumped circuit parameters can be measured by the data acquisition electronics, it's very meaningful to treat the sensor as a multi terminal network. Two types of multi terminal network with common node and common loop topologies are introduced. Getting more independent measurements and making more uniform current distribution are the two main ways to minimize the inherent ill-posed effect. By exploring the relationships of network matrixes, a general formula is proposed for the first time to calculate the number of the independent measurements. Additionally, the sensitivity distribution is analyzed with FEM. As a result, quasi opposite mode, an optimal single source excitation mode, that has the advantages of more uniform sensitivity distribution and more independent measurements, is proposed.

Electric Potential and Electric Field Imaging with Dynamic Applications & Extensions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Generazio, Ed

2017-01-01

The technology and methods for remote quantitative imaging of electrostatic potentials and electrostatic fields in and around objects and in free space is presented. Electric field imaging (EFI) technology may be applied to characterize intrinsic or existing electric potentials and electric fields, or an externally generated electrostatic field made be used for volumes to be inspected with EFI. The baseline sensor technology (e-Sensor) and its construction, optional electric field generation (quasi-static generator), and current e- Sensor enhancements (ephemeral e-Sensor) are discussed. Critical design elements of current linear and real-time two-dimensional (2D) measurement systems are highlighted, and the development of a three dimensional (3D) EFI system is presented. Demonstrations for structural, electronic, human, and memory applications are shown. Recent work demonstrates that phonons may be used to create and annihilate electric dipoles within structures. Phonon induced dipoles are ephemeral and their polarization, strength, and location may be quantitatively characterized by EFI providing a new subsurface Phonon-EFI imaging technology. Results from real-time imaging of combustion and ion flow, and their measurement complications, will be discussed. Extensions to environment, Space and subterranean applications will be presented, and initial results for quantitative characterizing material properties are shown. A wearable EFI system has been developed by using fundamental EFI concepts. These new EFI capabilities are demonstrated to characterize electric charge distribution creating a new field of study embracing areas of interest including electrostatic discharge (ESD) mitigation, manufacturing quality control, crime scene forensics, design and materials selection for advanced sensors, combustion science, on-orbit space potential, container inspection, remote characterization of electronic circuits and level of activation, dielectric morphology of structures, tether integrity, organic molecular memory, atmospheric science, weather prediction, earth quake prediction, and medical diagnostic and treatment efficacy applications such as cardiac polarization wave propagation and electromyography imaging.

Three Dimensional Distribution of Sensitive Field and Stress Field Inversion of Force Sensitive Materials under Constant Current Excitation.

PubMed

Zhao, Shuanfeng; Liu, Min; Guo, Wei; Zhang, Chuanwei

2018-02-28

Force sensitive conductive composite materials are functional materials which can be used as the sensitive material of force sensors. However, the existing sensors only use one-dimensional electrical properties of force sensitive conductive materials. Even in tactile sensors, the measurement of contact pressure is achieved by large-scale arrays and the units of a large-scale array are also based on the one-dimensional electrical properties of force sensitive materials. The main contribution of this work is to study the three-dimensional electrical properties and the inversion method of three-dimensional stress field of a force sensitive material (conductive rubber), which pushes the application of force sensitive material from one dimensional to three-dimensional. First, the mathematical model of the conductive rubber current field distribution under a constant force is established by the effective medium theory, and the current field distribution model of conductive rubber with different geometry, conductive rubber content and conductive rubber relaxation parameters is deduced. Secondly, the inversion method of the three-dimensional stress field of conductive rubber is established, which provides a theoretical basis for the design of a new tactile sensor, three-dimensional stress field and space force based on force sensitive materials.

The Implementation Internet of Things(IoT) Technology in Real Time Monitoring of Electrical Quantities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Despa, D.; Nama, G. F.; Muhammad, M. A.; Anwar, K.

2018-04-01

Electrical quantities such as Voltage, Current, Power, Power Factor, Energy, and Frequency in electrical power system tends to fluctuate, as a result of load changes, disturbances, or other abnormal states. The change-state in electrical quantities should be identify immediately, otherwise it can lead to serious problem for whole system. Therefore a necessity is required to determine the condition of electricity change-state quickly and appropriately in order to make effective decisions. Online monitoring of power distribution system based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology was deploy and implemented on Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Lampung (Unila), especially at three-phase main distribution panel H-building. The measurement system involve multiple sensors such current sensors and voltage sensors, while data processing conducted by Arduino, the measurement data stored in to the database server and shown in a real-time through a web-based application. This measurement system has several important features especially for realtime monitoring, robust data acquisition and logging, system reporting, so it will produce an important information that can be used for various purposes of future power analysis such estimation and planning. The result of this research shown that the condition of electrical power system at H-building performed unbalanced load, which often leads to drop-voltage condition

Eddy current sensor concepts for the Bridgman growth of semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dharmasena, Kumar P.; Wadley, Haydn N. G.

1997-03-01

Electromagnetic finite element methods have been used to identify eddy current sensor designs for monitoring CdTe vertical Bridgman crystal growth. A model system consisting of pairs of silicon cylinders with electrical conductivities similar to those of solid and liquid CdTe has been used to evaluate the multifrequency response of several sensors designed for locating and characterizing the curvature of liquid-solid interfaces during vertical Bridgman growth. At intermediate frequencies (100-800 kHz), the sensor's imaginary impedance monotonically increases as interfacial curvature changes from concave to convex or the interface location moves upwards through the sensor. The experimental data are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. At higher test frequencies (˜ 5 MHz), the test circuit's parasitics contribute to the sensor's response. Even so, the predicted trends with interface location/curvature were found to be still preserved, and the experiments confirm that the sensor's high frequency response depends more on interface location and has only a small sensitivity to curvature. Multifrequency data obtained from these types of sensors have the potential to separately discriminate the location and the shape of liquid-solid interfaces during the vertical Bridgman growth of CdTe and other semiconductor materials of higher electrical conductivity.

Magnetic field sensor based on the Ampere's force using dual-polarization DBR fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Shuang; Zhang, Yang; Guan, Baiou

2015-08-01

A novel magnetic field sensor using distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) fiber laser by Ampere's force effect is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The key sensing element, that is the dual-polarization DBR fiber laser, is fixed on the middle part of two copper plates which carry the current. Ampere's force is applied onto the coppers due to an external magnetic field generated by a DC solenoid. Thus, the lateral force from the coppers is converted to a corresponding beat frequency signal shift produced by the DBR laser. The electric current sensing is also realized by the same configuration and same principle simultaneously in an intuitive manner. Good agreement between the theory calculation and the experimental results is obtained, which shows a good linearity. This sensor's sensitivity to the magnetic field and to the electric current finally reaches ~258.92 kHz/mT and ~1.08727 MHz/A, respectively.

Method and apparatus for anti-islanding protection of distributed generations

DOEpatents

Ye, Zhihong; John, Vinod; Wang, Changyong; Garces, Luis Jose; Zhou, Rui; Li, Lei; Walling, Reigh Allen; Premerlani, William James; Sanza, Peter Claudius; Liu, Yan; Dame, Mark Edward

2006-03-21

An apparatus for anti-islanding protection of a distributed generation with respect to a feeder connected to an electrical grid is disclosed. The apparatus includes a sensor adapted to generate a voltage signal representative of an output voltage and/or a current signal representative of an output current at the distributed generation, and a controller responsive to the signals from the sensor. The controller is productive of a control signal directed to the distributed generation to drive an operating characteristic of the distributed generation out of a nominal range in response to the electrical grid being disconnected from the feeder.

Enhancement of methane gas sensing characteristics of graphene oxide sensor by heat treatment and laser irradiation.

PubMed

Assar, Mohammadreza; Karimzadeh, Rouhollah

2016-12-01

The present study uses a rapid, easy and practical method for cost-effective fabrication of a methane gas sensor. The sensor was made by drop-casting a graphene oxide suspension onto an interdigital circuit surface. The electrical conductivity and gas-sensing characteristics of the sensor were determined and then heat treatment and in situ laser irradiation were applied to improve the device conductivity and gas sensitivity. Real-time monitoring of the evolution of the device current as a function of heat treatment time revealed significant changes in the conductance of the graphene oxide sensor. The use of low power laser irradiation enhanced both the electrical conductivity and sensing response of the graphene oxide sensor. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Compact orthogonal NMR field sensor

DOEpatents

Gerald, II, Rex E.; Rathke, Jerome W [Homer Glen, IL

2009-02-03

A Compact Orthogonal Field Sensor for emitting two orthogonal electro-magnetic fields in a common space. More particularly, a replacement inductor for existing NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) sensors to allow for NMR imaging. The Compact Orthogonal Field Sensor has a conductive coil and a central conductor electrically connected in series. The central conductor is at least partially surrounded by the coil. The coil and central conductor are electrically or electro-magnetically connected to a device having a means for producing or inducing a current through the coil and central conductor. The Compact Orthogonal Field Sensor can be used in NMR imaging applications to determine the position and the associated NMR spectrum of a sample within the electro-magnetic field of the central conductor.

Flashback detection sensor for lean premix fuel nozzles

DOEpatents

Thornton, Jimmy Dean [Morgantown, WV; Richards, George Alan [Morgantown, WV; Straub, Douglas L [Morgantown, WV; Liese, Eric Arnold [Morgantown, WV; Trader, Jr., John Lee; Fasching, George Edward [Morgantown, WV

2002-08-06

A sensor for detecting the flame occurring during a flashback condition in the fuel nozzle of a lean premix combustion system is presented. The sensor comprises an electrically isolated flashback detection electrode and a guard electrode, both of which generate electrical fields extending to the walls of the combustion chamber and to the walls of the fuel nozzle. The sensor is positioned on the fuel nozzle center body at a location proximate the entrance to the combustion chamber of the gas turbine combustion system. The sensor provides 360.degree. detection of a flashback inside the fuel nozzle, by detecting the current conducted by the flame within a time frame that will prevent damage to the gas turbine combustion system caused by the flashback condition.

Measurement of impulse current using polarimetric fiber optic sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ginter, Mariusz

2017-08-01

In the paper the polarimetric current sensing solution used for measurements of high amplitude currents and short durations is presented. This type of sensor does not introduce additional resistance and inductance into the circuit, which is a desirable phenomenon in this type of measurement. The magneto element is a fiber optic coil made of spun fiber optic. The fiber in which the core is twisted around its axis is characterized by a small effect of interfering magnitudes, ie mechanical vibrations and pressure changes on the polarimeter. The presented polarimetric current sensor is completely fiber optic. Experimental results of a proposed sensor construction solution operating at 1550 nm and methods of elimination of influence values on the fiber optic current sensor were presented. The sensor was used to measure the impulse current. The generated current pulses are characterized by a duration of 23μs and amplitudes ranging from 1 to 3.5 kA. The currents in the discharge circuit are shown. The measurement uncertainty of the amplitude of the electric current in the range of measured impulses was determined and estimated to be no more than 2%.

The Effect of Particles on Electrolytically Polymerized Thin Natural MCF Rubber for Soft Sensors Installed in Artificial Skin.

PubMed

Shimada, Kunio; Mochizuki, Osamu; Kubota, Yoshihiro

2017-04-19

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of particles as filler in soft rubber sensors installed in artificial skin. We examine sensors made of natural rubber (NR-latex) that include magnetic particles of Ni and Fe₃O₄ using magnetic compound fluid (MCF). The 1-mm thickness of the electrolytically polymerized MCF rubber makes production of comparatively thin rubber sensors feasible. We first investigate the effect of magnetic particles Ni and Fe₃O₄ on the curing of MCF rubber. Next, in order to adjust the electric properties of the MCF rubber, we adopt Al₂O₃ dielectric particles. We investigate the effect of Al₂O₃ particles on changes in electric current, voltage and temperature of electrolytically polymerized MCF rubber liquid, and on the electric properties under the application of normal and shear forces. By adjusting the ratio of Ni, Fe₃O₄, Al₂O₃ and water in MCF rubber with Al₂O₃, it is possible to change the electric properties.

A fiber-optic current sensor for aerospace applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Richard L.; Rose, A. H.; Tang, D.; Day, G. W.

1990-01-01

A robust, accurate, broad-band, alternating current sensor using fiber optics is being developed for space applications at power frequencies as high as 20 kHz. It can also be used in low and high voltage 60 Hz terrestrial power systems and in 400 Hz aircraft systems. It is intrinsically electromagnetic interference (EMI) immune and has the added benefit of excellent isolation. The sensor uses the Faraday effect in optical fiber and standard polarimetric measurements to sense electrical current. The primary component of the sensor is a specially treated coil of single-mode optical fiber, through which the current carrying conductor passes. Improved precision is accomplished by temperature compensation by means of signals from a novel fiber-optic temperature sensor embedded in the sensing head. The technology contained in the sensor is examined and the results of precision tests conducted at various temperatures within the wide operating range are given. The results of early EMI tests are also given.

A fiber-optic current sensor for aerospace applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Richard L.; Rose, A. H.; Tang, D.; Day, G. W.

1990-01-01

A robust, accurate, broadband, alternating current sensor using fiber optics is being developed for space applications at power frequencies as high as 20 kHz. It can also be used in low and high voltage 60-Hz terrestrial power systems and in 400-Hz aircraft systems. It is intrinsically electromagnetic interference (EMI) immune and has the added benefit of excellent isolation. The sensor uses the Faraday effect in optical fiber and standard polarimetric measurements to sense electrical current. The primary component of the sensor is a specially treated coil of single-mode optical fiber, through which the current carrying conductor passes. Improved precision is accomplished by temperature compensation by means of signals from a novel fiber-optic temperature sensor embedded in the sensing head. The technology used in the sensor is examined and the results of precision tests conducted at various temperatures within the wide operating range are given. The results of early EMI tests are also given.

A fiber-optic current sensor for aerospace applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Richard L.; Rose, A. H.; Tang, D.; Day, G. W.

1990-01-01

A robust, accurate, broadband, alternating current sensor using fiber optics is being developed for space applications at power frequencies as high as 20 kHz. It can also be used in low- and high-voltage 60-Hz terrestrial power systems and in 400-Hz aircraft systems. It is intrinsically EMI (electromagnetic interference) immune and has the added benefit of excellent isolation. The sensor uses the Faraday effect in optical fiber and standard polarimetric measurements to sense electrical current. The primary component of the sensor is a specially treated coil of single-mode optical fiber, through which the current carrying conductor passes. Improved precision is accomplished by temperature compensation by means of signals from a fiber-optic temperature sensor embedded in the sensing head. The authors report on the technology contained in the sensor and also relate the results of precision tests conducted at various temperatures within the wide operating range. The results of early EMI tests are shown.

Design and modeling of magnetically driven electric-field sensor for non-contact DC voltage measurement in electric power systems.

PubMed

Wang, Decai; Li, Ping; Wen, Yumei

2016-10-01

In this paper, the design and modeling of a magnetically driven electric-field sensor for non-contact DC voltage measurement are presented. The magnetic drive structure of the sensor is composed of a small solenoid and a cantilever beam with a cylindrical magnet mounted on it. The interaction of the magnet and the solenoid provides the magnetic driving force for the sensor. Employing magnetic drive structure brings the benefits of low driving voltage and large vibrating displacement, which consequently results in less interference from the drive signal. In the theoretical analyses, the capacitance calculation model between the wire and the sensing electrode is built. The expression of the magnetic driving force is derived by the method of linear fitting. The dynamical model of the magnetic-driven cantilever beam actuator is built by using Euler-Bernoulli theory and distributed parameter method. Taking advantage of the theoretical model, the output voltage of proposed sensor can be predicted. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical results. The proposed sensor shows a favorable linear response characteristic. The proposed sensor has a measuring sensitivity of 9.87 μV/(V/m) at an excitation current of 37.5 mA. The electric field intensity resolution can reach 10.13 V/m.

Fractional Modeling of the AC Large-Signal Frequency Response in Magnetoresistive Current Sensors

PubMed Central

Arias, Sergio Iván Ravello; Muñoz, Diego Ramírez; Moreno, Jaime Sánchez; Cardoso, Susana; Ferreira, Ricardo; de Freitas, Paulo Jorge Peixeiro

2013-01-01

Fractional calculus is considered when derivatives and integrals of non-integer order are applied over a specific function. In the electrical and electronic domain, the transfer function dependence of a fractional filter not only by the filter order n, but additionally, of the fractional order α is an example of a great number of systems where its input-output behavior could be more exactly modeled by a fractional behavior. Following this aim, the present work shows the experimental ac large-signal frequency response of a family of electrical current sensors based in different spintronic conduction mechanisms. Using an ac characterization set-up the sensor transimpedance function Zt(if) is obtained considering it as the relationship between sensor output voltage and input sensing current, Zt(jf)=Vo,sensor(jf)/Isensor(jf). The study has been extended to various magnetoresistance sensors based in different technologies like anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR), giant magnetoresistance (GMR), spin-valve (GMR-SV) and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR). The resulting modeling shows two predominant behaviors, the low-pass and the inverse low-pass with fractional index different from the classical integer response. The TMR technology with internal magnetization offers the best dynamic and sensitivity properties opening the way to develop actual industrial applications. PMID:24351648

Fiber optic and laser sensors IX; Proceedings of the Meeting, Boston, MA, Sept. 3-5, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Depaula, Ramon P. (Editor); Udd, Eric (Editor)

1991-01-01

The present volume on fiber-optic and laser sensors discusses industrial applications of fiber-optic sensors, fiber-optic temperature sensors, fiber-optic current sensors, fiber-optic pressure/displacement/vibration sensors, and generic fiber-optic systems. Attention is given to a fiber-sensor design for turbine engines, fiber-optic remote Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, near-IR fiber-optic temperature sensors, and an intensity-type fiber-optic electric current sensor. Topics addressed include fiber-optic magnetic field sensors based on the Faraday effect in new materials, diaphragm size and sensitivity for fiber-optic pressure sensors, a microbend pressure sensor for high-temperature environments, and linear position sensing by light exchange between two lossy waveguides. Also discussed are two-mode elliptical-core fiber sensors for measurement of strain and temperature, a fiber-optic interferometric X-ray dosimeter, fiber-optic interferometric sensors using multimode fibers, and optical fiber sensing of corona discharges.

Electrical conductivity of nanocomposites based on carbon nanotubes: a 3D multiscale modeling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grabowski, Krzysztof; Zbyrad, Paulina; Staszewski, Wieslaw J.; Uhl, Tadeusz; Wiatr, Kazimierz; Packo, Pawel

2016-04-01

Remarkable electrical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT) have lead to increased interest in studying CNT- based devices. Many of current researches are devoted to using all kinds of carbon nanomaterials in the con- struction of sensory elements. One of the most common applications is the development of high performance, large scale sensors. Due to the remarkable conductivity of CNT's such devices represent very high sensitivity. However, there are no sufficient tools for studying and designing such sensors. The main objective of this paper is to develop and validate a multiscale numerical model for a carbon nanotubes based sensor. The device utilises the change of electrical conductivity of a nanocomposite material under applied deformation. The nanocomposite consists of a number of CNTs dispersed in polymer matrix. The paper is devoted to the analysis of the impact of spatial distribution of carbon nanotubes in polymer matrix on electrical conductivity of the sensor. One of key elements is also to examine the impact of strain on electric charge ow in such anisotropic composite structures. In the following work a multiscale electro-mechanical model for CNT - based nanocomposites is proposed. The model comprises of two length scales, namely the meso- and the macro-scale for mechanical and electrical domains. The approach allows for evaluation of macro-scale mechanical response of a strain sensor. Electrical properties of polymeric material with certain CNT fractions were derived considering electrical properties of CNTs, their contact and the tunnelling effect.

A thermal sensor and switch based on a plasma polymer/ZnO suspended nanobelt bimorph structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, -Hau, Jr.; Singamaneni, Srikanth; Ho, Chih H.; Lin, Yen-Hsi; McConney, Michael E.; Tsukruk, Vladimir V.

2009-02-01

The combination of design and subsequent fabrication of organic/inorganic nanostructures creates an effective way to combine the favorable traits of both to achieve a desired device performance. We demonstrate a miniature electrical read-out, and a sensitive temperature sensor/switch, based on a ZnO nanobelt/plasma-polymerized benzonitrile bimorph structure. A new read-out technique based on the change in the electric current flowing through the bimorph and the contact pad has been employed, replacing the conventional cumbersome piezoresistive method or tedious optical alignment. The thermal sensor demonstrated here has great prospects for thermal switching and triggered detection owing to the relative ease in the fabrication of arrays and the direct electrical read-out.

Electrical coupling of single cardiac rat myocytes to field-effect and bipolar transistors.

PubMed

Kind, Thomas; Issing, Matthias; Arnold, Rüdiger; Müller, Bernt

2002-12-01

A novel bipolar transistor for extracellular recording the electrical activity of biological cells is presented, and the electrical behavior compared with the field-effect transistor (FET). Electrical coupling is examined between single cells separated from the heart of adults rats (cardiac myocytes) and both types of transistors. To initiate a local extracellular voltage, the cells are periodically stimulated by a patch pipette in voltage clamp and current clamp mode. The local extracellular voltage is measured by the planar integrated electronic sensors: the bipolar and the FET. The small signal transistor currents correspond to the local extracellular voltage. The two types of sensor transistors used here were developed and manufactured in the laboratory of our institute. The manufacturing process and the interfaces between myocytes and transistors are described. The recordings are interpreted by way of simulation based on the point-contact model and the single cardiac myocyte model.

Electromagnetic sensors for general lightning application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baum, C. E.; Breen, E. L.; Onell, J. P.; Moore, C. B.; Sower, G. D.

1980-01-01

Electromagnetic sensors for general lightning applications in measuring environment are discussed as well as system response to the environment. This includes electric and magnetic fields, surface current and charge densities, and currents on conductors. Many EMP sensors are directly applicable to lightning measurements, but there are some special cases of lightning measurements involving direct strikes which require special design considerations for the sensors. The sensors and instrumentation used by NMIMT in collecting data on lightning at South Baldy peak in central New Mexico during the 1978 and 1979 lightning seasons are also discussed. The Langmuir Laboratory facilities and details of the underground shielded instrumentation room and recording equipment are presented.

Fiber-optic sensors for aerospace electrical measurements - An update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Richard L.; Rose, A. H.; Tang, D.; Day, G. W.

1991-01-01

The authors report the progress made on the development of aerospace current and voltage sensors which use fiber-optic and optical sensing heads. These sensors are presently designed to cover ac frequencies from 60 Hz to 20 kHz. The current sensor, based on the Faraday effect in optical fiber, is in advanced development after some initial testing. The emphasis is on packaging methods and ways to maintain consistent sensitivity with changes in temperature. The voltage sensor, utilizing the Pockels effect in a crystal, has excelled in temperature tests. The authors report on the development of these sensors. The authors also relate the technology used in the sensors, the results of evaluation, improvements being made, and the future direction of the work.

Monolithic integration of a plasmonic sensor with CMOS technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shakoor, Abdul; Cheah, Boon C.; Hao, Danni; Al-Rawhani, Mohammed; Nagy, Bence; Grant, James; Dale, Carl; Keegan, Neil; McNeil, Calum; Cumming, David R. S.

2017-02-01

Monolithic integration of nanophotonic sensors with CMOS detectors can transform the laboratory based nanophotonic sensors into practical devices with a range of applications in everyday life. In this work, by monolithically integrating an array of gold nanodiscs with the CMOS photodiode we have developed a compact and miniaturized nanophotonic sensor system having direct electrical read out. Doing so eliminates the need of expensive and bulky laboratory based optical spectrum analyzers used currently for measurements of nanophotonic sensor chips. The experimental optical sensitivity of the gold nanodiscs is measured to be 275 nm/RIU which translates to an electrical sensitivity of 5.4 V/RIU. This integration of nanophotonic sensors with the CMOS electronics has the potential to revolutionize personalized medical diagnostics similar to the way in which the CMOS technology has revolutionized the electronics industry.

A Wireless Fluid-Level Measurement Technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E.; Taylor, Bryant D.

2006-01-01

This paper presents the application of a recently developed wireless measurement acquisition system to fluid-level measurement. This type of fluid-level measurement system alleviates many shortcomings of fluid-level measurement methods currently being used, including limited applicability of any one fluid-level sensor design. Measurement acquisition shortcomings include the necessity for power to be supplied to each sensor and for the measurement to be extracted from each sensor via a physical connection to the sensor. Another shortcoming is existing measurement systems require that a data channel and signal conditioning electronics be dedicated to each sensor. Use of wires results in other shortcomings such as logistics needed to add or replace sensors, weight, potential for electrical arcing and wire degradations. The fluid level sensor design is a simple passive inductor-capacitor circuit that is not subject to mechanical failure that is possible when float and lever-arm systems are used. Methods are presented for using the sensor in caustic, acidic or cryogenic fluids. Oscillating magnetic fields are used to power the sensor. Once electrically excited, the sensor produces a magnetic field response. The response frequency corresponds to the amount to fluid within the capacitor s electric field. The sensor design can be modified for measuring the level of any fluid or fluent substance that can be stored in a non-conductive reservoir. The interrogation method for discerning changes in the sensor response frequency is also presented.

Fiberoptic Applications in Sensors and Telemetry for the Electric Power Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werneck, M. M.; Silva, A. V.; Souza, N. C. C.; Miguel, M. A. L.; Beres, C.; Yugue, E. S.; Carvalho, C. C.; Maciel, F. L.; Silva-Neto, J.; Guimarães, C. R. F.; Allil, R. C. S. B.; Baliosian, J. A. G.

2008-10-01

This presentation features the origin and the work of the Photonics and Instrumentation Laboratory (LIF) in instrumentation, fiberoptic sensors and POF technology. LIF started its work in 1986, twenty and two years ago, with only one lecturer and a few students. The first project was the development of the first Brazilian plotter with the purpose, at the time, to substitute expensive imported technology. LIF has today 25 people between students, technicians, scientists, engineers and teachers. We present here several successful projects of fiberoptic sensors using both silica and POF fibers, most of them applied on the field mainly for the electric power industry. Described are: a oil leakage sensor in petroleum hoses, PMMA evanescent sensors, temperature by the ruby fluorescence phenomenon, a current sensor calibrator for 500 kV current transformers, a leakage sensor to measure 500 kV insulators in extra-high voltage transmission line, etc. Many of the sensors presented here have been tested in the field, patented and transferred to the industry. We have also technical collaboration with several industries in Brazil, one of them a spin-off from LIF. Our objective is to become a reference centre in POF technology in Latin America and for this we are intended to keep producing "out of the shelves" POF technology and innovative industry solutions for many areas.

EMMNet: sensor networking for electricity meter monitoring.

PubMed

Lin, Zhi-Ting; Zheng, Jie; Ji, Yu-Sheng; Zhao, Bao-Hua; Qu, Yu-Gui; Huang, Xu-Dong; Jiang, Xiu-Fang

2010-01-01

Smart sensors are emerging as a promising technology for a large number of application domains. This paper presents a collection of requirements and guidelines that serve as a basis for a general smart sensor architecture to monitor electricity meters. It also presents an electricity meter monitoring network, named EMMNet, comprised of data collectors, data concentrators, hand-held devices, a centralized server, and clients. EMMNet provides long-distance communication capabilities, which make it suitable suitable for complex urban environments. In addition, the operational cost of EMMNet is low, compared with other existing remote meter monitoring systems based on GPRS. A new dynamic tree protocol based on the application requirements which can significantly improve the reliability of the network is also proposed. We are currently conducting tests on five networks and investigating network problems for further improvements. Evaluation results indicate that EMMNet enhances the efficiency and accuracy in the reading, recording, and calibration of electricity meters.

EMMNet: Sensor Networking for Electricity Meter Monitoring

PubMed Central

Lin, Zhi-Ting; Zheng, Jie; Ji, Yu-Sheng; Zhao, Bao-Hua; Qu, Yu-Gui; Huang, Xu-Dong; Jiang, Xiu-Fang

2010-01-01

Smart sensors are emerging as a promising technology for a large number of application domains. This paper presents a collection of requirements and guidelines that serve as a basis for a general smart sensor architecture to monitor electricity meters. It also presents an electricity meter monitoring network, named EMMNet, comprised of data collectors, data concentrators, hand-held devices, a centralized server, and clients. EMMNet provides long-distance communication capabilities, which make it suitable suitable for complex urban environments. In addition, the operational cost of EMMNet is low, compared with other existing remote meter monitoring systems based on GPRS. A new dynamic tree protocol based on the application requirements which can significantly improve the reliability of the network is also proposed. We are currently conducting tests on five networks and investigating network problems for further improvements. Evaluation results indicate that EMMNet enhances the efficiency and accuracy in the reading, recording, and calibration of electricity meters. PMID:22163551

Apparatus for detecting leakage of liquid sodium

DOEpatents

Himeno, Yoshiaki

1978-01-01

An apparatus for detecting the leakage of liquid sodium includes a cable-like sensor adapted to be secured to a wall of piping or other equipment having sodium on the opposite side of the wall, and the sensor includes a core wire electrically connected to the wall through a leak current detector and a power source. An accidental leakage of the liquid sodium causes the corrosion of a metallic layer and an insulative layer of the sensor by products resulted from a reaction of sodium with water or oxygen in the atmospheric air so as to decrease the resistance between the core wire and the wall. Thus, the leakage is detected as an increase in the leaking electrical current. The apparatus is especially adapted for use in detecting the leakage of liquid sodium from sodium-conveying pipes or equipment in a fast breeder reactor.

Electric Field Encephalography as a tool for functional brain research: a modeling study.

PubMed

Petrov, Yury; Sridhar, Srinivas

2013-01-01

We introduce the notion of Electric Field Encephalography (EFEG) based on measuring electric fields of the brain and demonstrate, using computer modeling, that given the appropriate electric field sensors this technique may have significant advantages over the current EEG technique. Unlike EEG, EFEG can be used to measure brain activity in a contactless and reference-free manner at significant distances from the head surface. Principal component analysis using simulated cortical sources demonstrated that electric field sensors positioned 3 cm away from the scalp and characterized by the same signal-to-noise ratio as EEG sensors provided the same number of uncorrelated signals as scalp EEG. When positioned on the scalp, EFEG sensors provided 2-3 times more uncorrelated signals. This significant increase in the number of uncorrelated signals can be used for more accurate assessment of brain states for non-invasive brain-computer interfaces and neurofeedback applications. It also may lead to major improvements in source localization precision. Source localization simulations for the spherical and Boundary Element Method (BEM) head models demonstrated that the localization errors are reduced two-fold when using electric fields instead of electric potentials. We have identified several techniques that could be adapted for the measurement of the electric field vector required for EFEG and anticipate that this study will stimulate new experimental approaches to utilize this new tool for functional brain research.

Relative Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks for Measurement of Electric Fields under HVDC Transmission Lines

PubMed Central

Cui, Yong; Wang, Qiusheng; Yuan, Haiwen; Song, Xiao; Hu, Xuemin; Zhao, Luxing

2015-01-01

In the wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for electric field measurement system under the High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines, it is necessary to obtain the electric field distribution with multiple sensors. The location information of each sensor is essential to the correct analysis of measurement results. Compared with the existing approach which gathers the location information by manually labelling sensors during deployment, the automatic localization can reduce the workload and improve the measurement efficiency. A novel and practical range-free localization algorithm for the localization of one-dimensional linear topology wireless networks in the electric field measurement system is presented. The algorithm utilizes unknown nodes' neighbor lists based on the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) values to determine the relative locations of nodes. The algorithm is able to handle the exceptional situation of the output permutation which can effectively improve the accuracy of localization. The performance of this algorithm under real circumstances has been evaluated through several experiments with different numbers of nodes and different node deployments in the China State Grid HVDC test base. Results show that the proposed algorithm achieves an accuracy of over 96% under different conditions. PMID:25658390

Relative localization in wireless sensor networks for measurement of electric fields under HVDC transmission lines.

PubMed

Cui, Yong; Wang, Qiusheng; Yuan, Haiwen; Song, Xiao; Hu, Xuemin; Zhao, Luxing

2015-02-04

In the wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for electric field measurement system under the High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines, it is necessary to obtain the electric field distribution with multiple sensors. The location information of each sensor is essential to the correct analysis of measurement results. Compared with the existing approach which gathers the location information by manually labelling sensors during deployment, the automatic localization can reduce the workload and improve the measurement efficiency. A novel and practical range-free localization algorithm for the localization of one-dimensional linear topology wireless networks in the electric field measurement system is presented. The algorithm utilizes unknown nodes' neighbor lists based on the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) values to determine the relative locations of nodes. The algorithm is able to handle the exceptional situation of the output permutation which can effectively improve the accuracy of localization. The performance of this algorithm under real circumstances has been evaluated through several experiments with different numbers of nodes and different node deployments in the China State Grid HVDC test base. Results show that the proposed algorithm achieves an accuracy of over 96% under different conditions.

Magnetocardiography with sensors based on giant magnetoresistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pannetier-Lecoeur, M.; Parkkonen, L.; Sergeeva-Chollet, N.; Polovy, H.; Fermon, C.; Fowley, C.

2011-04-01

Biomagnetic signals, mostly due to the electrical activity in the body, are very weak and they can only be detected by the most sensitive magnetometers, such as Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs). We report here biomagnetic recordings with hybrid sensors based on Giant MagnetoResistance (GMR). We recorded magnetic signatures of the electric activity of the human heart (magnetocardiography) in healthy volunteers. The P-wave and QRS complex, known from the corresponding electric recordings, are clearly visible in the recordings after an averaging time of about 1 min. Multiple recordings at different locations over the chest yielded a dipolar magnetic field map and allowed localizing the underlying current sources. The sensitivity of the GMR-based sensors is now approaching that of SQUIDs and paves way for spin electronics devices for functional imaging of the body.

Energy performance assessment of virtualization technologies using small environmental monitoring sensors.

PubMed

Liu, Lu; Masfary, Osama; Antonopoulos, Nick

2012-01-01

The increasing trends of electrical consumption within data centres are a growing concern for business owners as they are quickly becoming a large fraction of the total cost of ownership. Ultra small sensors could be deployed within a data centre to monitor environmental factors to lower the electrical costs and improve the energy efficiency. Since servers and air conditioners represent the top users of electrical power in the data centre, this research sets out to explore methods from each subsystem of the data centre as part of an overall energy efficient solution. In this paper, we investigate the current trends of Green IT awareness and how the deployment of small environmental sensors and Site Infrastructure equipment optimization techniques which can offer a solution to a global issue by reducing carbon emissions.

Experimental design for the evaluation of high-T(sub c) superconductive thermal bridges in a sensor satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, Elaine P.; Lee, Kasey M.

1994-01-01

Infrared sensor satellites, which consist of cryogenic infrared sensor detectors, electrical instrumentation, and data acquisition systems, are used to monitor the conditions of the earth's upper atmosphere in order to evaluate its present and future changes. Currently, the electrical connections (instrumentation), which act as thermal bridges between the cryogenic infrared sensor and the significantly warmer data acquisition unit of the sensor satellite system, constitute a significant portion of the heat load on the cryogen. As a part of extending the mission life of the sensor satellite system, the researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Langley Research Center (NASA-LaRC) are evaluating the effectiveness of replacing the currently used manganin wires with high-temperature superconductive (HTS) materials as the electrical connections (thermal bridges). In conjunction with the study being conducted at NASA-LaRC, the proposed research is to design a space experiment to determine the thermal savings on a cryogenic subsystem when manganin leads are replaced by HTS leads printed onto a substrate with a low thermal conductivity, and to determine the thermal conductivities of HTS materials. The experiment is designed to compare manganin wires with two different types of superconductors on substrates by determining the heat loss by the thermal bridges and providing temperature measurements for the estimation of thermal conductivity. A conductive mathematical model has been developed and used as a key tool in the design process and subsequent analysis.

Pantograph-catenary monitoring by means of fibre Bragg grating sensors: Results from tests in an underground line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bocciolone, Marco; Bucca, Giuseppe; Collina, Andrea; Comolli, Lorenzo

2013-12-01

One of the most common way to collect the traction current needed for the underground vehicle operation is by using the pantograph-overhead line system. The periodically check of pantographs and overhead lines is important to assure the correct interaction between the two systems in terms of good current collection quality. The main diagnostic tools are the monitoring of the vertical force between the overhead line and the pantograph head, and the vertical acceleration on the pantograph head. The pantograph system works under high voltage (1500 V, DC, in our tests) and high electromagnetic disturbances are present. For this reason, traditional electrical sensors can be used only with particular precautions that complicate the measurement set up; fibre optic sensors, and in particular fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensors, are particularly suitable for this application. In this paper, the application of the FBG sensors on a pantograph for the monitoring of underground pantograph-catenary system is presented. FBG sensors are used to measure both the contact force and the vertical acceleration of the pantograph head. The same measurements are also gathered with a traditional electrical system, allowing a comparison. The result is a very good agreement between electrical and optical measurements, except in particular frequency ranges where the different positioning of the sensors influences the output, limiting the comparison. Moreover, some interesting results on the dynamic behaviour of the pantograph and its interaction with the overhead line are presented. Finally, a method to point out the main defects on the overhead line is shown.

Design of Diaphragm and Coil for Stable Performance of an Eddy Current Type Pressure Sensor.

PubMed

Lee, Hyo Ryeol; Lee, Gil Seung; Kim, Hwa Young; Ahn, Jung Hwan

2016-07-01

The aim of this work was to develop an eddy current type pressure sensor and investigate its fundamental characteristics affected by the mechanical and electrical design parameters of sensor. The sensor has two key components, i.e., diaphragm and coil. On the condition that the outer diameter of sensor is 10 mm, two key parts should be designed so as to keep a good linearity and sensitivity. Experiments showed that aluminum is the best target material for eddy current detection. A round-grooved diaphragm is suggested in order to measure more precisely its deflection caused by applied pressures. The design parameters of a round-grooved diaphragm can be selected depending on the measuring requirements. A developed pressure sensor with diaphragm of t = 0.2 mm and w = 1.05 mm was verified to measure pressure up to 10 MPa with very good linearity and errors of less than 0.16%.

The Effect of Particles on Electrolytically Polymerized Thin Natural MCF Rubber for Soft Sensors Installed in Artificial Skin

PubMed Central

Shimada, Kunio; Mochizuki, Osamu; Kubota, Yoshihiro

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of particles as filler in soft rubber sensors installed in artificial skin. We examine sensors made of natural rubber (NR-latex) that include magnetic particles of Ni and Fe3O4 using magnetic compound fluid (MCF). The 1-mm thickness of the electrolytically polymerized MCF rubber makes production of comparatively thin rubber sensors feasible. We first investigate the effect of magnetic particles Ni and Fe3O4 on the curing of MCF rubber. Next, in order to adjust the electric properties of the MCF rubber, we adopt Al2O3 dielectric particles. We investigate the effect of Al2O3 particles on changes in electric current, voltage and temperature of electrolytically polymerized MCF rubber liquid, and on the electric properties under the application of normal and shear forces. By adjusting the ratio of Ni, Fe3O4, Al2O3 and water in MCF rubber with Al2O3, it is possible to change the electric properties. PMID:28422061

Development of a Magneto-Resistive Angular Position Sensor for Space Mechanisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hahn, Robert; Schmidt, Tilo; Seifart, Klaus; Olberts, Bastian; Romera, Fernando

2016-01-01

Magnetic microsystems in the form of magneto-resistive (MR) sensors are firmly established in automobiles and industrial applications. They are used to measure travel, angle, electrical current, or magnetic fields. MR technology opens up new sensor possibilities in space applications and can be an enabling technology for optimal performance, high robustness and long lifetime at reasonable costs. In some science missions, the technology is already applied, however, the designs are proprietary and case specific, for instance in case of the angular sensors used for JPL/NASA's Mars rover Curiosity [1]. Since 2013 HTS GmbH and Sensitec GmbH have teamed up to develop and qualify a standardized yet flexible to use MR angular sensor for space mechanisms. Starting with a first assessment study and market survey performed under ESA contract, a very strong industry interest in novel, contactless position measurement means was found. Currently a detailed and comprehensive development program is being performed by HTS and Sensitec. The objective of this program is to advance the sensor design up to Engineering Qualification Model level and to perform qualification testing for a representative space application. The paper briefly reviews the basics of magneto-resistive effects and possible sensor applications and describes the key benefits of MR angular sensors with reference to currently operational industrial and space applications. The key applications and specification are presented and the preliminary baseline mechanical and electrical design will be discussed. An outlook on the upcoming development and test stages as well as the qualification program will be provided.

Gold nanostructures and methods of use

DOEpatents

Zhang, Jin Z [Santa Cruz, CA; Schwartzberg, Adam [Santa Cruz, CA; Olson, Tammy Y [Santa Cruz, CA

2012-03-20

The invention is drawn to novel nanostructures comprising hollow nanospheres and nanotubes for use as chemical sensors, conduits for fluids, and electronic conductors. The nanostructures can be used in microfluidic devices, for transporting fluids between devices and structures in analytical devices, for conducting electrical currents between devices and structure in analytical devices, and for conducting electrical currents between biological molecules and electronic devices, such as bio-microchips.

Gold nanostructures and methods of use

DOEpatents

Zhang, Jin Z.; Schwartzberg, Adam; Olson, Tammy Y.

2016-03-01

The invention is drawn to novel nanostructures comprising hollow nanospheres and nanotubes for use as chemical sensors, conduits for fluids, and electronic conductors. The nanostructures can be used in microfluidic devices, for transporting fluids between devices and structures in analytical devices, for conducting electrical currents between devices and structure in analytical devices, and for conducting electrical currents between biological molecules and electronic devices, such as bio-microchips.

Quench monitoring and control system and method of operating same

DOEpatents

Ryan, David Thomas; Laskaris, Evangelos Trifon; Huang, Xianrui

2006-05-30

A rotating machine comprising a superconductive coil and a temperature sensor operable to provide a signal representative of superconductive coil temperature. The rotating machine may comprise a control system communicatively coupled to the temperature sensor. The control system may be operable to reduce electric current in the superconductive coil when a signal representative of a defined superconducting coil temperature is received from the temperature sensor.

Fiber-Optic Sensor for Aircraft Lightning Current Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Ely, Jay J.; Szatkowski, George G.; Mata, Carlos T.; Mata,Angel G.; Snyder, Gary P.

2012-01-01

An electric current sensor based on Faraday rotation effect in optical fiber was developed for measuring aircraft lightning current. Compared to traditional sensors, the design has many advantages including the ability to measure total current and to conform to structure geometries. The sensor is also small, light weight, non-conducting, safe from interference, and free of hysteresis and saturation. Potential applications include characterization of lightning current waveforms, parameters and paths, and providing environmental data for aircraft certifications. In an optical fiber as the sensing medium, light polarization rotates when exposed to a magnetic field in the direction of light propagation. By forming closed fiber loops around a conductor and applying Ampere s law, measuring the total light rotation yields the enclosed current. A reflective polarimetric scheme is used, where polarization change is measured after the polarized light travels round-trip through the sensing fiber. The sensor system was evaluated measuring rocket-triggered lightning over the 2011 summer. Early results compared very well against a reference current shunt resistor, demonstrating the sensor's accuracy and feasibility in a lightning environment. While later comparisons show gradually increasing amplitude deviations for an undetermined cause, the overall waveforms still compared very well.

Fiber-Optic Sensor for Aircraft Lightning Current Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Ely, Jay J.; Szatkowski, George G.; Mata, Carlos T.; Mata, Angel G.; Snyder, Gary P.

2012-01-01

An electric current sensor based on Faraday rotation effect in optical fiber was developed for measuring aircraft lightning current. Compared to traditional sensors, the design has many advantages including the ability to measure total current and to conform to structure geometries. The sensor is also small, light weight, non-conducting, safe from interference, and free of hysteresis and saturation. Potential applications include characterization of lightning current waveforms, parameters and paths, and providing environmental data for aircraft certifications. In an optical fiber as the sensing medium, light polarization rotates when exposed to a magnetic field in the direction of light propagation. By forming closed fiber loops around a conductor and applying Ampere s law, measuring the total light rotation yields the enclosed current. A reflective polarimetric scheme is used, where polarization change is measured after the polarized light travels round-trip through the sensing fiber. The sensor system was evaluated measuring rocket-triggered lightning over the 2011 summer. Early results compared very well against a reference current shunt resistor, demonstrating the sensor s accuracy and feasibility in a lightning environment. While later comparisons show gradually increasing amplitude deviations for an undetermined cause, the overall waveforms still compared very well.

Energy Performance Assessment of Virtualization Technologies Using Small Environmental Monitoring Sensors

PubMed Central

Liu, Lu; Masfary, Osama; Antonopoulos, Nick

2012-01-01

The increasing trends of electrical consumption within data centres are a growing concern for business owners as they are quickly becoming a large fraction of the total cost of ownership. Ultra small sensors could be deployed within a data centre to monitor environmental factors to lower the electrical costs and improve the energy efficiency. Since servers and air conditioners represent the top users of electrical power in the data centre, this research sets out to explore methods from each subsystem of the data centre as part of an overall energy efficient solution. In this paper, we investigate the current trends of Green IT awareness and how the deployment of small environmental sensors and Site Infrastructure equipment optimization techniques which can offer a solution to a global issue by reducing carbon emissions. PMID:22778660

AC electric field for rapid assembly of nanostructured polyaniline onto microsized gap for sensor devices.

PubMed

La Ferrara, Vera; Rametta, Gabriella; De Maria, Antonella

2015-07-01

Interconnected network of nanostructured polyaniline (PANI) is giving strong potential for enhancing device performances than bulk PANI counterparts. For nanostructured device processing, the main challenge is to get prototypes on large area by requiring precision, low cost and high rate assembly. Among processes meeting these requests, the alternate current electric fields are often used for nanostructure assembling. For the first time, we show the assembly of nanostructured PANI onto large electrode gaps (30-60 μm width) by applying alternate current electric fields, at low frequencies, to PANI particles dispersed in acetonitrile (ACN). An important advantage is the short assembly time, limited to 5-10 s, although electrode gaps are microsized. That encouraging result is due to a combination of forces, such as dielectrophoresis (DEP), induced-charge electrokinetic (ICEK) flow and alternate current electroosmotic (ACEO) flow, which speed up the assembly process when low frequencies and large electrode gaps are used. The main achievement of the present study is the development of ammonia sensors created by direct assembling of nanostructured PANI onto electrodes. Sensors exhibit high sensitivity to low gas concentrations as well as excellent reversibility at room temperature, even after storage in air. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Real-time measurement of biomagnetic vector fields in functional syncytium using amorphous metal.

PubMed

Nakayama, Shinsuke; Uchiyama, Tusyoshi

2015-03-06

Magnetic field detection of biological electric activities would provide a non-invasive and aseptic estimate of the functional state of cellular organization, namely a syncytium constructed with cell-to-cell electric coupling. In this study, we investigated the properties of biomagnetic waves which occur spontaneously in gut musculature as a typical functional syncytium, by applying an amorphous metal-based gradio-magneto sensor operated at ambient temperature without a magnetic shield. The performance of differentiation was improved by using a single amorphous wire with a pair of transducer coils. Biomagnetic waves of up to several nT were recorded ~1 mm below the sample in a real-time manner. Tetraethyl ammonium (TEA) facilitated magnetic waves reflected electric activity in smooth muscle. The direction of magnetic waves altered depending on the relative angle of the muscle layer and magneto sensor, indicating the existence of propagating intercellular currents. The magnitude of magnetic waves rapidly decreased to ~30% by the initial and subsequent 1 mm separations between sample and sensor. The large distance effect was attributed to the feature of bioelectric circuits constructed by two reverse currents separated by a small distance. This study provides a method for detecting characteristic features of biomagnetic fields arising from a syncytial current.

Real-time Measurement of Biomagnetic Vector Fields in Functional Syncytium Using Amorphous Metal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakayama, Shinsuke; Uchiyama, Tusyoshi

2015-03-01

Magnetic field detection of biological electric activities would provide a non-invasive and aseptic estimate of the functional state of cellular organization, namely a syncytium constructed with cell-to-cell electric coupling. In this study, we investigated the properties of biomagnetic waves which occur spontaneously in gut musculature as a typical functional syncytium, by applying an amorphous metal-based gradio-magneto sensor operated at ambient temperature without a magnetic shield. The performance of differentiation was improved by using a single amorphous wire with a pair of transducer coils. Biomagnetic waves of up to several nT were recorded ~1 mm below the sample in a real-time manner. Tetraethyl ammonium (TEA) facilitated magnetic waves reflected electric activity in smooth muscle. The direction of magnetic waves altered depending on the relative angle of the muscle layer and magneto sensor, indicating the existence of propagating intercellular currents. The magnitude of magnetic waves rapidly decreased to ~30% by the initial and subsequent 1 mm separations between sample and sensor. The large distance effect was attributed to the feature of bioelectric circuits constructed by two reverse currents separated by a small distance. This study provides a method for detecting characteristic features of biomagnetic fields arising from a syncytial current.

Advances in Bio-Tactile Sensors for Minimally Invasive Surgery Using the Fibre Bragg Grating Force Sensor Technique:A Survey

PubMed Central

Abushagur, Abdulfatah A.G.; Arsad, Norhana; Ibne Reaz, Mamun; Ashrif, A.; Bakar, A.

2014-01-01

The large interest in utilising fibre Bragg grating (FBG) strain sensors for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) applications to replace conventional electrical tactile sensors has grown in the past few years. FBG strain sensors offer the advantages of optical fibre sensors, such as high sensitivity, immunity to electromagnetic noise, electrical passivity and chemical inertness, but are not limited by phase discontinuity or intensity fluctuations. FBG sensors feature a wavelength-encoding sensing signal that enables distributed sensing that utilises fewer connections. In addition, their flexibility and lightness allow easy insertion into needles and catheters, thus enabling localised measurements inside tissues and blood. Two types of FBG tactile sensors have been emphasised in the literature: single-point and array FBG tactile sensors. This paper describes the current design, development and research of the optical fibre tactile techniques that are based on FBGs to enhance the performance of MIS procedures in general. Providing MIS or microsurgery surgeons with accurate and precise measurements and control of the contact forces during tissues manipulation will benefit both surgeons and patients. PMID:24721774

Lightning Current Measurement with Fiber-Optic Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Ely, Jay J.; Szatkowski, George N.; Mata, Carlos T.; Mata, Angel G.; Snyder, Gary P.

2014-01-01

A fiber-optic current sensor is successfully developed with many potential applications for electric current measurement. Originally developed for in-flight lightning measurement, the sensor utilizes Faraday Effect in an optical fiber. The Faraday Effect causes linear light polarization in a fiber to rotate when the fiber is exposed to a magnetic field. The polarization change is detected using a reflective polarimetric scheme. Forming fiber loops and applying Ampere's law, measuring the total light rotation results in the determination of the total current enclosed. The sensor is conformable to complex structure geometry. It is also non-conductive and immune to electromagnetic interference, saturation or hysteresis. Installation is non-intrusive, and the sensor can be safely routed through flammable areas. Two similar sensor systems are described in this paper. The first system operates at 1310nm laser wavelength and is capable of measuring approximately 300 A - 300 kA, a 60 dB range. Laboratory validation results of aircraft lighting direct and in-direct effect current amplitudes are reported for this sensor. The second system operates at 1550nm wavelength and can measure about 400 A - 400 kA. Triggered-lightning measurement data are presented for this system. Good results are achieved in all cases.

Biological and chemical sensors based on graphene materials.

PubMed

Liu, Yuxin; Dong, Xiaochen; Chen, Peng

2012-03-21

Owing to their extraordinary electrical, chemical, optical, mechanical and structural properties, graphene and its derivatives have stimulated exploding interests in their sensor applications ever since the first isolation of free-standing graphene sheets in year 2004. This article critically and comprehensively reviews the emerging graphene-based electrochemical sensors, electronic sensors, optical sensors, and nanopore sensors for biological or chemical detection. We emphasize on the underlying detection (or signal transduction) mechanisms, the unique roles and advantages of the used graphene materials. Properties and preparations of different graphene materials, their functionalizations are also comparatively discussed in view of sensor development. Finally, the perspective and current challenges of graphene sensors are outlined (312 references).

Non-Destructive Techniques Based on Eddy Current Testing

PubMed Central

García-Martín, Javier; Gómez-Gil, Jaime; Vázquez-Sánchez, Ernesto

2011-01-01

Non-destructive techniques are used widely in the metal industry in order to control the quality of materials. Eddy current testing is one of the most extensively used non-destructive techniques for inspecting electrically conductive materials at very high speeds that does not require any contact between the test piece and the sensor. This paper includes an overview of the fundamentals and main variables of eddy current testing. It also describes the state-of-the-art sensors and modern techniques such as multi-frequency and pulsed systems. Recent advances in complex models towards solving crack-sensor interaction, developments in instrumentation due to advances in electronic devices, and the evolution of data processing suggest that eddy current testing systems will be increasingly used in the future. PMID:22163754

Non-destructive techniques based on eddy current testing.

PubMed

García-Martín, Javier; Gómez-Gil, Jaime; Vázquez-Sánchez, Ernesto

2011-01-01

Non-destructive techniques are used widely in the metal industry in order to control the quality of materials. Eddy current testing is one of the most extensively used non-destructive techniques for inspecting electrically conductive materials at very high speeds that does not require any contact between the test piece and the sensor. This paper includes an overview of the fundamentals and main variables of eddy current testing. It also describes the state-of-the-art sensors and modern techniques such as multi-frequency and pulsed systems. Recent advances in complex models towards solving crack-sensor interaction, developments in instrumentation due to advances in electronic devices, and the evolution of data processing suggest that eddy current testing systems will be increasingly used in the future.

The feasibility of inflight measurement of lightning strike parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crouch, K. E.; Plumer, J. A.

1978-01-01

The appearance of nonmetallic structural materials and microelectronics in aircraft design has resulted in a need for better knowledge of hazardous environments such as lightning and the effects these environments have on the aircraft. This feasibility study was performed to determine the lightning parameters in the greatest need of clarification and the performance requirements of equipment necessary to sense and record these parameters on an instrumented flight research aircraft. It was found that electric field rate of change, lightning currents, and induced voltages in aircraft wiring are the parameters of greatest importance. Flat-plate electric field sensors and resistive current shunts are proposed for electric field and current sensors, to provide direct measurements of these parameters. Six bit analog-to-digital signal conversion at a 5 nanosecond sampling rate, short-term storage of 85000 bits and long term storage of 5 x 10 to the 7th power bits of electric field, current and induced voltage data on the airplane are proposed, with readout and further analysis to be accomplished on the ground. A NASA F-106B was found to be suitable for use as the research aircraft because it has a minimum number of possible lightning attachment points, space for the necessary instrumentation, and appears to meet operational requirements. Safety considerations are also presented.

A passive optical fibre hydrophone array utilising fibre Bragg grating sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karas, Andrew R.; Papageorgiou, Anthony W.; Cook, Peter R.; Arkwright, John W.

2018-02-01

Many current high performance hydrophones use piezo-electric technology to measure sound pressure in water. These hydrophones are sensitive enough to detect any sound above the lowest ambient ocean acoustic noise, however cost of manufacture, weight and storage volume of the array as well as deployment and maintenance costs can limit their largescale application. Piezo-electric systems also have issues with electro-magnetic interference and the signature of the electrical cabling required in a large array. A fibre optic hydrophone array has advantages over the piezo-electric technology in these areas. This paper presents the operating principle of a passive optical fibre hydrophone array utilising Fibre Bragg Gratings (FBGs). The multiple FBG sensors are interrogated using a single solid state spectrometer which further reduces the cost of the deployed system. A noise equivalent power (NEP) comparison of the developed FBG hydrophone versus an existing piezo-electric hydrophone is presented as well as a comparison to the lowest ambient ocean acoustic noise (sea state zero). This research provides an important first step towards a cost effective multi sensor hydrophone array using FBGs.

Poynting-vector based method for determining the bearing and location of electromagnetic sources

DOEpatents

Simons, David J.; Carrigan, Charles R.; Harben, Philip E.; Kirkendall, Barry A.; Schultz, Craig A.

2008-10-21

A method and apparatus is utilized to determine the bearing and/or location of sources, such as, alternating current (A.C.) generators and loads, power lines, transformers and/or radio-frequency (RF) transmitters, emitting electromagnetic-wave energy for which a Poynting-Vector can be defined. When both a source and field sensors (electric and magnetic) are static, a bearing to the electromagnetic source can be obtained. If a single set of electric (E) and magnetic (B) sensors are in motion, multiple measurements permit location of the source. The method can be extended to networks of sensors allowing determination of the location of both stationary and moving sources.

In Situ Monitoring of Temperature inside Lithium-Ion Batteries by Flexible Micro Temperature Sensors

PubMed Central

Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Shuo-Jen; Tang, Ming-Shao; Chen, Pei-Chi

2011-01-01

Lithium-ion secondary batteries are commonly used in electric vehicles, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), notebooks and electric cars. These lithium-ion secondary batteries must charge and discharge rapidly, causing the interior temperature to rise quickly, raising a safety issue. Over-charging results in an unstable voltage and current, causing potential safety problems, such as thermal runaways and explosions. Thus, a micro flexible temperature sensor for the in in-situ monitoring of temperature inside a lithium-ion secondary battery must be developed. In this work, flexible micro temperature sensors were integrated into a lithium-ion secondary battery using the micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) process for monitoring temperature in situ. PMID:22163735

In situ monitoring of temperature inside lithium-ion batteries by flexible micro temperature sensors.

PubMed

Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Shuo-Jen; Tang, Ming-Shao; Chen, Pei-Chi

2011-01-01

Lithium-ion secondary batteries are commonly used in electric vehicles, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), notebooks and electric cars. These lithium-ion secondary batteries must charge and discharge rapidly, causing the interior temperature to rise quickly, raising a safety issue. Over-charging results in an unstable voltage and current, causing potential safety problems, such as thermal runaways and explosions. Thus, a micro flexible temperature sensor for the in in-situ monitoring of temperature inside a lithium-ion secondary battery must be developed. In this work, flexible micro temperature sensors were integrated into a lithium-ion secondary battery using the micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) process for monitoring temperature in situ.

Fuel cell CO sensor

DOEpatents

Grot, Stephen Andreas; Meltser, Mark Alexander; Gutowski, Stanley; Neutzler, Jay Kevin; Borup, Rodney Lynn; Weisbrod, Kirk

1999-12-14

The CO concentration in the H.sub.2 feed stream to a PEM fuel cell stack is monitored by measuring current and/or voltage behavior patterns from a PEM-probe communicating with the reformate feed stream. Pattern recognition software may be used to compare the current and voltage patterns from the PEM-probe to current and voltage telltale outputs determined from a reference cell similar to the PEM-probe and operated under controlled conditions over a wide range of CO concentrations in the H.sub.2 fuel stream. A CO sensor includes the PEM-probe, an electrical discharge circuit for discharging the PEM-probe to monitor the CO concentration, and an electrical purging circuit to intermittently raise the anode potential of the PEM-probe's anode to at least about 0.8 V (RHE) to electrochemically oxidize any CO adsorbed on the probe's anode catalyst.

Geometrical optimization of sensors for eddy currents nondestructive testing and evaluation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thollon, F.; Burais, N.

1995-05-01

Design of Non Destructive Testing (NDT) and Non Destructive Evaluation (NDE) sensors is possible by solving Maxwell`s relations with FEM or BIM. But the large number of geometrical and electrical parameters of sensor and tested material implies many results that don`t give necessarily a well adapted sensor. The authors have used a genetic algorithm for automatic optimization. After having tested this algorithm with analytical solution of Maxwell`s relations for cladding thickness measurement, the method has been implemented in finite element package.

Development of a fiber shape polymeric humidity sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Yen-Tse; Chen, Ling-Chih; Wang, Wei-Chih

2017-04-01

In this paper, we demonstrate a polymeric humidity sensor made of a cellulose based composite nanofiber. The device measures humidity via a humidity induced electrical impedance change. The compact, efficient design of the fiber makes it ideal to incorporate into textiles for biometrics applications such as body fluid monitoring. Initial test results show that the sensor can measure between 20 to 80% relative humidity with a sensitivity of about 2%. The impedance of the sensor material changes relatively linearly with relative humidity. The sensor also shows a relatively fast response ( 4s) compared to current commercial sensors.

Conductometric Sensor for Soot Mass Flow Detection in Exhausts of Internal Combustion Engines

PubMed Central

Feulner, Markus; Hagen, Gunter; Müller, Andreas; Schott, Andreas; Zöllner, Christian; Brüggemann, Dieter; Moos, Ralf

2015-01-01

Soot sensors are required for on-board diagnostics (OBD) of automotive diesel particulate filters (DPF) to detect filter failures. Widely used for this purpose are conductometric sensors, measuring an electrical current or resistance between two electrodes. Soot particles deposit on the electrodes, which leads to an increase in current or decrease in resistance. If installed upstream of a DPF, the “engine-out” soot emissions can also be determined directly by soot sensors. Sensors were characterized in diesel engine real exhausts under varying operation conditions and with two different kinds of diesel fuel. The sensor signal was correlated to the actual soot mass and particle number, measured with an SMPS. Sensor data and soot analytics (SMPS) agreed very well, an impressing linear correlation in a double logarithmic representation was found. This behavior was even independent of the used engine settings or of the biodiesel content. PMID:26580621

Conductometric Sensor for Soot Mass Flow Detection in Exhausts of Internal Combustion Engines.

PubMed

Feulner, Markus; Hagen, Gunter; Müller, Andreas; Schott, Andreas; Zöllner, Christian; Brüggemann, Dieter; Moos, Ralf

2015-11-13

Soot sensors are required for on-board diagnostics (OBD) of automotive diesel particulate filters (DPF) to detect filter failures. Widely used for this purpose are conductometric sensors, measuring an electrical current or resistance between two electrodes. Soot particles deposit on the electrodes, which leads to an increase in current or decrease in resistance. If installed upstream of a DPF, the "engine-out" soot emissions can also be determined directly by soot sensors. Sensors were characterized in diesel engine real exhausts under varying operation conditions and with two different kinds of diesel fuel. The sensor signal was correlated to the actual soot mass and particle number, measured with an SMPS. Sensor data and soot analytics (SMPS) agreed very well, an impressing linear correlation in a double logarithmic representation was found. This behavior was even independent of the used engine settings or of the biodiesel content.

Electrical characterization of FBK small-pitch 3D sensors after γ-ray, neutron and proton irradiations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalla Betta, G.-F.; Boscardin, M.; Hoeferkamp, M.; Mendicino, R.; Seidel, S.; Sultan, D. M. S.

2017-11-01

In view of applications in the tracking detectors at the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), we have developed a new generation of 3D pixel sensors featuring small-pitch (50 × 50 or 25 × 100 μ m2) and thin active layer (~ 100 μ m). Owing to the very short inter-electrode distance (~ 30 μ m), charge trapping effects can be strongly mitigated, making these sensors extremely radiation hard. However, the downscaled sensor structure also lends itself to high electric fields as the bias voltage is increased, motivating investigation of leakage current increase in order to prevent premature electrical breakdown due to impact ionization. In order to assess the characteristics of heavily irradiated samples, using 3D diodes as test devices, we have carried out a dedicated campaign that included several irradiations (γ -rays, neutrons, and protons) at different facilities. In this paper, we report on the electrical characterization of a subset of the irradiated samples, also in comparison to their pre-irradiation properties. Results demonstrate that hadron irradiated devices can be safely operated at a voltage high enough to allow for full depletion (hence high efficiency) also at the maximum fluence foreseen at the HL-LHC.

Sensing Properties of a Novel Temperature Sensor Based on Field Assisted Thermal Emission.

PubMed

Pan, Zhigang; Zhang, Yong; Cheng, Zhenzhen; Tong, Jiaming; Chen, Qiyu; Zhang, Jianpeng; Zhang, Jiaxiang; Li, Xin; Li, Yunjia

2017-02-27

The existing temperature sensors using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are limited by low sensitivity, complicated processes, or dependence on microscopy to observe the experimental results. Here we report the fabrication and successful testing of an ionization temperature sensor featuring non-self-sustaining discharge. The sharp tips of nanotubes generate high electric fields at relatively low voltages, lowering the work function of electrons emitted by CNTs, and thereby enabling the safe operation of such sensors. Due to the temperature effect on the electron emission of CNTs, the collecting current exhibited an exponential increase with temperature rising from 20 °C to 100 °C. Additionally, a higher temperature coefficient of 0.04 K -1 was obtained at 24 V voltage applied on the extracting electrode, higher than the values of other reported CNT-based temperature sensors. The triple-electrode ionization temperature sensor is easy to fabricate and converts the temperature change directly into an electrical signal. It shows a high temperature coefficient and good application potential.

Sensing Properties of a Novel Temperature Sensor Based on Field Assisted Thermal Emission

PubMed Central

Pan, Zhigang; Zhang, Yong; Cheng, Zhenzhen; Tong, Jiaming; Chen, Qiyu; Zhang, Jianpeng; Zhang, Jiaxiang; Li, Xin; Li, Yunjia

2017-01-01

The existing temperature sensors using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are limited by low sensitivity, complicated processes, or dependence on microscopy to observe the experimental results. Here we report the fabrication and successful testing of an ionization temperature sensor featuring non-self-sustaining discharge. The sharp tips of nanotubes generate high electric fields at relatively low voltages, lowering the work function of electrons emitted by CNTs, and thereby enabling the safe operation of such sensors. Due to the temperature effect on the electron emission of CNTs, the collecting current exhibited an exponential increase with temperature rising from 20 °C to 100 °C. Additionally, a higher temperature coefficient of 0.04 K−1 was obtained at 24 V voltage applied on the extracting electrode, higher than the values of other reported CNT-based temperature sensors. The triple-electrode ionization temperature sensor is easy to fabricate and converts the temperature change directly into an electrical signal. It shows a high temperature coefficient and good application potential. PMID:28264427

Radially Focused Eddy Current Sensor for Detection of Longitudinal Flaws in Metallic Tubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wincheski, Russell A. (Inventor); Simpson, John W. (Inventor); Fulton, James P. (Inventor); Nath, Shridhar C. (Inventor); Todhunter, Ronald G. (Inventor); Namkung, Min (Inventor)

1999-01-01

A radially focused eddy current sensor detects longitudinal flaws in a metal tube. A drive coil induces eddy currents within the wall of the metal tube. A pick-up cod is spaced apart from the drive coil along the length of the metal tube. The pick@up coil is positioned with one end thereof lying adjacent the wall of the metal tube such that the pick-up coil's longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the wall of the metal tube. To isolate the pick-up coil from the magnetic flux of the drive coil and the flux from the induced eddy currents. except the eddy currents diverted by a longitudinal flaw. an electrically conducting material high in magnetic permeability surrounds all of the pick-up coil except its one end that is adjacent the walls of the metal tube. The electrically conducting material can extend into and through the drive coil in a coaxial relationship therewith.

Low exhaust temperature electrically heated particulate matter filter system

DOEpatents

Gonze, Eugene V [Pinckney, MI; Paratore, Jr., Michael J.; Bhatia, Garima [Bangalore, IN

2012-02-14

A system includes a particulate matter (PM) filter, a sensor, a heating element, and a control module. The PM filter includes with an upstream end that receives exhaust gas, a downstream end and multiple zones. The sensor detects a temperature of the exhaust gas. The control module controls current to the heating element to convection heat one of the zones and initiate a regeneration process. The control module selectively increases current to the heating element relative to a reference regeneration current level when the temperature is less than a predetermined temperature.

Open carbon nanopipettes as resistive-pulse sensors, rectification sensors, and electrochemical nanoprobes.

PubMed

Hu, Keke; Wang, Yixian; Cai, Huijing; Mirkin, Michael V; Gao, Yang; Friedman, Gary; Gogotsi, Yury

2014-09-16

Nanometer-sized glass and quartz pipettes have been widely used as a core of chemical sensors, patch clamps, and scanning probe microscope tips. Many of those applications require the control of the surface charge and chemical state of the inner pipette wall. Both objectives can be attained by coating the inner wall of a quartz pipette with a nanometer-thick layer of carbon. In this letter, we demonstrate the possibility of using open carbon nanopipettes (CNP) produced by chemical vapor deposition as resistive-pulse sensors, rectification sensors, and electrochemical nanoprobes. By applying a potential to the carbon layer, one can change the surface charge and electrical double-layer at the pipette wall, which, in turn, affect the ion current rectification and adsorption/desorption processes essential for resistive-pulse sensors. CNPs can also be used as versatile electrochemical probes such as asymmetric bipolar nanoelectrodes and dual electrodes based on simultaneous recording of the ion current through the pipette and the current produced by oxidation/reduction of molecules at the carbon nanoring.

Utilisation of the magnetic sensor in a smartphone for facile magnetostatics experiment: magnetic field due to electrical current in straight and loop wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Septianto, R. D.; Suhendra, D.; Iskandar, F.

2017-01-01

This paper reports on the result of a research into the utilisation of a smartphone for the study of magnetostatics on the basis of experiments. The use of such a device gives great measurement result and thus it can replace magnetic sensor tools that are relatively expensive. For the best experimental result, firstly the position of the magnetic sensor in the smartphone has to be considered by way of value mapping of a magnetic field due to permanent magnet. The magnetostatics experiment investigated in this research was the measurement of magnetic field due to electrical currents in two shapes of wire, straight and looped. The current flow, the distance between the observation point and the wire, and the diameter of the loop were the variable parameters investigated to test the smartphone’s capabilities as a measurement tool. To evaluate the experimental results, the measured data were compared with theoretical values that were calculated by using both an analytical and a numerical approach. According to the experiment results, the measured data had good agreement with the results from the analytical and the numerical approach. This means that the use of the magnetic sensor in a smartphone in physics experiments is viable, especially for magnetic field measurement.

Simultaneously measured signals in scanning probe microscopy with a needle sensor: frequency shift and tunneling current.

PubMed

Morawski, Ireneusz; Voigtländer, Bert

2010-03-01

We present combined noncontact scanning force microscopy and tunneling current images of a platinum(111) surface obtained by means of a 1 MHz quartz needle sensor. The low-frequency circuit of the tunneling current was combined with a high-frequency signal of the quartz resonator enabling full electrical operation of the sensor. The frequency shift and the tunneling current were detected simultaneously, while the feedback control loop of the topography signal was fed using one of them. In both cases, the free signal that was not connected to the feedback loop reveals proportional-integral controller errorlike behavior, which is governed by the time derivative of the topography signal. A procedure is proposed for determining the mechanical oscillation amplitude by utilizing the tunneling current also including the average tip-sample work function.

Study and Experiment on Non-Contact Voltage Sensor Suitable for Three-Phase Transmission Line

PubMed Central

Zhou, Qiang; He, Wei; Xiao, Dongping; Li, Songnong; Zhou, Kongjun

2015-01-01

A voltage transformer, as voltage signal detection equipment, plays an important role in a power system. Presently, more and more electric power systems are adopting potential transformer and capacitance voltage transformers. Transformers are often large in volume and heavyweight, their insulation design is difficult, and an iron core or multi-grade capacitance voltage division structure is generally adopted. As a result, the detection accuracy of transformer is reduced, a huge phase difference exists between detection signal and voltage signal to be measured, and the detection signal cannot accurately and timely reflect the change of conductor voltage signal to be measured. By aiming at the current problems of electric transformation, based on electrostatic induction principle, this paper designed a non-contact voltage sensor and gained detection signal of the sensor through electrostatic coupling for the electric field generated by electric charges of the conductor to be measured. The insulation structure design of the sensor is simple and its volume is small; phase difference of sensor measurement is effectively reduced through optimization design of the electrode; and voltage division ratio and measurement accuracy are increased. The voltage sensor was tested on the experimental platform of simulating three-phase transmission line. According to the result, the designed non-contact voltage sensor can realize accurate and real-time measurement for the conductor voltage. It can be applied to online monitoring for the voltage of three-phase transmission line or three-phase distribution network line, which is in accordance with the development direction of the smart grid. PMID:26729119

Study and Experiment on Non-Contact Voltage Sensor Suitable for Three-Phase Transmission Line.

PubMed

Zhou, Qiang; He, Wei; Xiao, Dongping; Li, Songnong; Zhou, Kongjun

2015-12-30

A voltage transformer, as voltage signal detection equipment, plays an important role in a power system. Presently, more and more electric power systems are adopting potential transformer and capacitance voltage transformers. Transformers are often large in volume and heavyweight, their insulation design is difficult, and an iron core or multi-grade capacitance voltage division structure is generally adopted. As a result, the detection accuracy of transformer is reduced, a huge phase difference exists between detection signal and voltage signal to be measured, and the detection signal cannot accurately and timely reflect the change of conductor voltage signal to be measured. By aiming at the current problems of electric transformation, based on electrostatic induction principle, this paper designed a non-contact voltage sensor and gained detection signal of the sensor through electrostatic coupling for the electric field generated by electric charges of the conductor to be measured. The insulation structure design of the sensor is simple and its volume is small; phase difference of sensor measurement is effectively reduced through optimization design of the electrode; and voltage division ratio and measurement accuracy are increased. The voltage sensor was tested on the experimental platform of simulating three-phase transmission line. According to the result, the designed non-contact voltage sensor can realize accurate and real-time measurement for the conductor voltage. It can be applied to online monitoring for the voltage of three-phase transmission line or three-phase distribution network line, which is in accordance with the development direction of the smart grid.

Simulations of Propane and Butane Gas Sensor Based on Pristine Armchair Graphene Nanoribbon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rashid, Haroon; Koel, Ants; Rang, Toomas

2018-05-01

Over the last decade graphene and its derivatives have gained a remarkable place in research field. As silicon technology is approaching to its geometrical limits so there is a need of alternate that can replace it. Graphene has emerged as a potential candidate for future nano-electronics applications due to its exceptional and extraordinary chemical, optical, electrical and mechanical properties. Graphene based sensors have gained significance for a wide range of sensing applications like detection of biomolecules, chemicals and gas molecules. It can be easily used to make electrical contacts and manipulate them according to the requirements as compared to the other nanomaterials. The intention of the work presented in this article is to contribute in this field by simulating a novel and cheap graphene nanoribbon sensor for the household gas leakage detection. QuantumWise Atomistix (ATK) software is used for the simulations of propane and butane gas sensor. Projected device density of the states (PDDOS) and the transmission spectrum of the device in the proximity of gas molecules are calculated and discussed. The change in the electric current through the device in the presence of the gas molecules is used as a gas detection mechanism for the simulated sensor.

The constant current loop: A new paradigm for resistance signal conditioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Karl F.

1994-02-01

A practical single constant current loop circuit for the signal conditioning of variable-resistance transducers has been synthesized, analyzed, and demonstrated. The strain gage and the resistance temperature detector are examples of variable-resistance sensors. Lead wires connect variable-resistance sensors to remotely located signal-conditioning hardware. The presence of lead wires in the conventional Wheatstone bridge signal-conditioning circuit introduces undesired effects that reduce the quality of the data from the remote sensors. A practical approach is presented for suppressing essentially all lead wire resistance effects while indicating only the change in resistance value. Theoretical predictions supported by laboratory testing confirm the following features of the approach: (1) dc response; (2) the electrical output is unaffected by extremely large variation in the resistance of any or all lead wires; (3) the electrical output remains zero for no change in gage resistance; (4) the electrical output is inherently linear with respect to gage resistance change; (5) the sensitivity is double that of a Wheatstone bridge circuit; and (6) the same excitation wires can serve multiple independent gages. An adaptation of current loop circuit is presented that simultaneously provides an output signal voltage directly proportional to transducer resistance change and provides temperature information that is unaffected by transducer and lead wire resistance variations. These innovations are the subject of NASA patent applications.

The constant current loop: A new paradigm for resistance signal conditioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Karl F.

1992-10-01

A practical single constant current loop circuit for the signal conditioning of variable resistance transducers has been synthesized, analyzed, and demonstrated. The strain gage and the resistance temperature device are examples of variable resistance sensors. Lead wires connect variable resistance sensors to remotely located signal conditioning hardware. The presence of lead wires in the conventional Wheatstone bridge signal conditioning circuit introduces undesired effects that reduce the quality of the data from the remote sensors. A practical approach is presented for suppressing essentially all lead wire resistance effects while indicating only the change in resistance value. Theoretical predictions supported by laboratory testing confirm the following features of the approach: (1) dc response; (2) the electrical output is unaffected by extremely large variations in the resistance of any or all lead wires; (3) the electrical output remains zero for no change in gage resistance; (4) the electrical output is inherently linear with respect to gage resistance change; (5) the sensitivity is double that of a Wheatstone bridge circuit; and (6) the same excitation wires can serve multiple independent gages. An adaptation of current loop circuit is presented that simultaneously provides an output signal voltage directly proportional to transducer resistance change and provides temperature information that is unaffected by transducer and lead wire resistance variations. These innovations are the subject of NASA patent applications.

The constant current loop: A new paradigm for resistance signal conditioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Karl F.

A practical, single, constant-current loop circuit for the signal conditioning of variable-resistance transducers was synthesized, analyzed, and demonstrated. The strain gage and the resistance temperature device are examples of variable-resistance sensors. Lead wires connect variable-resistance sensors to remotely located signal-conditioning hardware. The presence of lead wires in the conventional Wheatstone bridge signal-conditioning circuit introduces undesired effects that reduce the quality of the data from the remote sensors. A practical approach is presented for suppressing essentially all lead wire resistance effects while indicating only the change in resistance value. Theoretical predictions supported by laboratory testing confirm the following features of the approach: (1) the dc response; (2) the electrical output is unaffected by extremely large variations in the resistance of any or all lead wires; (3) the electrical output remains zero for no change in gage resistance; (4) the electrical output is inherently linear with respect to gage resistance change; (5) the sensitivity is double that of a Wheatstone bridge circuit; and (6) the same excitation and sense wires can serve multiple independent gages. An adaptation of the current loop circuit is presented that simultaneously provides an output signal voltage directly proportional to transducer resistance change and provides temperature information that is unaffected by transducer and lead wire resistance variations. These innovations are the subject of NASA patent applications.

The constant current loop: A new paradigm for resistance signal conditioning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Karl F.

1994-01-01

A practical single constant current loop circuit for the signal conditioning of variable-resistance transducers has been synthesized, analyzed, and demonstrated. The strain gage and the resistance temperature detector are examples of variable-resistance sensors. Lead wires connect variable-resistance sensors to remotely located signal-conditioning hardware. The presence of lead wires in the conventional Wheatstone bridge signal-conditioning circuit introduces undesired effects that reduce the quality of the data from the remote sensors. A practical approach is presented for suppressing essentially all lead wire resistance effects while indicating only the change in resistance value. Theoretical predictions supported by laboratory testing confirm the following features of the approach: (1) dc response; (2) the electrical output is unaffected by extremely large variation in the resistance of any or all lead wires; (3) the electrical output remains zero for no change in gage resistance; (4) the electrical output is inherently linear with respect to gage resistance change; (5) the sensitivity is double that of a Wheatstone bridge circuit; and (6) the same excitation wires can serve multiple independent gages. An adaptation of current loop circuit is presented that simultaneously provides an output signal voltage directly proportional to transducer resistance change and provides temperature information that is unaffected by transducer and lead wire resistance variations. These innovations are the subject of NASA patent applications.

The constant current loop: A new paradigm for resistance signal conditioning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Karl F.

1993-01-01

A practical, single, constant-current loop circuit for the signal conditioning of variable-resistance transducers was synthesized, analyzed, and demonstrated. The strain gage and the resistance temperature device are examples of variable-resistance sensors. Lead wires connect variable-resistance sensors to remotely located signal-conditioning hardware. The presence of lead wires in the conventional Wheatstone bridge signal-conditioning circuit introduces undesired effects that reduce the quality of the data from the remote sensors. A practical approach is presented for suppressing essentially all lead wire resistance effects while indicating only the change in resistance value. Theoretical predictions supported by laboratory testing confirm the following features of the approach: (1) the dc response; (2) the electrical output is unaffected by extremely large variations in the resistance of any or all lead wires; (3) the electrical output remains zero for no change in gage resistance; (4) the electrical output is inherently linear with respect to gage resistance change; (5) the sensitivity is double that of a Wheatstone bridge circuit; and (6) the same excitation and sense wires can serve multiple independent gages. An adaptation of the current loop circuit is presented that simultaneously provides an output signal voltage directly proportional to transducer resistance change and provides temperature information that is unaffected by transducer and lead wire resistance variations. These innovations are the subject of NASA patent applications.

Hot foil transducer skin friction sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vranas, T. (Inventor)

1982-01-01

The device utilizes foil transducers with only one edge exposed to the fluid flow. The surfaces are polished producing a foil transducer that does not generate turbulence while sufficiently thick to carry the required electrical current for high temperature fluid flow. The assembly utilizes a precut layered metal sandwich with attached electrodes eliminating a need for welding and individual sensor calibration.

Solid State Humidity Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Song-Lin

There are only a few solid state humidity sensors available today. Most of those sensors use a porous oxide material as a principal part of the device. The devices work on the basis of a change in resistance as the moisture in the air varies. In this experiment, two solid state humidity sensors have been developed for use under practical conditions. One is a Polymer Oxide Semiconductor device with a POLYOX film that absorbs the moisture from the air. The amount of water dipoles absorbed by the polymer is a function of relative humidity. This sensor can measure relative humidity from 20% to 90%. The other is a Dew Point sensor. The sensor is in contact with the upper surface of a miniature Peltier cooler. Water molecules deposited on the sensor surface cause the electrical current through the sensor to increase. The operator adjusts the temperature of the Peltier cooler until a saturated current through the sensor is reached. About one min. is required to measure low relative humidities. The Dew Point sensor can measure a range of relative humidities of 30% to 80%.

Design and realization of temperature measurement system based on optical fiber temperature sensor for wireless power transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xi; Zeng, Shuang; Liu, Xiulan; Jin, Yuan; Li, Xianglong; Wang, Xiaochen

2018-02-01

The electric vehicles (EV) have become accepted by increasing numbers of people for the environmental-friendly advantages. A novel way to charge the electric vehicles is through wireless power transfer (WPT). The wireless power transfer is a high power transfer system. The high currents flowing through the transmitter and receiver coils increasing temperature affects the safety of person and charging equipment. As a result, temperature measurement for wireless power transfer is needed. In this paper, a temperature measurement system based on optical fiber temperature sensors for electric vehicle wireless power transfer is proposed. Initially, the thermal characteristics of the wireless power transfer system are studied and the advantages of optical fiber sensors are analyzed. Then the temperature measurement system based on optical fiber temperature sensor is designed. The system consists of optical subsystem, data acquisition subsystem and data processing subsystem. Finally, the system is tested and the experiment result shows that the system can realize 1°C precision and can acquire real-time temperature distribution of the coils, which can meet the requirement of the temperature measuring for wireless power transfer.

Modeling of the Through-the-Thickness Electric Potentials of a Piezoelectric Bimorph Using the Spectral Element Method

PubMed Central

Dong, Xingjian; Peng, Zhike; Hua, Hongxing; Meng, Guang

2014-01-01

An efficient spectral element (SE) with electric potential degrees of freedom (DOF) is proposed to investigate the static electromechanical responses of a piezoelectric bimorph for its actuator and sensor functions. A sublayer model based on the piecewise linear approximation for the electric potential is used to describe the nonlinear distribution of electric potential through the thickness of the piezoelectric layers. An equivalent single layer (ESL) model based on first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is used to describe the displacement field. The Legendre orthogonal polynomials of order 5 are used in the element interpolation functions. The validity and the capability of the present SE model for investigation of global and local responses of the piezoelectric bimorph are confirmed by comparing the present solutions with those obtained from coupled 3-D finite element (FE) analysis. It is shown that, without introducing any higher-order electric potential assumptions, the current method can accurately describe the distribution of the electric potential across the thickness even for a rather thick bimorph. It is revealed that the effect of electric potential is significant when the bimorph is used as sensor while the effect is insignificant when the bimorph is used as actuator, and therefore, the present study may provide a better understanding of the nonlinear induced electric potential for bimorph sensor and actuator. PMID:24561399

Flexible Wing Base Micro Aerial Vehicles: Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) for Surveillance and Remote Sensor Delivery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ifju, Peter

2002-01-01

Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) will be developed for tracking individuals, locating terrorist threats, and delivering remote sensors, for surveillance and chemical/biological agent detection. The tasks are: (1) Develop robust MAV platform capable of carrying sensor payload. (2) Develop fully autonomous capabilities for delivery of sensors to remote and distant locations. The current capabilities and accomplishments are: (1) Operational electric (inaudible) 6-inch MAVs with novel flexible wing, providing superior aerodynamic efficiency and control. (2) Vision-based flight stability and control (from on-board cameras).

The monitoring of transient regimes on machine tools based on speed, acceleration and active electric power absorbed by motors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horodinca, M.

2016-08-01

This paper intend to propose some new results related with computer aided monitoring of transient regimes on machine-tools based on the evolution of active electrical power absorbed by the electric motor used to drive the main kinematic chains and the evolution of rotational speed and acceleration of the main shaft. The active power is calculated in numerical format using the evolution of instantaneous voltage and current delivered by electrical power system to the electric motor. The rotational speed and acceleration of the main shaft are calculated based on the signal delivered by a sensor. Three real-time analogic signals are acquired with a very simple computer assisted setup which contains a voltage transformer, a current transformer, an AC generator as rotational speed sensor, a data acquisition system and a personal computer. The data processing and analysis was done using Matlab software. Some different transient regimes were investigated; several important conclusions related with the advantages of this monitoring technique were formulated. Many others features of the experimental setup are also available: to supervise the mechanical loading of machine-tools during cutting processes or for diagnosis of machine-tools condition by active electrical power signal analysis in frequency domain.

Microfiber Structures for Sensor Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harun, S. W.; Lim, K. S.; Ahmad, H.

Microfiber loop resonator (MLR) and microfiber knot resonator (MKR) are fabricated using melt-stretching method for applications in temperature and current sensor, respectively. The MLR is embedded into low refractive index polymer for robustness. Although the spacing of the transmission comb spectrum of the MLR is unchanged with temperature, the extinction ratio of the spectrum is observed to decrease linearly with temperature due to induced changes in the material's refractive index. The slope of the extinction ratio reduction against temperature is about 0.043dB/°C. With the assistance of a copper wire that is wrapped by the MKR, resonant wavelength can be tuned by varying the electric current delivered to the wire. The resonant wavelength change is based on the thermally induced optical phase shift in the MKR due to the heat produced by the flow of electric current over a short transit length. It is shown that the wavelength shift is linearly proportional to the square of current in the copper wire with a tuning slope of 46 pm/A2.

A Novel Nanowire Assembly Process for the Fabrication of CO Sensor.

PubMed

Cheng, Biyao; Yang, Shuming; Liu, Tao; Vazinishayan, Ali

2018-04-17

Nanowires have been widely studied due to their outstanding mechanical and electrical properties; however, their practical applications are limited to the lack of an effective technique for controlled assembly. In the present work, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays were assembled via a combing process using a makeup brush and the nanodevice was fabricated. The current–voltage (I–V) and ultraviolet (UV) characteristics of the device indicate stable and repeatable electrical properties. The carbon monoxide (CO) sensing properties were tested at operating temperatures of 200, 300 and 400 °C. It was found that ZnO based sensor exhibited the highest sensitivity to CO at 300 °C due to the change of dominant oxygen species. Comparing with others result, the sensitivity of the fabricated sensor exhibits higher sensing performance. The sensing mechanism of the CO sensor is also discussed.

Influence of the carrier mobility distribution on the Hall and the Nernst effect measurements in n-type InSb

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madon, B.; Wegrowe, J.-E.; Drouhin, H.-J.

2016-01-14

In this study, we report magneto-resistance measurements on an n-doped InSb film, to separate the contributions of the electrical currents from the heat currents. We have demonstrated a prototype for a magnetic field sensor which is powered by heat currents and does not require any electrical current. We fabricated two Hall bars, where a low frequency (f = 0.05 Hz) AC current, was applied between the two contacts in one of the Hall bars. Separating the f and 2f components of the voltage measured across the second Hall bar was used to distinguish between the electrical and the heat contributions to the electronmore » currents. Our observations can be modeled using a Gaussian distribution of mobility within the sample.« less

Analysis of electrical transients created by lightning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nanevicz, J. E.; Vance, E. F.

1980-01-01

A series of flight tests was conducted using a specially-instrumented NASA Learjet to study the electrical transients created on an aircraft by nearby lightning. The instrumentation included provisions for the time-domain and frequency-domain recording of the electrical signals induced in sensors located both on the exterior and on the interior of the aircraft. The design and calibration of the sensors and associated measuring systems is described together with the results of the flight test measurements. The results indicate that the concept of providing instrumentation to follow the lightning signal from propagation field, to aircraft skin current, to current on interior wiring is basically sound. The results of the measurement indicate that the high frequency signals associated with lightning stroke precursor activity are important in generating electromagnetic noise on the interior of the aircraft. Indeed, the signals produced by the precursors are often of higher amplitude and of longer duration that the pulse produced by the main return stroke.

Flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator in wearable self-powered active sensor for respiration and healthcare monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Z.; Zhang, S.; Jin, Y. M.; Ouyang, H.; Zou, Y.; Wang, X. X.; Xie, L. X.; Li, Z.

2017-06-01

A wearable self-powered active sensor for respiration and healthcare monitoring was fabricated based on a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator. An electrospinning poly(vinylidene fluoride) thin film on silicone substrate was polarized to fabricate the flexible nanogenerator and its electrical property was measured. When periodically stretched by a linear motor, the flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator generated an output open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of up to 1.5 V and 400 nA, respectively. Through integration with an elastic bandage, a wearable self-powered sensor was fabricated and used to monitor human respiration, subtle muscle movement, and voice recognition. As respiration proceeded, the electrical output signals of the sensor corresponded to the signals measured by a physiological signal recording system with good reliability and feasibility. This self-powered, wearable active sensor has significant potential for applications in pulmonary function evaluation, respiratory monitoring, and detection of gesture and vocal cord vibration for the personal healthcare monitoring of disabled or paralyzed patients.

Triboelectrification based motion sensor for human-machine interfacing.

PubMed

Yang, Weiqing; Chen, Jun; Wen, Xiaonan; Jing, Qingshen; Yang, Jin; Su, Yuanjie; Zhu, Guang; Wu, Wenzuo; Wang, Zhong Lin

2014-05-28

We present triboelectrification based, flexible, reusable, and skin-friendly dry biopotential electrode arrays as motion sensors for tracking muscle motion and human-machine interfacing (HMI). The independently addressable, self-powered sensor arrays have been utilized to record the electric output signals as a mapping figure to accurately identify the degrees of freedom as well as directions and magnitude of muscle motions. A fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique was employed to analyse the frequency spectra of the obtained electric signals and thus to determine the motion angular velocities. Moreover, the motion sensor arrays produced a short-circuit current density up to 10.71 mA/m(2), and an open-circuit voltage as high as 42.6 V with a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio up to 1000, which enables the devices as sensors to accurately record and transform the motions of the human joints, such as elbow, knee, heel, and even fingers, and thus renders it a superior and unique invention in the field of HMI.

Heat Transfer Measurements with Surface Mounted Foil-Sensors in an Active Mode: A Comprehensive Review and a New Design

PubMed Central

Mocikat, Horst; Herwig, Heinz

2009-01-01

A comprehensive review of film-sensors shows that they are primarily operated in a passive mode, i.e. without being actively heated to an extent, whereby they create a heat transfer situation on their own. Only when these sensors are used for wall shear stress measurements, the detection of laminar/turbulent transition, or the measurement of certain flow velocities, they are operated in an active mode, i.e. heated by an electrical current (after an appropriate calibration). In our study we demonstrate how these R(T)-based sensors (temperature dependence of the electrical resistance R) can also be applied in an active mode for heat transfer measurements. These measurements can be made on cold, unheated bodies, provided certain requirements with respect to the flow field are fulfilled. Our new sensors are laminated nickel- and polyimide-foils manufactured with a special technology, which is also described in detail. PMID:22574060

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) based strain sensors for a wearable monitoring and biofeedback system for pressure ulcer prevention and rehabilitation.

PubMed

Boissy, Patrick; Genest, Jonathan; Patenaude, Johanne; Poirier, Marie-Sol; Chenel, Vanessa; Béland, Jean-Pierre; Legault, Georges-Auguste; Bernier, Louise; Tapin, Danielle; Beauvais, Jacques

2011-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the functioning principles of CNTs and their electrical and mechanical properties when used as strain sensors and describes a system embodiment for a wearable monitoring and biofeedback platform for use in pressure ulcer prevention and rehabilitation. Two type of CNTs films (multi-layered CNTs film vs purified film) were characterized electrically and mechanically for potential use as source material. The loosely woven CNTs film (multi-layered) showed substantial less sensitivity than the purified CNTs film but had an almost linear response to stress and better mechanical properties. CNTs have the potential to achieve a much higher sensitivity to strain than other piezoresistors based on regular of conductive particles such as commercially available resistive inks and could become an innovative source material for wearable strain sensors. We are currently continuing the characterization of CNTs based strain sensors and exploring their use in a design for 3-axis strain sensors.

Modular chemiresistive sensor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alam, Maksudul M.; Sampathkumaran, Uma

The present invention relates to a modular chemiresistive sensor. In particular, a modular chemiresistive sensor for hypergolic fuel and oxidizer leak detection, carbon dioxide monitoring and detection of disease biomarkers. The sensor preferably has two gold or platinum electrodes mounted on a silicon substrate where the electrodes are connected to a power source and are separated by a gap of 0.5 to 4.0 .mu.M. A polymer nanowire or carbon nanotube spans the gap between the electrodes and connects the electrodes electrically. The electrodes are further connected to a circuit board having a processor and data storage, where the processor canmore » measure current and voltage values between the electrodes and compare the current and voltage values with current and voltage values stored in the data storage and assigned to particular concentrations of a pre-determined substance such as those listed above or a variety of other substances.« less

Method for evaluating human exposure to 60 HZ electric fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deno, D.W.; Silva, M.

1984-07-01

This paper describes a method that has been successfully used to evaluate human exposure to 60 Hz electric fields. An exposure measuring system that uses an electric field sensor vest and data collection instrumentation is presented. Exposure concepts and activity factors are discussed and experimental data collected with the exposure system are provided. This method can be used to measure exposure to a wide range of electric field with intensities from less than 1 V/m to more than 10 kV/m. Results may be translated to characterize various exposure criteria (time histogram of unperturbed field, surface fields, internal current density, totalmore » body current, etc).« less

A Human-machine-interface Integrating Low-cost Sensors with a Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation System for Post-stroke Balance Rehabilitation.

PubMed

Kumar, Deepesh; Das, Abhijit; Lahiri, Uttama; Dutta, Anirban

2016-04-12

A stroke is caused when an artery carrying blood from heart to an area in the brain bursts or a clot obstructs the blood flow to brain thereby preventing delivery of oxygen and nutrients. About half of the stroke survivors are left with some degree of disability. Innovative methodologies for restorative neurorehabilitation are urgently required to reduce long-term disability. The ability of the nervous system to reorganize its structure, function and connections as a response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli is called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is involved in post-stroke functional disturbances, but also in rehabilitation. Beneficial neuroplastic changes may be facilitated with non-invasive electrotherapy, such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and sensory electrical stimulation (SES). NMES involves coordinated electrical stimulation of motor nerves and muscles to activate them with continuous short pulses of electrical current while SES involves stimulation of sensory nerves with electrical current resulting in sensations that vary from barely perceivable to highly unpleasant. Here, active cortical participation in rehabilitation procedures may be facilitated by driving the non-invasive electrotherapy with biosignals (electromyogram (EMG), electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG)) that represent simultaneous active perception and volitional effort. To achieve this in a resource-poor setting, e.g., in low- and middle-income countries, we present a low-cost human-machine-interface (HMI) by leveraging recent advances in off-the-shelf video game sensor technology. In this paper, we discuss the open-source software interface that integrates low-cost off-the-shelf sensors for visual-auditory biofeedback with non-invasive electrotherapy to assist postural control during balance rehabilitation. We demonstrate the proof-of-concept on healthy volunteers.

A Human-machine-interface Integrating Low-cost Sensors with a Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation System for Post-stroke Balance Rehabilitation

PubMed Central

Kumar, Deepesh; Das, Abhijit; Lahiri, Uttama; Dutta, Anirban

2016-01-01

A stroke is caused when an artery carrying blood from heart to an area in the brain bursts or a clot obstructs the blood flow to brain thereby preventing delivery of oxygen and nutrients. About half of the stroke survivors are left with some degree of disability. Innovative methodologies for restorative neurorehabilitation are urgently required to reduce long-term disability. The ability of the nervous system to reorganize its structure, function and connections as a response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli is called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is involved in post-stroke functional disturbances, but also in rehabilitation. Beneficial neuroplastic changes may be facilitated with non-invasive electrotherapy, such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and sensory electrical stimulation (SES). NMES involves coordinated electrical stimulation of motor nerves and muscles to activate them with continuous short pulses of electrical current while SES involves stimulation of sensory nerves with electrical current resulting in sensations that vary from barely perceivable to highly unpleasant. Here, active cortical participation in rehabilitation procedures may be facilitated by driving the non-invasive electrotherapy with biosignals (electromyogram (EMG), electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG)) that represent simultaneous active perception and volitional effort. To achieve this in a resource-poor setting, e.g., in low- and middle-income countries, we present a low-cost human-machine-interface (HMI) by leveraging recent advances in off-the-shelf video game sensor technology. In this paper, we discuss the open-source software interface that integrates low-cost off-the-shelf sensors for visual-auditory biofeedback with non-invasive electrotherapy to assist postural control during balance rehabilitation. We demonstrate the proof-of-concept on healthy volunteers. PMID:27166666

Inhibition of thrombus formation on intravascular sensors by electrical polarization.

PubMed

Schmitt, J M; Baer, M; Meindl, J D; Anderson, M F; Mihm, F G

1984-09-01

Implantable biomedical sensors built on a silicon substrate capped with glass are currently being developed for intravascular applications. Electrical techniques for inhibiting thrombus formation on the surface of a proposed optical sensor in direct contact with blood have been investigated. Glass-on-silicon specimens (4 X 1.2 X 0.4 mm3) were coated with indium-tin oxide, a transparent conductor, and implanted in the vena cava and iliac veins of three dogs for 10, 20, or 33 days. The equilibrium surface-blood interface potentials of the specimens were modified by implanted current sources which supplied either direct current (8-15 microA) or 100 KHz alternating current (5 microA, root mean square). Light-microscopic and scanning electron-microscopic analyses showed each of the DC-polarized specimens to be free of thrombus, in contrast to nonpolarized (control) specimens on which varying amounts of adsorbed protein and thrombus deposits were found. Like the control specimens, the AC-polarized specimens formed thrombus, but the appearance of the deposits differed. These findings support the view that the polarity, magnitude and time dependence of the potential across conducting surface-blood interface significantly influence thrombogenicity. Further work is necessary to determine the roles of electrochemical and electrostatic factors in preventing thrombus formation on foreign materials.

Silicon trench photodiodes on a wafer for efficient X-ray-to-current signal conversion using side-X-ray-irradiation mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ariyoshi, Tetsuya; Takane, Yuta; Iwasa, Jumpei; Sakamoto, Kenji; Baba, Akiyoshi; Arima, Yutaka

2018-04-01

In this paper, we report a direct-conversion-type X-ray sensor composed of trench-structured silicon photodiodes, which achieves a high X-ray-to-current conversion efficiency under side X-ray irradiation. The silicon X-ray sensor with a length of 22.6 mm and a trench depth of 300 µm was fabricated using a single-poly single-metal 0.35 µm process. X-rays with a tube voltage of 80 kV were irradiated along the trench photodiode from the side of the test chip. The theoretical limit of X-ray-to-current conversion efficiency of 83.8% was achieved at a low reverse bias voltage of 25 V. The X-ray-to-electrical signal conversion efficiency of conventional indirect-conversion-type X-ray sensors is about 10%. Therefore, the developed sensor has a conversion efficiency that is about eight times higher than that of conventional sensors. It is expected that the developed X-ray sensor will be able to markedly lower the radiation dose required for X-ray diagnoses.

Use of electric field sensors for recording respiration, heart rate, and stereotyped motor behaviors in the rodent home cage.

PubMed

Noble, Donald J; MacDowell, Camden J; McKinnon, Michael L; Neblett, Tamra I; Goolsby, William N; Hochman, Shawn

2017-02-01

Numerous environmental and genetic factors can contribute significantly to behavioral and cardiorespiratory variability observed experimentally. Affordable technologies that allow for noninvasive home cage capture of physio-behavioral variables should enhance understanding of inter-animal variability including after experimental interventions. We assessed whether EPIC electric field sensors (Plessey Semiconductors) embedded within or attached externally to a rodent's home cage could accurately record respiration, heart rate, and motor behaviors. Current systems for quantification of behavioral variables require expensive specialty equipment, while measures of respiratory and heart rate are often provided by surgically implanted or chronically affixed devices. Sensors accurately encoded imposed sinusoidal changes in electric field tested at frequencies ranging from 0.5-100Hz. Mini-metronome arm movements were easily detected, but response magnitude was highly distance dependent. Sensors accurately reported respiration during whole-body plethysmography. In anesthetized rodents, PVC tube-embedded sensors provided accurate mechanical detection of both respiratory and heart rate. Comparable success was seen in naturally behaving animals at rest or sleeping when sensors were attached externally. Video-verified motor behaviors (sniffing, grooming, chewing, and rearing) were detectable and largely separable by their characteristic voltage fluctuations. Larger movement-related events had comparably larger voltage dynamics that easily allowed for a broad approximation of overall motor activity. Spectrograms were used to quickly depict characteristic frequencies in long-lasting recordings, while filtering and thresholding software allowed for detection and quantification of movement-related physio-behavioral events. EPIC electric field sensors provide a means for affordable non-contact home cage detection of physio-behavioral variables. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Open Source Platform Application to Groundwater Characterization and Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ntarlagiannis, D.; Day-Lewis, F. D.; Falzone, S.; Lane, J. W., Jr.; Slater, L. D.; Robinson, J.; Hammett, S.

2017-12-01

Groundwater characterization and monitoring commonly rely on the use of multiple point sensors and human labor. Due to the number of sensors, labor, and other resources needed, establishing and maintaining an adequate groundwater monitoring network can be both labor intensive and expensive. To improve and optimize the monitoring network design, open source software and hardware components could potentially provide the platform to control robust and efficient sensors thereby reducing costs and labor. This work presents early attempts to create a groundwater monitoring system incorporating open-source software and hardware that will control the remote operation of multiple sensors along with data management and file transfer functions. The system is built around a Raspberry PI 3, that controls multiple sensors in order to perform on-demand, continuous or `smart decision' measurements while providing flexibility to incorporate additional sensors to meet the demands of different projects. The current objective of our technology is to monitor exchange of ionic tracers between mobile and immobile porosity using a combination of fluid and bulk electrical-conductivity measurements. To meet this objective, our configuration uses four sensors (pH, specific conductance, pressure, temperature) that can monitor the fluid electrical properties of interest and guide the bulk electrical measurement. This system highlights the potential of using open source software and hardware components for earth sciences applications. The versatility of the system makes it ideal for use in a large number of applications, and the low cost allows for high resolution (spatially and temporally) monitoring.

Material condition assessment with eddy current sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldfine, Neil J. (Inventor); Washabaugh, Andrew P. (Inventor); Sheiretov, Yanko K. (Inventor); Schlicker, Darrell E. (Inventor); Lyons, Robert J. (Inventor); Windoloski, Mark D. (Inventor); Craven, Christopher A. (Inventor); Tsukernik, Vladimir B. (Inventor); Grundy, David C. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

Eddy current sensors and sensor arrays are used for process quality and material condition assessment of conducting materials. In an embodiment, changes in spatially registered high resolution images taken before and after cold work processing reflect the quality of the process, such as intensity and coverage. These images also permit the suppression or removal of local outlier variations. Anisotropy in a material property, such as magnetic permeability or electrical conductivity, can be intentionally introduced and used to assess material condition resulting from an operation, such as a cold work or heat treatment. The anisotropy is determined by sensors that provide directional property measurements. The sensor directionality arises from constructs that use a linear conducting drive segment to impose the magnetic field in a test material. Maintaining the orientation of this drive segment, and associated sense elements, relative to a material edge provides enhanced sensitivity for crack detection at edges.

Photonic crystal wave guide for non-cryogenic cooled carbon nanotube based middle wave infrared sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fung, Carmen Kar Man; Xi, Ning; Lou, Jianyong; Lai, King Wai Chiu; Chen, Hongzhi

2010-10-01

We report high sensitivity carbon nanotube (CNT) based middle wave infrared (MWIR) sensors with a two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide. MWIR sensors are of great importance in a variety of current military applications including ballistic missile defense, surveillance and target detection. Unlike other existing MWIR sensing materials, CNTs exhibit low noise level and can be used as new nano sensing materials for MWIR detection where cryogenic cooling is not required. However, the quantum efficiency of the CNT based infrared sensor is still limited by the small sensing area and low incoming electric field. Here, a photonic nanostructure is used as a resonant cavity for boosting the electric field intensity at the position of the CNT sensing element. A two-dimensional photonic crystal with periodic holes in a polymer thin film is fabricated and a resonant cavity is formed by removing holes from the array of the photonic crystal. Based on the design of the photonic crystal topologies, we theoretically study the electric field distribution to predict the resonant behavior of the structure. Numerical simulations reveal the field is enhanced and almost fully confined to the defect region of the photonic crystal. To verify the electric field enhancement effect, experiments are also performed to measure the photocurrent response of the sensor with and without the photonic crystal resonant cavity. Experimental results show that the photocurrent increases ~3 times after adding the photonic crystal resonant cavity.

Kennedy Space Center's Partnership with Graftel Incorporated

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, Carol Anne

2010-01-01

NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has recently partnered with Graftel Incorporated under an exclusive license agreement for the manufacture and sale of the Smart Current Signature Sensor. The Smart Current Signature Sensor and software were designed and developed to be utilized on any application using solenoid valves. The system monitors the electrical and mechanical health of solenoids by comparing the electrical current profile of each solenoid actuation to a typical current profile and reporting deviation from its learned behavior. The objective of this partnership with Graftel is for them to develop the technology into a hand-held testing device for their customer base in the Nuclear Power Industry. The device will be used to perform diagnostic testing on electromechanical valves used in Nuclear Power plants. Initially, Graftel plans to have working units within the first year of license in order to show customers and allow them to put purchase requests into their next year's budget. The subject technology under discussion was commercialized by the Kennedy Space Center Technology Programs and Partnerships Office, which patented the technology and licensed it to Graftel, Inc., a company providing support, instrumentation, and calibration services to the nuclear community and private sector for over 10 years. For the nuclear power industry, Graftel designs, manufacturers, and calibrates a full line of testing instrumentation. Grafters smart sensors have been in use in the United States since 1993 and have proved to decrease set-up time and test durations. The project was funded by Non-Destructive Engineering, and it is felt that this technology will have more emphasis on future vehicles. Graftel plans to market the Current Signature Sensor to the Electric Utility industry. Graftel currently supplies product and services to the Nuclear Power Industry in the United States as well as internationally. Product and services sold are used in non-destructive testing for valves, penetrations and other applications. Graftel also supplies testing services to an industrial customer base. The customer base includes 90 percent of the U.S. Nuclear plants and plants in Brazil, Europe, and Asia. Graftel works internationally with two representative groups and employees and has ten people at the principle location and a group of contract engineers around the country.

Integral Sensor Fault Detection and Isolation for Railway Traction Drive.

PubMed

Garramiola, Fernando; Del Olmo, Jon; Poza, Javier; Madina, Patxi; Almandoz, Gaizka

2018-05-13

Due to the increasing importance of reliability and availability of electric traction drives in Railway applications, early detection of faults has become an important key for Railway traction drive manufacturers. Sensor faults are important sources of failures. Among the different fault diagnosis approaches, in this article an integral diagnosis strategy for sensors in traction drives is presented. Such strategy is composed of an observer-based approach for direct current (DC)-link voltage and catenary current sensors, a frequency analysis approach for motor current phase sensors and a hardware redundancy solution for speed sensors. None of them requires any hardware change requirement in the actual traction drive. All the fault detection and isolation approaches have been validated in a Hardware-in-the-loop platform comprising a Real Time Simulator and a commercial Traction Control Unit for a tram. In comparison to safety-critical systems in Aerospace applications, Railway applications do not need instantaneous detection, and the diagnosis is validated in a short time period for reliable decision. Combining the different approaches and existing hardware redundancy, an integral fault diagnosis solution is provided, to detect and isolate faults in all the sensors installed in the traction drive.

Integral Sensor Fault Detection and Isolation for Railway Traction Drive

PubMed Central

del Olmo, Jon; Poza, Javier; Madina, Patxi; Almandoz, Gaizka

2018-01-01

Due to the increasing importance of reliability and availability of electric traction drives in Railway applications, early detection of faults has become an important key for Railway traction drive manufacturers. Sensor faults are important sources of failures. Among the different fault diagnosis approaches, in this article an integral diagnosis strategy for sensors in traction drives is presented. Such strategy is composed of an observer-based approach for direct current (DC)-link voltage and catenary current sensors, a frequency analysis approach for motor current phase sensors and a hardware redundancy solution for speed sensors. None of them requires any hardware change requirement in the actual traction drive. All the fault detection and isolation approaches have been validated in a Hardware-in-the-loop platform comprising a Real Time Simulator and a commercial Traction Control Unit for a tram. In comparison to safety-critical systems in Aerospace applications, Railway applications do not need instantaneous detection, and the diagnosis is validated in a short time period for reliable decision. Combining the different approaches and existing hardware redundancy, an integral fault diagnosis solution is provided, to detect and isolate faults in all the sensors installed in the traction drive. PMID:29757251

Silicon nanowire sensor for DNA detection and sequencing: an ab initio simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Wenchang; Li, Yan; Hodak, Miroslav; Xiao, Zhongcan; Bernholc, Jerry

Electrical sensors able to detect DNA replication and determine its sequence would enable fast and relatively cheap diagnosis of gene-related vulnerabilities and cancers. At present, it is already possible to electrically monitor DNA replication events using a Klenow fragment of polymerase I attached to a carbon nanotube. Since devices based on Si nanowires would be much easier to produce in quantity, we examine theoretically the sensitivity of a Si nanowire/Klenow fragment for electrical detection of nucleotide addition. A highly parallel real-space multigrid code is used for DFT-based non-equilibrium Green's function calculations involving up to 16,000 atoms, employing highly-accurate variationally-optimized localized orbitals. We find that the open and closed Klenow fragment configurations, prior and during nucleotide addition, respectively, screen the Si nanowire differently and result in a detectable current difference. The sensitivity is the largest in the subthreshold regime while the absolute current difference is maximized in the turn-on state. The sensitivity decreases with an increase of the nanowire size, as expected, but the current difference between different enzymatic states is nearly independent on the nanowire size up to 800 Å2 cross section.

Effects of electric current on individual graphene oxide sheets combining in situ transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martín, Gemma; Varea, Aïda; Cirera, Albert; Estradé, Sònia; Peiró, Francesca; Cornet, Albert

2018-07-01

Graphene oxide (GO) is currently the object of extensive research because of its potential use in mass production of graphene-based materials, but also due to its tunability which holds great promise for new nanoscale electronic devices and sensors. To obtain a better understanding of the role of GO in electronic nano-devices, the elucidation of the effects of electrical current on a single GO sheet is of great interest. In this work, in situ transmission electron microscopy is used to study the effects of the electrical current flow through single GO sheets using an scanning tunneling microscope holder. In order to correlate the applied current with the structural properties of GO, Raman spectroscopy is carried out and data analysis is used to obtain information regarding the reduction grade and the disorder degree of the GO sheets before and after the application of current.

Effects of electric current on individual graphene oxide sheets combining in situ transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy.

PubMed

Martín, Gemma; Varea, Aïda; Cirera, Albert; Estradé, Sònia; Peiró, Francesca; Cornet, Albert

2018-04-17

Graphene oxide (GO) is currently the object of extensive research because of its potential use in mass production of graphene-based materials, but also due to its tunability which holds great promise for new nanoscale electronic devices and sensors. To obtain a better understanding of the role of GO in electronic nano-devices, the elucidation of the effects of electrical current on a single GO sheet is of great interest. In this work, in situ transmission electron microscopy is used to study the effects of the electrical current flow through single GO sheets using an scanning tunneling microscope holder. In order to correlate the applied current with the structural properties of GO, Raman spectroscopy is carried out and data analysis is used to obtain information regarding the reduction grade and the disorder degree of the GO sheets before and after the application of current.

Electrolyte-free Amperometric Immunosensor using a Dendritic Nanotip†

PubMed Central

Kim, Jong-Hoon; Hiraiwa, Morgan; Lee, Hyun-Boo; Lee, Kyong-Hoon; Cangelosi, Gerard A.; Chung, Jae-Hyun

2013-01-01

Electric detection using a nanocomponent may lead to platforms for rapid and simple biosensing. Sensors composed of nanotips or nanodots have been described for highly sensitive amperometry enabled by confined geometry. However, both fabrication and use of nanostructured sensors remain challenging. This paper describes a dendritic nanotip used as an amperometric biosensor for highly sensitive detection of target bacteria. A dendritic nanotip is structured by Si nanowires coated with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) for generation of a high electric field. For reliable measurement using the dendritic structure, Si nanowires were uniformly fabricated by ultraviolet (UV) lithography and etching. The dendritic structure effectively increased the electric current density near the terminal end of the nanotip according to numerical computation. The electrical characteristics of a dendritic nanotip with additional protein layers was studied by cyclic voltammetry and I–V measurement in deionized (DI) water. When the target bacteria dielectrophoretically captured onto a nanotip were bound with fluorescence antibodies, the electric current through DI water decreased. Measurement results were consistent with fluorescence- and electron microscopy. The sensitivity of the amperometry was 10 cfu/sample volume (103 cfu/mL), which was equivalent to the more laborious fluorescence measurement method. The simple configuration of a dendritic nanotip can potentially offer an electrolyte-free detection platform for sensitive and rapid biosensors. PMID:23585927

Electrolyte-free Amperometric Immunosensor using a Dendritic Nanotip.

PubMed

Kim, Jong-Hoon; Hiraiwa, Morgan; Lee, Hyun-Boo; Lee, Kyong-Hoon; Cangelosi, Gerard A; Chung, Jae-Hyun

2013-01-01

Electric detection using a nanocomponent may lead to platforms for rapid and simple biosensing. Sensors composed of nanotips or nanodots have been described for highly sensitive amperometry enabled by confined geometry. However, both fabrication and use of nanostructured sensors remain challenging. This paper describes a dendritic nanotip used as an amperometric biosensor for highly sensitive detection of target bacteria. A dendritic nanotip is structured by Si nanowires coated with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) for generation of a high electric field. For reliable measurement using the dendritic structure, Si nanowires were uniformly fabricated by ultraviolet (UV) lithography and etching. The dendritic structure effectively increased the electric current density near the terminal end of the nanotip according to numerical computation. The electrical characteristics of a dendritic nanotip with additional protein layers was studied by cyclic voltammetry and I-V measurement in deionized (DI) water. When the target bacteria dielectrophoretically captured onto a nanotip were bound with fluorescence antibodies, the electric current through DI water decreased. Measurement results were consistent with fluorescence- and electron microscopy. The sensitivity of the amperometry was 10 cfu/sample volume (10 3 cfu/mL), which was equivalent to the more laborious fluorescence measurement method. The simple configuration of a dendritic nanotip can potentially offer an electrolyte-free detection platform for sensitive and rapid biosensors.

Direct mechanical torque sensor for model wind turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Hyung Suk; Meneveau, Charles

2010-10-01

A torque sensor is developed to measure the mechanical power extracted by model wind turbines. The torque is measured by mounting the model generator (a small dc motor) through ball bearings to the hub and by preventing its rotation by the deflection of a strain-gauge-instrumented plate. By multiplying the measured torque and rotor angular velocity, a direct measurement of the fluid mechanical power extracted from the flow is obtained. Such a measurement is more advantageous compared to measuring the electrical power generated by the model generator (dc motor), since the electrical power is largely affected by internal frictional, electric and magnetic losses. Calibration experiments are performed, and during testing, the torque sensor is mounted on a model wind turbine in a 3 rows × 3 columns array of wind turbines in a wind tunnel experiment. The resulting electrical and mechanical powers are quantified and compared over a range of applied loads, for three different incoming wind velocities. Also, the power coefficients are obtained as a function of the tip speed ratio. Significant differences between the electrical and mechanical powers are observed, which highlights the importance of using the direct mechanical power measurement for fluid dynamically meaningful results. A direct calibration with the measured current is also explored. The new torque sensor is expected to contribute to more accurate model wind tunnel tests which should provide added flexibility in model studies of the power that can be harvested from wind turbines and wind-turbine farms.

Nulling Hall-Effect Current-Measuring Circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullender, Craig C.; Vazquez, Juan M.; Berru, Robert I.

1993-01-01

Circuit measures electrical current via combination of Hall-effect-sensing and magnetic-field-nulling techniques. Known current generated by feedback circuit adjusted until it causes cancellation or near cancellation of magnetic field produced in toroidal ferrite core by current measured. Remaining magnetic field measured by Hall-effect sensor. Circuit puts out analog signal and digital signal proportional to current measured. Accuracy of measurement does not depend on linearity of sensing components.

Eddy Current Sensing of Torque in Rotating Shafts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varonis, Orestes J.; Ida, Nathan

2013-12-01

The noncontact torque sensing in machine shafts is addressed based on the stress induced in a press-fitted magnetoelastic sleeve on the shaft and eddy current sensing of the changes of electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability due to the presence of stress. The eddy current probe uses dual drive, dual sensing coils whose purpose is increased sensitivity to torque and decreased sensitivity to variations in distance between probe and shaft (liftoff). A mechanism of keeping the distance constant is also employed. Both the probe and the magnetoelastic sleeve are evaluated for performance using a standard eddy current instrument. An eddy current instrument is also used to drive the coils and analyze the torque data. The method and sensor described are general and adaptable to a variety of applications. The sensor is suitable for static and rotating shafts, is independent of shaft diameter and operational over a large range of torques. The torque sensor uses a differential eddy current measurement resulting in cancellation of common mode effects including temperature and vibrations.

Integrated Fault Diagnosis Algorithm for Motor Sensors of In-Wheel Independent Drive Electric Vehicles.

PubMed

Jeon, Namju; Lee, Hyeongcheol

2016-12-12

An integrated fault-diagnosis algorithm for a motor sensor of in-wheel independent drive electric vehicles is presented. This paper proposes a method that integrates the high- and low-level fault diagnoses to improve the robustness and performance of the system. For the high-level fault diagnosis of vehicle dynamics, a planar two-track non-linear model is first selected, and the longitudinal and lateral forces are calculated. To ensure redundancy of the system, correlation between the sensor and residual in the vehicle dynamics is analyzed to detect and separate the fault of the drive motor system of each wheel. To diagnose the motor system for low-level faults, the state equation of an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor is developed, and a parity equation is used to diagnose the fault of the electric current and position sensors. The validity of the high-level fault-diagnosis algorithm is verified using Carsim and Matlab/Simulink co-simulation. The low-level fault diagnosis is verified through Matlab/Simulink simulation and experiments. Finally, according to the residuals of the high- and low-level fault diagnoses, fault-detection flags are defined. On the basis of this information, an integrated fault-diagnosis strategy is proposed.

Electropolymerized Conducting Polymer as Actuator and Sensor Device

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortes, Maria T.; Moreno, Juan C.

2005-01-01

A study demonstrates the potential application of conducting polymers to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy at low voltage or current. The performance of the device is explained using electrochemistry and solid-state chemistry.

Ultra-Compact Motor Controller

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, William T.; Crowell, Adam; Hauptman, Traveler; Pratt, Gill Andrews

2012-01-01

This invention is an electronically commutated brushless motor controller that incorporates Hall-array sensing in a small, 42-gram package that provides 4096 absolute counts per motor revolution position sensing. The unit is the size of a miniature hockey puck, and is a 44-pin male connector that provides many I/O channels, including CANbus, RS-232 communications, general-purpose analog and digital I/O (GPIO), analog and digital Hall inputs, DC power input (18-90 VDC, 0-l0 A), three-phase motor outputs, and a strain gauge amplifier. This controller replaces air cooling with conduction cooling via a high-thermal-conductivity epoxy casting. A secondary advantage of the relatively good heat conductivity that comes with ultra-small size is that temperature differences within the controller become smaller, so that it is easier to measure the hottest temperature in the controller with fewer temperature sensors, or even one temperature sensor. Another size-sensitive design feature is in the approach to electrical noise immunity. At a very small size, where conduction paths are much shorter than in conventional designs, the ground becomes essentially isopotential, and so certain (space-consuming) electrical noise control components become unnecessary, which helps make small size possible. One winding-current sensor, applied to all of the windings in fast sequence, is smaller and wastes less power than the two or more sensors conventionally used to sense and control winding currents. An unexpected benefit of using only one current sensor is that it actually improves the precision of current control by using the "same" sensors to read each of the three phases. Folding the encoder directly into the controller electronics eliminates a great deal of redundant electronics, packaging, connectors, and hook-up wiring. The reduction of wires and connectors subtracts substantial bulk and eliminates their role in behaving as EMI (electro-magnetic interference) antennas. A shared knowledge by each motor controller of the state of all the motors in the system at 500 Hz also allows parallel processing of higher-level kinematic matrix calculations.

An energy-harvesting power supply for underwater bridge scour monitoring sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yuli; Li, Yingjie; He, Longzhuang; Shamsi, Pourya; Zheng, Yahong R.

2018-03-01

The natural force of scouring has become one of the most critical risk endangering the endurance of bridges, thus leading to the necessity of deploying underwater monitoring sensors to actively detect potential scour holes under bridges. Due to the difficulty in re-charging batteries for underwater sensors, super capacitors with energy harvesting (EH) means are exploited to prolong the sustainability of underwater sensors. In this paper, an energy harvesting power supply based on a helical turbine is proposed to power underwater monitoring sensors. A small helical turbine is designed to convert water flow energy to electrical energy with favorable environmental robustness. A 3-inch diameter, 2.5-inch length and 3-bladed helical turbine was designed with two types of waterproof coupling with the sensor housing. Both designs were prototyped and tested under different flow conditions and we get valid voltage around 0.91 V which is enough to power monitoring sensor. The alternating current (AC) electrical energy generated by the helical turbine is then rectified and boosted to drive a DC charger for efficiently charging one super capacitor. The charging circuit was designed, prototyped and tested thoroughly with the helical turbine harvester. The results were promising, that the overall power supply can power an underwater sensor node with wireless transceivers for long-term operations

Reduced graphene oxide/molecular imprinted polymer-organic thin film transistor for amino acid detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halim, Nurul Farhanah AB.; Musa, Nur Hazwani; Zakaria, Zulkhairi; Von Schleusingen, Mubaraq; Ahmad, Mohd Noor; Derman, Nazree; Shakaff, Ali Yeon Md.

2017-03-01

This works reports the electrical performance of reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/Molecular imprinted polymer (MIP)- organic thin film transistor (OTFT) for amino-acid detection, serine. These biomimetic sensors consider MIP as man-tailored biomimetic recognition sites that play an important role in signal transduction. MIP provides recognition sites compatible with serine molecules was developed by dispersing serine with methylacrylate acid (MAA) as functional monomer and Ethylene glycol dimethylacrylate (EGDMA) as cross-linker. The imprinted polymeric were mixed with reduced graphene oxide to produced sensing layer for the sensor. RGO-MIP layer was introduced between source and drain of OTFT via spin coating as a detecting layer for serine molecules. RGO was introduced into MIP, to allow a highly conductive sensing material thus enhanced selectivity and sensitivity of the sensor. By analyzing the electrical performance of the sensors, the performances of OTFT sensor enhanced with RGO/MIP interlayer and OTFT sensor with MIP interlayer when exposed to serine analyte were obtained. The results showed that there were remarkable shifts of drain current (ID) obtained from OTFT sensor with RGO/MIP interlayer after exposed to serine analyte. Moreover, the sensitivity of OTFT sensor with RGO/MIP interlayer was nearly higher than the OTFT sensor with MIP interlayer. Hence, it proved that RGO successfully enhanced the sensing performance of OTFT sensor.

Time varying voltage combustion control and diagnostics sensor

DOEpatents

Chorpening, Benjamin T [Morgantown, WV; Thornton, Jimmy D [Morgantown, WV; Huckaby, E David [Morgantown, WV; Fincham, William [Fairmont, WV

2011-04-19

A time-varying voltage is applied to an electrode, or a pair of electrodes, of a sensor installed in a fuel nozzle disposed adjacent the combustion zone of a continuous combustion system, such as of the gas turbine engine type. The time-varying voltage induces a time-varying current in the flame which is measured and used to determine flame capacitance using AC electrical circuit analysis. Flame capacitance is used to accurately determine the position of the flame from the sensor and the fuel/air ratio. The fuel and/or air flow rate (s) is/are then adjusted to provide reduced flame instability problems such as flashback, combustion dynamics and lean blowout, as well as reduced emissions. The time-varying voltage may be an alternating voltage and the time-varying current may be an alternating current.

CMOS Image Sensor Using SOI-MOS/Photodiode Composite Photodetector Device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uryu, Yuko; Asano, Tanemasa

2002-04-01

A new photodetector device composed of a lateral junction photodiode and a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistor (MOSFET), in which the output of the diode is fed through the body of the MOSFET, has been investigated. It is shown that the silicon-on-insulator (SOI)-MOSFET amplifies the junction photodiode current due to the lateral bipolar action. It is also shown that the presence of the electrically floating gate enhances the current amplification factor of the SOI-MOSFET. The output current of this composite device linearly responds by four orders of illumination intensity. As an application of the composite device, a complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) line sensor incorporating the composite device is fabricated and its operation is demonstrated. The output signal of the line sensor using the composite device was two times larger than that using the lateral photodiode.

Spectrally encoded optical fibre sensor systems and their application in process control, environmental and structural monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Willsch, Reinhardt; Ecke, Wolfgang; Schwotzer, Gunter

2005-09-01

Different types of advanced optical fibre sensor systems using similar spectral interrogation principles and potential low-cost polychromator optoelectronic signal processing instrumentation will be presented, and examples of their industrial application are demonstrated. These are such sensors as multimode fibre based humidity, temperature, and pressure sensors with extrinsic microoptical Fabry-Perot transducers for process control in gas industry, UV absorption evanescent field sensors for organic pollution monitoring in groundwater, and single mode fibre Bragg grating (FBG) multiplexed strain & vibration and temperature sensor networks for structural health monitoring applications in electric power facilities, aerospace, railways, geotechnical and civil engineering. Recent results of current investigations applying FBGs and microstructured fibres for chemical sensing will be discussed.

Chemical Detection using Electrically Open Circuits having no Electrical Connections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodward, Stanley E.; Olgesby, Donald M.; Taylor, Bryant D.; Shams, Qamar A.

2008-01-01

This paper presents investigations to date on chemical detection using a recently developed method for designing, powering and interrogating sensors as electrically open circuits having no electrical connections. In lieu of having each sensor from a closed circuit with multiple electrically connected components, an electrically conductive geometric pattern that is powered using oscillating magnetic fields and capable of storing an electric field and a magnetic field without the need of a closed circuit or electrical connections is used. When electrically active, the patterns respond with their own magnetic field whose frequency, amplitude and bandwidth can be correlated with the magnitude of the physical quantities being measured. Preliminary experimental results of using two different detection approaches will be presented. In one method, a thin film of a reactant is deposited on the surface of the open-circuit sensor. Exposure to a specific targeted reactant shifts the resonant frequency of the sensor. In the second method, a coating of conductive material is placed on a thin non-conductive plastic sheet that is placed over the surface of the sensor. There is no physical contact between the sensor and the electrically conductive material. When the conductive material is exposed to a targeted reactant, a chemical reaction occurs that renders the material non-conductive. The change in the material s electrical resistance within the magnetic field of the sensor alters the sensor s response bandwidth and amplitude, allowing detection of the reaction without having the reactants in physical contact with the sensor.

Sensors for Using Times of Flight to Measure Flow Velocities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fralick, Gutave; Wrbanek, John D.; Hwang, Danny; Turso, James

2006-01-01

Thin-film sensors for measuring flow velocities in terms of times of flight are undergoing development. These sensors are very small and can be mounted flush with surfaces of airfoils, ducts, and other objects along which one might need to measure flows. Alternatively or in addition, these sensors can be mounted on small struts protruding from such surfaces for acquiring velocity measurements at various distances from the surfaces for the purpose of obtaining boundary-layer flow-velocity profiles. These sensors are related to, but not the same as, hot-wire anemometers. Each sensor includes a thin-film, electrically conductive loop, along which an electric current is made to flow to heat the loop to a temperature above that of the surrounding fluid. Instantaneous voltage fluctuations in segments of the loop are measured by means of electrical taps placed at intervals along the loop. These voltage fluctuations are caused by local fluctuations in electrical resistance that are, in turn, caused by local temperature fluctuations that are, in turn, caused by fluctuations in flow-induced cooling and, hence, in flow velocity. The differential voltage as a function of time, measured at each pair of taps, is subjected to cross-correlation processing with the corresponding quantities measured at other pairs of taps at different locations on the loop. The cross-correlations yield the times taken by elements of fluid to travel between the pairs of taps. Then the component of velocity along the line between any two pairs of taps is calculated simply as the distance between the pairs of taps divided by the travel time. Unlike in the case of hot-wire anemometers, there is no need to obtain calibration data on voltage fluctuations versus velocity fluctuations because, at least in principle, the correlation times are independent of the calibration data.

Feasibility study on measurement of magnetocardiography (MCG) using fluxgate magnetometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sengottuvel, S.; Sharma, Akash; Biswal, Deepak; Khan, Pathan Fayaz; Swain, Pragyna Parimita; Patel, Rajesh; Gireesan, K.

2018-04-01

This paper reports the feasibility of measuring weak magnetic fields generated by the electrical activity of the heart using a portable tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer inside a magnetically shielded room. Measurement of Magnetocardiogram (MCG) signals could be successfully demonstrated from a healthy subject using a novel set-up involving a reference fluxgate sensor which simultaneously measures the magnetic fields associated with the ECG waveform measured on the same subject. The timing information provided by R wave peaks of ECG recorded by the reference sensor is utilized to generate trigger locked average of the sensor output of the measurement fluxgate, and extract MCG signals in all the three orthogonal directions (X, Y and Z) on the anterior thorax. It is expected that such portable room temperature measurements using fluxgate sensor could assist in validating the direction of the equivalent current dipole associated with the electrical activity of the human heart. This is somewhat difficult in conventional MCG measurements using SQUID sensors, which usually furnish only the z component of the magnetic field and its spatial derivatives.

Global Electric Circuit Diurnal Variation Derived from Storm Overflight and Satellite Optical Lightning Datasets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mach, Douglas M.; Blakeslee, R. J.; Bateman, M. J.; Bailey, J. C.

2011-01-01

We have combined analyses of over 1000 high altitude aircraft observations of electrified clouds with diurnal lightning statistics from the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) and Optical Transient Detector (OTD) to produce an estimate of the diurnal variation in the global electric circuit. Using basic assumptions about the mean storm currents as a function of flash rate and location, and the global electric circuit, our estimate of the current in the global electric circuit matches the Carnegie curve diurnal variation to within 4% for all but two short periods of time. The agreement with the Carnegie curve was obtained without any tuning or adjustment of the satellite or aircraft data. Mean contributions to the global electric circuit from land and ocean thunderstorms are 1.1 kA (land) and 0.7 kA (ocean). Contributions to the global electric circuit from ESCs are 0.22 kA for ocean storms and 0.04 kA for land storms. Using our analysis, the mean total conduction current for the global electric circuit is 2.0 kA.

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors and Fiber-Optic Bio-Sensors.

PubMed

Pospíšilová, Marie; Kuncová, Gabriela; Trögl, Josef

2015-09-30

This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up to middle infrared (IR) (10 μm) and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors.

Conducting Polyaniline Nanowire and Its Applications in Chemiresistive Sensing

PubMed Central

Song, Edward; Choi, Jin-Woo

2013-01-01

One dimensional polyaniline nanowire is an electrically conducting polymer that can be used as an active layer for sensors whose conductivity change can be used to detect chemical or biological species. In this review, the basic properties of polyaniline nanowires including chemical structures, redox chemistry, and method of synthesis are discussed. A comprehensive literature survey on chemiresistive/conductometric sensors based on polyaniline nanowires is presented and recent developments in polyaniline nanowire-based sensors are summarized. Finally, the current limitations and the future prospect of polyaniline nanowires are discussed. PMID:28348347

Electrical percolation in graphene–polymer composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marsden, A. J.; Papageorgiou, D. G.; Vallés, C.; Liscio, A.; Palermo, V.; Bissett, M. A.; Young, R. J.; Kinloch, I. A.

2018-07-01

Electrically conductive composites comprising polymers and graphene are extremely versatile and have a wide range of potential applications. The conductivity of these composites depends on the choice of polymer matrix, the type of graphene filler, the processing methodology, and any post-production treatments. In this review, we discuss the progress in graphene–polymer composites for electrical applications. Graphene filler types are reviewed, the progress in modelling these composites is outlined, the current optimal composites are presented, and the example of strain sensors is used to demonstrate their application.

Methods of Using a Magnetic Field Response Sensor Within Closed, Electrically Conductive Containers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodward, Stanley E.; Taylor, Bryant D.

2010-01-01

Magnetic field response sensors are a class of sensors that are powered via oscillating magnetic fields, and when electrically active, respond with their own magnetic fields with attributes dependent upon the magnitude of the physical quantity being measured. A magnetic field response recorder powers and interrogates the magnetic sensors [see Magnetic-Field-Response Measurement- Acquisition System, NASA Tech Briefs Vol. 30, No, 6 (June 2006, page 28)]. Electrically conductive containers have low transmissivity for radio frequency (RF) energy and thus present problems for magnetic field response sensors. It is necessary in some applications to have a magnetic field response sensor s capacitor placed in these containers. Proximity to conductive surfaces alters the inductance and capacitance of the sensors. As the sensor gets closer to a conductive surface, the electric field and magnetic field energy of the sensor is reduced due to eddy currents being induced in the conductive surface. Therefore, the capacitors and inductors cannot be affixed to a conductive surface or embedded in a conductive material. It is necessary to have a fixed separation away from the conductive material. The minimum distance for separation is determined by the desired sensor response signal to noise ratio. Although the inductance is less than what it would be if it were not in proximity to the conductive surface, the inductance is fixed. As long as the inductance is fixed, all variations of the magnetic field response are due to capacitance changes. Numerous variations of inductor mounting can be utilized, such as providing a housing that provides separation from the conductive material as well as protection from impact damage. The sensor can be on the same flexible substrate with a narrow throat portion of the sensor between the inductor and the capacitor, Figure 1. The throat is of sufficient length to allow the capacitor to be appropriately placed within the container and the inductor placed outside the container. The throat is fed through the orifice in the container wall (e.g., fuel tank opening) and connects to the inductor and capacitor via electrical leads to form a closed circuit, Figure 2. Another embodiment is to have the inductor and capacitor fabricated as separate units. In this embodiment, the inductor is mounted external to the container, and the capacitor is mounted internal to the container, Figure 1. Electrical leads are fed through the orifice to connect the inductor and capacitor, Figure 2. When a container holding multiple sensors is made of a conductive material, an antenna can be placed internal to the container. An internal antenna allows all components of the sensors to reside inside the container. The antenna must be separated from the container wall s conductive surface. Additionally, the inductors must be maintained in a fixed position relative to and separated from the container

Electro-chemical sensors, sensor arrays and circuits

DOEpatents

Katz, Howard E.; Kong, Hoyoul

2014-07-08

An electro-chemical sensor includes a first electrode, a second electrode spaced apart from the first electrode, and a semiconductor channel in electrical contact with the first and second electrodes. The semiconductor channel includes a trapping material. The trapping material reduces an ability of the semiconductor channel to conduct a current of charge carriers by trapping at least some of the charge carriers to localized regions within the semiconductor channel. The semiconductor channel includes at least a portion configured to be exposed to an analyte to be detected, and the trapping material, when exposed to the analyte, interacts with the analyte so as to at least partially restore the ability of the semiconductor channel to conduct the current of charge carriers.

A CMOS active pixel sensor for retinal stimulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prydderch, Mark L.; French, Marcus J.; Mathieson, Keith; Adams, Christopher; Gunning, Deborah; Laudanski, Jonathan; Morrison, James D.; Moodie, Alan R.; Sinclair, James

2006-02-01

Degenerative photoreceptor diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, are the most common causes of blindness in the western world. A potential cure is to use a microelectronic retinal prosthesis to provide electrical stimulation to the remaining healthy retinal cells. We describe a prototype CMOS Active Pixel Sensor capable of detecting a visual scene and translating it into a train of electrical pulses for stimulation of the retina. The sensor consists of a 10 x 10 array of 100 micron square pixels fabricated on a 0.35 micron CMOS process. Light incident upon each pixel is converted into output current pulse trains with a frequency related to the light intensity. These outputs are connected to a biocompatible microelectrode array for contact to the retinal cells. The flexible design allows experimentation with signal amplitudes and frequencies in order to determine the most appropriate stimulus for the retina. Neural processing in the retina can be studied by using the sensor in conjunction with a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) programmed to behave as a neural network. The sensor has been integrated into a test system designed for studying retinal response. We present the most recent results obtained from this sensor.

Microwave Sensors for Breast Cancer Detection

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among females, early diagnostic methods with suitable treatments improve the 5-year survival rates significantly. Microwave breast imaging has been reported as the most potential to become the alternative or additional tool to the current gold standard X-ray mammography for detecting breast cancer. The microwave breast image quality is affected by the microwave sensor, sensor array, the number of sensors in the array and the size of the sensor. In fact, microwave sensor array and sensor play an important role in the microwave breast imaging system. Numerous microwave biosensors have been developed for biomedical applications, with particular focus on breast tumor detection. Compared to the conventional medical imaging and biosensor techniques, these microwave sensors not only enable better cancer detection and improve the image resolution, but also provide attractive features such as label-free detection. This paper aims to provide an overview of recent important achievements in microwave sensors for biomedical imaging applications, with particular focus on breast cancer detection. The electric properties of biological tissues at microwave spectrum, microwave imaging approaches, microwave biosensors, current challenges and future works are also discussed in the manuscript. PMID:29473867

Microwave Sensors for Breast Cancer Detection.

PubMed

Wang, Lulu

2018-02-23

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among females, early diagnostic methods with suitable treatments improve the 5-year survival rates significantly. Microwave breast imaging has been reported as the most potential to become the alternative or additional tool to the current gold standard X-ray mammography for detecting breast cancer. The microwave breast image quality is affected by the microwave sensor, sensor array, the number of sensors in the array and the size of the sensor. In fact, microwave sensor array and sensor play an important role in the microwave breast imaging system. Numerous microwave biosensors have been developed for biomedical applications, with particular focus on breast tumor detection. Compared to the conventional medical imaging and biosensor techniques, these microwave sensors not only enable better cancer detection and improve the image resolution, but also provide attractive features such as label-free detection. This paper aims to provide an overview of recent important achievements in microwave sensors for biomedical imaging applications, with particular focus on breast cancer detection. The electric properties of biological tissues at microwave spectrum, microwave imaging approaches, microwave biosensors, current challenges and future works are also discussed in the manuscript.

Computer Algorithms and Architectures for Three-Dimensional Eddy-Current Nondestructive Evaluation. Volume 2. Chapters 1-5

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-01-20

j(, i’j)d~d 25’ I// .=(z_ .V_ ~ .)Fov(q_ .r-irlz’ ff )( .rl)4Z i/ (25) The sensor is a single filament loop . If the source ring remains stationary...while the sensor loop is moved around, then the electric fields do not change as the sensor loop isI moved. In this case, F0. is a function of 4 and...my) ,,(2,y) = Fo,(=,Y)0𔃼(,Y) 5 On the other hand, if the source ring and the sensor loop always move together (and are concentric), then q = z and

Sensor Properties of Field-Effect Transistors Based on Graphene Oxide and Nafion Films with Proton Conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnov, V. A.; Mokrushin, A. D.; Denisov, N. N.; Dobrovolsky, Yu. A.

2018-07-01

The proton conductivity of graphene oxide (GO) and Nafion films was studied depending on the humidity and voltage on electrodes. The electric properties of the films were similar, but the mobility of positive charges in Nafion was approximately two orders of magnitude higher than in GO. In GO films, the negative ion current with a positive voltage bias was up to 10% of the proton current, while in Nafion films it was almost absent (<1%). The sensors based on GO and Nafion films were most effective at humidity (RH) in the range 20-80%.

Reliable Breakdown Obtained in Silicon Carbide Rectifiers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Philip G.

1997-01-01

The High Temperature Integrated Electronics and Sensor (HTIES) Program at the NASA Lewis Research Center is currently developing silicon carbide (SiC) for use in harsh conditions where silicon, the semiconductor used in nearly all of today's electronics, cannot function. Silicon carbide's demonstrated ability to function under extreme high-temperature, high-power, and/or high-radiation conditions will enable significant improvements to a far-ranging variety of applications and systems. These range from improved high-voltage switching for energy savings in public electric power distribution and electric vehicles, to more powerful microwave electronics for radar and cellular communications, to sensor and controls for cleaner-burning, more fuel-efficient jet aircraft and automobile engines.

Damage Diagnosis in Semiconductive Materials Using Electrical Impedance Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Richard W.; Hinton, Yolanda L.

2008-01-01

Recent aerospace industry trends have resulted in an increased demand for real-time, effective techniques for in-flight structural health monitoring. A promising technique for damage diagnosis uses electrical impedance measurements of semiconductive materials. By applying a small electrical current into a material specimen and measuring the corresponding voltages at various locations on the specimen, changes in the electrical characteristics due to the presence of damage can be assessed. An artificial neural network uses these changes in electrical properties to provide an inverse solution that estimates the location and magnitude of the damage. The advantage of the electrical impedance method over other damage diagnosis techniques is that it uses the material as the sensor. Simple voltage measurements can be used instead of discrete sensors, resulting in a reduction in weight and system complexity. This research effort extends previous work by employing finite element method models to improve accuracy of complex models with anisotropic conductivities and by enhancing the computational efficiency of the inverse techniques. The paper demonstrates a proof of concept of a damage diagnosis approach using electrical impedance methods and a neural network as an effective tool for in-flight diagnosis of structural damage to aircraft components.

Analysis of the variation of atmospheric electric field during solar events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tacza, J.; Raulin, J. P.

2016-12-01

We present the capability of a new network of electric field mill sensors to monitor the atmospheric electric field at various locations in South America. The first task is to obtain a diurnal curve of atmospheric electric field variations under fair weather conditions, which we will consider as a reference curve. To accomplish this, we made daily, monthly, seasonal and annual averages. For all sensor location, the results show significant similarities with the Carnegie curve. The Carnegie curve is the characteristic curve in universal time of atmospheric electric field in fair weather and one thinks it is related to the currents flowing in the global atmospheric electric circuit. Ultimately, we pretend to study departures of the daily observations from the standard curve. This difference can be caused by solar, geophysical and atmospheric phenomena such as the solar activity cycle, solar flares and energetic charged particles, galactic cosmic rays, seismic activity and/or specific meteorological events. As an illustration we investigate solar effects on the atmospheric electric field observed at CASLEO (Lat. 31.798°S, Long. 69.295°W, Altitude: 2552 masl) by the method of superposed epoch analysis, between January 2010 and December 2015.

Performance experiments with alternative advanced teleoperator control modes for a simulated solar maximum satellite repair

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Das, H.; Zak, H.; Kim, W. S.; Bejczy, A. K.; Schenker, P. S.

1992-01-01

Experiments are described which were conducted at the JPL Advanced Teleoperator Lab to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of various teleoperator control modes in the performance of a simulated Solar Max Satellite Repair (SMSR) task. THe SMSR was selected as a test because it is very rich in performance capability requirements and it actually has been performed by two EVA astronauts in the Space Shuttle Bay in 1984. The main subtasks are: thermal blanket removal; installation of a hinge attachment for electrical panel opening; opening of electrical panel; removal of electrical connectors; relining of cable bundles; replacement of electrical panel; securing parts and cables; re-mate electrical connectors; closing of electrical panel; and reinstating thermal blanket. The current performance experiments are limited to thermal blanket cutting, electrical panel unbolting and handling electrical bundles and connectors. In one formal experiment even different control modes were applied to the unbolting and reinsertion of electrical panel screws subtasks. The seven control modes are alternative combinations of manual position and rate control with force feedback and remote compliance referenced to force-torque sensor information. Force-torque sensor and end effector position data and task completion times were recorded for analysis and quantification of operator performance.

Control of a rotary pulsatile cardiac assist pump driven by an electric motor without a pressure sensor to avoid collapse of the pump inlet.

PubMed

Trinkl, J; Havlik, P; Mesana, T; Mitsui, N; Morita, S; Demunck, J L; Tourres, J L; Monties, J R

1993-01-01

Our ventricular assist device uses a valveless volumetric pump operating on the Maillard-Wankel rotary principle. It is driven by an electric motor and provides a semi pulsatile flow. At each cycle, blood is actively aspirated into the device, and overpumping results in collapse at the pump inlet. To prevent overpumping, it is necessary to ensure that pump intake does not exceed venous return. Poor long-term reliability rules out the use of current implantable pressure sensors for this purpose. To resolve this problem, we have developed a method of control based on monitoring of the intensity of electric current consumed by the motor. The method consists of real time monitoring of current intensity at the beginning of each pump cycle. A sudden change in intensity indicates underfilling, and motor speed is reduced to prevent collapse. The current consumed by the motor also depends on the afterload, but the form of the signal remains the same when afterload changes. After demonstrating the feasibility of this technique in a simulator, we are now testing it in animals. We were able to detect and prevent collapse due to overpumping by the cardiac assist device. This system also enables us to know the maximum possible assistance and to thus adapt assistance to the user.

CRIT II electric, magnetic, and density measurements within an ionizing neutral stream

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swenson, C. M.; Kelley, M. C.; Primdahl, F.; Baker, K. D.

1990-01-01

Measurements from rocket-borne sensors inside a high-velocity neutral barium beam show a-factor-of-six increase in plasma density in a moving ionizing front. This region was colocated with intense fluctuating electric fields at frequencies well under the lower hybrid frequency for a barium plasma. Large quasi-dc electric and magnetic field fluctuations were also detected with a large component of the current and the electric field parallel to B(0). An Alfven wave with a finite electric field component parallel to the geomagnetic field was observed to propagate along B(0), where it was detected by an instrumented subpayload.

Intense transient electric field sensor based on the electro-optic effect of LiNbO{sub 3}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Qing, E-mail: yangqing@cqu.edu.cn; Sun, Shangpeng; Han, Rui

2015-10-15

Intense transient electric field measurements are widely applied in various research areas. An optical intense E-field sensor for time-domain measurements, based on the electro-optic effect of lithium niobate, has been studied in detail. Principles and key issues in the design of the sensor are presented. The sensor is insulated, small in size (65 mm × 15 mm × 15 mm), and suitable for high-intensity (<801 kV/m) electric field measurements over a wide frequency band (10 Hz–10 MHz). The input/output characteristics of the sensor were obtained and the sensor calibrated. Finally, an application using this sensor in testing laboratory lightning impulsesmore » and in measuring transient electric fields during switch-on of a disconnector confirmed that the sensor is expected to find widespread use in transient intense electric field measurement applications.« less

Intense transient electric field sensor based on the electro-optic effect of LiNbO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Qing; Sun, Shangpeng; Han, Rui; Sima, Wenxia; Liu, Tong

2015-10-01

Intense transient electric field measurements are widely applied in various research areas. An optical intense E-field sensor for time-domain measurements, based on the electro-optic effect of lithium niobate, has been studied in detail. Principles and key issues in the design of the sensor are presented. The sensor is insulated, small in size (65 mm × 15 mm × 15 mm), and suitable for high-intensity (<801 kV/m) electric field measurements over a wide frequency band (10 Hz-10 MHz). The input/output characteristics of the sensor were obtained and the sensor calibrated. Finally, an application using this sensor in testing laboratory lightning impulses and in measuring transient electric fields during switch-on of a disconnector confirmed that the sensor is expected to find widespread use in transient intense electric field measurement applications.

Utilisation of the Magnetic Sensor in a Smartphone for Facile Magnetostatics Experiment: Magnetic Field Due to Electrical Current in Straight and Loop Wires

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Septianto, R. D.; Suhendra, D.; Iskandar, F.

2017-01-01

This paper reports on the result of a research into the utilisation of a smartphone for the study of magnetostatics on the basis of experiments. The use of such a device gives great measurement result and thus it can replace magnetic sensor tools that are relatively expensive. For the best experimental result, firstly the position of the magnetic…

Development of AC-coupled, poly-silicon biased, p-on-n silicon strip detectors in India for HEP experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Geetika; Dalal, Ranjeet; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Ranjan, Kirti; Dierlamm, Alexander; Hartmann, Frank; Eber, Robert; Demarteau, Marcel

2018-02-01

P-on-n silicon strip sensors having multiple guard-ring structures have been developed for High Energy Physics applications. The study constitutes the optimization of the sensor design, and fabrication of AC-coupled, poly-silicon biased sensors of strip width of 30 μm and strip pitch of 55 μm. The silicon wafers used for the fabrication are of 4 inch n-type, having an average resistivity of 2-5 k Ω cm, with a thickness of 300 μm. The electrical characterization of these detectors comprises of: (a) global measurements of total leakage current, and backplane capacitance; (b) strip and voltage scans of strip leakage current, poly-silicon resistance, interstrip capacitance, interstrip resistance, coupling capacitance, and dielectric current; and (c) charge collection measurements using ALiBaVa setup. The results of the same are reported here.

Field Performance of Photovoltaic Systems in the Tucson Desert

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orsburn, Sean; Brooks, Adria; Cormode, Daniel; Greenberg, James; Hardesty, Garrett; Lonij, Vincent; Salhab, Anas; St. Germaine, Tyler; Torres, Gabe; Cronin, Alexander

2011-10-01

At the Tucson Electric Power (TEP) solar test yard, over 20 different grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems are being tested. The goal at the TEP solar test yard is to measure and model real-world performance of PV systems and to benchmark new technologies such as holographic concentrators. By studying voltage and current produced by the PV systems as a function of incident irradiance, and module temperature, we can compare our measurements of field-performance (in a harsh desert environment) to manufacturer specifications (determined under laboratory conditions). In order to measure high-voltage and high-current signals, we designed and built reliable, accurate sensors that can handle extreme desert temperatures. We will present several benchmarks of sensors in a controlled environment, including shunt resistors and Hall-effect current sensors, to determine temperature drift and accuracy. Finally we will present preliminary field measurements of PV performance for several different PV technologies.

Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensors and Fiber-Optic Bio-Sensors

PubMed Central

Pospíšilová, Marie; Kuncová, Gabriela; Trögl, Josef

2015-01-01

This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up to middle infrared (IR) (10 µm) and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors. PMID:26437407

Sensor Data Qualification for Autonomous Operation of Space Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maul, William A.; Melcher, Kevin J.; Chicatelli, Amy K.; Sowers, T. Shane

2006-01-01

NASA's new Exploration initiative for both robotic and manned missions will require higher levels of reliability, autonomy and reconfiguration capability to make the missions safe, successful and affordable. Future systems will require diagnostic reasoning to assess the health of the system in order to maintain the system s functionality. The diagnostic reasoning and assessment will involve data qualification, fault detection, fault isolation and remediation control. A team of researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center is currently working on a Sensor Data Qualification (SDQ) system that will support these critical evaluation processes, for both automated and human-in-the-loop applications. Data qualification is required as a first step so that critical safety and operational decisions are based on good data. The SDQ system would monitor a network of related sensors to determine the health of individual sensors within that network. Various diagnostic systems such as the Caution and Warning System would then use the sensor health information with confidence. The proposed SDQ technology will be demonstrated on a variety of subsystems that are relevant to NASA s Exploration systems, which currently include an electrical power system and a cryogenic fluid management system. The focus of this paper is the development and demonstration of a SDQ application for a prototype power distribution unit that is representative of a Crew Exploration Vehicle electrical power system; this provides a unique and relevant environment in which to demonstrate the feasibility of the SDQ technology.

Integrated Fault Diagnosis Algorithm for Motor Sensors of In-Wheel Independent Drive Electric Vehicles

PubMed Central

Jeon, Namju; Lee, Hyeongcheol

2016-01-01

An integrated fault-diagnosis algorithm for a motor sensor of in-wheel independent drive electric vehicles is presented. This paper proposes a method that integrates the high- and low-level fault diagnoses to improve the robustness and performance of the system. For the high-level fault diagnosis of vehicle dynamics, a planar two-track non-linear model is first selected, and the longitudinal and lateral forces are calculated. To ensure redundancy of the system, correlation between the sensor and residual in the vehicle dynamics is analyzed to detect and separate the fault of the drive motor system of each wheel. To diagnose the motor system for low-level faults, the state equation of an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor is developed, and a parity equation is used to diagnose the fault of the electric current and position sensors. The validity of the high-level fault-diagnosis algorithm is verified using Carsim and Matlab/Simulink co-simulation. The low-level fault diagnosis is verified through Matlab/Simulink simulation and experiments. Finally, according to the residuals of the high- and low-level fault diagnoses, fault-detection flags are defined. On the basis of this information, an integrated fault-diagnosis strategy is proposed. PMID:27973431

Predictive simulations and optimization of nanowire field-effect PSA sensors including screening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baumgartner, Stefan; Heitzinger, Clemens; Vacic, Aleksandar; Reed, Mark A.

2013-06-01

We apply our self-consistent PDE model for the electrical response of field-effect sensors to the 3D simulation of nanowire PSA (prostate-specific antigen) sensors. The charge concentration in the biofunctionalized boundary layer at the semiconductor-electrolyte interface is calculated using the propka algorithm, and the screening of the biomolecules by the free ions in the liquid is modeled by a sensitivity factor. This comprehensive approach yields excellent agreement with experimental current-voltage characteristics without any fitting parameters. Having verified the numerical model in this manner, we study the sensitivity of nanowire PSA sensors by changing device parameters, making it possible to optimize the devices and revealing the attributes of the optimal field-effect sensor.

Optical and Electric Multifunctional CMOS Image Sensors for On-Chip Biosensing Applications.

PubMed

Tokuda, Takashi; Noda, Toshihiko; Sasagawa, Kiyotaka; Ohta, Jun

2010-12-29

In this review, the concept, design, performance, and a functional demonstration of multifunctional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors dedicated to on-chip biosensing applications are described. We developed a sensor architecture that allows flexible configuration of a sensing pixel array consisting of optical and electric sensing pixels, and designed multifunctional CMOS image sensors that can sense light intensity and electric potential or apply a voltage to an on-chip measurement target. We describe the sensors' architecture on the basis of the type of electric measurement or imaging functionalities.

Silicon Nanowire Field Effect Transistor Sensors with Minimal Sensor to Sensor Variations and Enhanced Sensing Characteristics.

PubMed

Zafar, Sufi; D'Emic, Christopher; Jagtiani, Ashish; Kratschmer, Ernst; Miao, Xin; Zhu, Yu; Mo, Renee; Sosa, Norma; Hamann, Hendrik F; Shahidi, Ghavam; Riel, Heike

2018-06-22

Silicon nanowire field effect transistor (FET) sensors have demonstrated their ability for rapid and label free detection of proteins, nucleotide sequences, and viruses at ultralow concentrations with the potential to be a transformative diagnostic technology. Their nanoscale size gives them their unique ultralow detection ability but also makes their fabrication challenging with large sensor to sensor variations, thus limiting their commercial applications. In this work, a combined approach of nanofabrication, device simulation, materials and electrical characterization is applied towards identifying and improving fabrication steps that induce sensor to sensor variations. An enhanced complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible process for fabricating silicon nanowire FET sensors is demonstrated. Nanowire (30 nm width) FETs with aqueous solution as gates are shown to have the Nernst limit sub-threshold swing SS = 60 mV/decade with ~1.7% variations, whereas literature values for SS are ≥ 80 mV/decade with larger (>10 times) variations. Also, their threshold voltage variations are significantly (~3 times) reduced, compared to literature values. Furthermore, these improved FETs have significantly reduced drain current hysteresis (~0.6 mV) and enhanced on-current to off-current ratios (~10 6 ). These improvements resulted in nanowire FET sensors with lowest (~3%) reported sensor to sensor variations, compared to literature studies. Also, these improved nanowire sensors have the highest reported sensitivity and enhanced signal to noise ratio with the lowest reported defect density of 1x10 18 eV -1 cm -3 in comparison to literature data. In summary, this work brings the nanowire sensor technology a step closer to commercial products for early diagnosis and monitoring of diseases.

Role of the array geometry in multi-bilayer hair cell sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamaddoni, Nima J.; Sarles, Stephen A.

2014-03-01

Recently, a bio-inspired, synthetic membrane-based hair cell sensor was fabricated and characterized. This sensor generates current in response to mechanical stimuli, such as airflow or free vibration, which perturb the sensor's hair. Vibration transferred from the hair to a lipid membrane (lipid bilayer) causes a voltage-dependent time rate of change in electrical capacitance of the membrane, which produces measurable current. Studies to date have been performed on systems containing only two droplets and a single bilayer, even though an array of multiple bilayers can be formed with more than 2 droplets. Thus, it is yet to be determined how multiple lipid bilayers affect the sensing response of a membrane-based hair cell sensor. In this work, we assemble serial droplet arrays with more than 1 bilayer to experimentally study the current generated by each membrane in response to perturbation of a single hair element. Two serial array configurations are studied: The first consists of a serial array of 3 bilayers formed using 4 droplets with the hair positioned in an end droplet. The second configuration consists of 3 droplets and 2 bilayers in series with the hair positioned in the central droplet. In serial arrays of up to four droplets, we observe that mechanotransduction of the hair's motion into a capacitive current occurs at every membrane, with bilayers positioned adjacent to the droplet containing the hair generating the largest sensing current. The measured currents suggest the total current generated by all bilayers in a 4-droplet, 3-bilaye array is greater than the current produced by a single-membrane sensor and similar in magnitude to the sum of currents output by 3, single-bilayer sensors operated independently. Moreover, we learned that bilayers positioned on the same side of the hair produce sensing currents that are in-phase, whereas bilayers positioned on opposite sides of the droplet containing the hair generate out-of-phase responses.

Application of a catalytic combustion sensor (Pellistor) for the monitoring of the explosiveness of a hydrogen-air mixture in the upper explosive limit range

PubMed Central

Krawczyk, M.; Namiesnik, J.

2003-01-01

A new technique is presented for continuous measurements of hydrogen contamination by air in the upper explosive limit range. It is based on the application of a catalytic combustion sensor placed in a cell through which the tested sample passes. The air content is the function of the quantity of formed heat during catalytic combustion of hydrogen inside the sensor. There is the possibility of using the method in industrial installations by using hydrogen for cooling electric current generators. PMID:18924620

ABS-SmartComAgri: An Agent-Based Simulator of Smart Communication Protocols in Wireless Sensor Networks for Debugging in Precision Agriculture.

PubMed

García-Magariño, Iván; Lacuesta, Raquel; Lloret, Jaime

2018-03-27

Smart communication protocols are becoming a key mechanism for improving communication performance in networks such as wireless sensor networks. However, the literature lacks mechanisms for simulating smart communication protocols in precision agriculture for decreasing production costs. In this context, the current work presents an agent-based simulator of smart communication protocols for efficiently managing pesticides. The simulator considers the needs of electric power, crop health, percentage of alive bugs and pesticide consumption. The current approach is illustrated with three different communication protocols respectively called (a) broadcast, (b) neighbor and (c) low-cost neighbor. The low-cost neighbor protocol obtained a statistically-significant reduction in the need of electric power over the neighbor protocol, with a very large difference according to the common interpretations about the Cohen's d effect size. The presented simulator is called ABS-SmartComAgri and is freely distributed as open-source from a public research data repository. It ensures the reproducibility of experiments and allows other researchers to extend the current approach.

ABS-SmartComAgri: An Agent-Based Simulator of Smart Communication Protocols in Wireless Sensor Networks for Debugging in Precision Agriculture

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Smart communication protocols are becoming a key mechanism for improving communication performance in networks such as wireless sensor networks. However, the literature lacks mechanisms for simulating smart communication protocols in precision agriculture for decreasing production costs. In this context, the current work presents an agent-based simulator of smart communication protocols for efficiently managing pesticides. The simulator considers the needs of electric power, crop health, percentage of alive bugs and pesticide consumption. The current approach is illustrated with three different communication protocols respectively called (a) broadcast, (b) neighbor and (c) low-cost neighbor. The low-cost neighbor protocol obtained a statistically-significant reduction in the need of electric power over the neighbor protocol, with a very large difference according to the common interpretations about the Cohen’s d effect size. The presented simulator is called ABS-SmartComAgri and is freely distributed as open-source from a public research data repository. It ensures the reproducibility of experiments and allows other researchers to extend the current approach. PMID:29584703

Micro-optics technology and sensor systems applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gal, George; Herman, B.; Anderson, W.; Whitney, R.; Morrow, H.

1993-01-01

The current generation of electro-optical sensors utilizing refractive and reflective optical elements require sophisticated, complex, and expensive designs. Advanced-technology-based electro-optical sensors of minimum size and weight require miniaturization of optical, electrical, and mechanical devices with an increasing trend toward integration of various components. Micro-optics technology has the potential in a number of areas to simplify optical design with improved performance. This includes internally cooled apertures, hybrid optical design, microlenses, dispersive multicolor microlenses, active dither, electronically controlled optical beam steer, and microscopic integration of micro-optics, detectors, and signal processing layers. This paper describes our approach to the development of micro-optics technology with our main emphasis for sensors applications.

Tritium-powered radiation sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Litz, Marc S.; Russo, Johnny A.; Katsis, Dimos

2016-05-01

Isotope power supplies offer long-lived (100 years using 63Ni), low-power energy sources, enabling sensors or communications nodes for the lifetime of infrastructure. A tritium beta-source (12.5-year half-life) encapsulated in a phosphor-lined vial couples directly to a photovoltaic (PV) to generate a trickle current into an electrical load. An inexpensive design is described using commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) components that generate 100 μWe for nextgeneration compact electronics/sensors. A matched radiation sensor has been built for long-duration missions utilizing microprocessor-controlled sleep modes, low-power electronic components, and a passive interrupt driven environmental wake-up. The low-power early-warning radiation detector network and isotope power source enables no-maintenance mission lifetimes.

Gas Composition Sensing Using Carbon Nanotube Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Jing; Meyyappan, Meyya

2012-01-01

This innovation is a lightweight, small sensor for inert gases that consumes a relatively small amount of power and provides measurements that are as accurate as conventional approaches. The sensing approach is based on generating an electrical discharge and measuring the specific gas breakdown voltage associated with each gas present in a sample. An array of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a substrate is connected to a variable-pulse voltage source. The CNT tips are spaced appropriately from the second electrode maintained at a constant voltage. A sequence of voltage pulses is applied and a pulse discharge breakdown threshold voltage is estimated for one or more gas components, from an analysis of the current-voltage characteristics. Each estimated pulse discharge breakdown threshold voltage is compared with known threshold voltages for candidate gas components to estimate whether at least one candidate gas component is present in the gas. The procedure can be repeated at higher pulse voltages to estimate a pulse discharge breakdown threshold voltage for a second component present in the gas. The CNTs in the gas sensor have a sharp (low radius of curvature) tip; they are preferably multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) or carbon nanofibers (CNFs), to generate high-strength electrical fields adjacent to the tips for breakdown of the gas components with lower voltage application and generation of high current. The sensor system can provide a high-sensitivity, low-power-consumption tool that is very specific for identification of one or more gas components. The sensor can be multiplexed to measure current from multiple CNT arrays for simultaneous detection of several gas components.

Effect of phase advance on the brushless dc motor torque speed respond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohd, M. S.; Karsiti, M. N.; Mohd, M. S.

2015-12-01

Brushless direct current (BLDC) motor is widely used in small and medium sized electric vehicles as it exhibit highest specific power and thermal efficiency as compared to the induction motor. Permanent magnets BLDC rotor create a constant magnetic flux, which limit the motor top speed. As the back electromotive force (EMF) voltage increases proportionally with motor rotational speed and it approaches the amplitude of the input voltage, the phase current amplitude will reach zero. By advancing the phase current, it is possible to extend the maximum speed of the BLDC motor beyond the rated top speed. This will allow smaller BLDC motor to be used in small electric vehicles (EV) and in larger applications will allow the use of BLDC motor without the use of multispeed transmission unit for high speed operation. However, increasing the speed of BLDC will affect the torque speed response. The torque output will decrease as speed increases. Adjusting the phase angle will affect the speed of the motor as each coil is energized earlier than the corresponding rise in the back emf of the coil. This paper discusses the phase advance strategy of Brushless DC motor by phase angle manipulation approaches using external hall sensors. Tests have been performed at different phase advance angles in advance and retard positions for different voltage levels applied. The objective is to create the external hall sensor system to commutate the BLDC motor, to establish the phase advance of the BLDC by varying the phase angle through external hall sensor manipulation, observe the respond of the motor while applying the phase advance by hall sensor adjustment.

New diesel injection nozzle flow measuring device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marčič, Milan

2000-04-01

A new measuring device has been developed for diesel injection nozzle testing, allowing measuring of the steady flow through injection nozzle and the injection rate. It can be best applied for measuring the low and high injection rates of the pintle and single hole nozzle. In steady flow measuring the fuel pressure at the inlet of the injection nozzle is 400 bar. The sensor of the measuring device measures the fuel charge, resulting from fuel rubbing in the fuel injection system, as well as from the temperature gradient in the sensor electrode. The electric charge is led to the charge amplifier, where it is converted into electric current and amplified. The amplifier can be used also to measure the mean injection rate value.

A Power-Frequency Electric Field Sensor for Portable Measurement

PubMed Central

Xiao, Dongping; Ma, Qichao; Xie, Yutong; Zheng, Qi

2018-01-01

In this paper, a new type of electric field sensor is proposed for the health and safety protection of inspection staff in high-voltage environments. Compared with the traditional power frequency electric field measurement instruments, the portable instrument has some special performance requirements and, thus, a new kind of double spherical shell sensor is presented. First, the mathematical relationships between the induced voltage of the sensor, the output voltage of the measurement circuit, and the original electric field in free space are deduced theoretically. These equations show the principle of the proposed sensor to measure the electric field and the effect factors of the measurement. Next, the characteristics of the sensor are analyzed through simulation. The simulation results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis. The influencing rules of the size and material of the sensor on the measurement results are summarized. Then, the proposed sensor and the matching measurement system are used in a physical experiment. After calibration, the error of the measurement system is discussed. Lastly, the directional characteristic of the proposed sensor is experimentally tested. PMID:29614753

A Power-Frequency Electric Field Sensor for Portable Measurement.

PubMed

Xiao, Dongping; Ma, Qichao; Xie, Yutong; Zheng, Qi; Zhang, Zhanlong

2018-03-31

In this paper, a new type of electric field sensor is proposed for the health and safety protection of inspection staff in high-voltage environments. Compared with the traditional power frequency electric field measurement instruments, the portable instrument has some special performance requirements and, thus, a new kind of double spherical shell sensor is presented. First, the mathematical relationships between the induced voltage of the sensor, the output voltage of the measurement circuit, and the original electric field in free space are deduced theoretically. These equations show the principle of the proposed sensor to measure the electric field and the effect factors of the measurement. Next, the characteristics of the sensor are analyzed through simulation. The simulation results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis. The influencing rules of the size and material of the sensor on the measurement results are summarized. Then, the proposed sensor and the matching measurement system are used in a physical experiment. After calibration, the error of the measurement system is discussed. Lastly, the directional characteristic of the proposed sensor is experimentally tested.

A fast response, low heat generating activation method for LHe level sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhury, Anup; Sahu, Santosh; Kanjilal, Dinakar

2018-06-01

A superconducting liquid helium (LHe) level sensor of length 300 mm has been fabricated based on the principle of differential heat transfer characteristic in helium gas compared to that in liquid. The sensor wire used has a diameter of 38 μm, and the wire was obtained from a pack of multifilament wires. A full thermo-electrical characterisation of the sensor was carried out in a dedicated setup. Its dynamic thermal response was also studied to understand its timing characteristics at different liquid levels and excitation currents. Based on the sensor characterisation, a new level measurement technique is evaluated which can reduce the heat load going to LHe during sensor activation without compromising on its sensitivity or accuracy. The timing response with this technique will make the level detection faster compared to the conventional techniques.

Numerical modelling of the Luna-Glob lander electric charging on the lunar surface with SPIS-DUST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, I. A.; Hess, S. L. G.; Zakharov, A. V.; Cipriani, F.; Seran, E.; Popel, S. I.; Lisin, E. A.; Petrov, O. F.; Dolnikov, G. G.; Lyash, A. N.; Kopnin, S. I.

2018-07-01

One of the complicating factors of the future robotic and human lunar landing missions is the influence of the dust. The upper insulating regolith layer is electrically charged by the solar ultraviolet radiation and the flow of solar wind particles. Resulted electric charge and thus surface potential depend on the lunar local time, latitude and the electrical properties of the regolith. Understanding of mechanisms of the dust electric charging, dust levitation and electric charging of a lander on the lunar surface is essential for interpretation of measurements of the instruments of the Luna-Glob lander payload, e.g. the Dust Impact sensor and the Langmuir Probe. One of the tools, which allows simulating the electric charging of the regolith and lander and also the transport and deposition of the dust particles on the lander surface, is the recently developed Spacecraft Plasma Interaction Software toolkit, called the SPIS-DUST. This paper describes the SPIS-DUST numerical simulation of the interaction between the solar wind plasma, ultraviolet radiation, regolith and a lander and presents as result qualitative and quantitative data of charging the surfaces, plasma sheath and its influence on spacecraft sensors, dust dynamics. The model takes into account the geometry of the Luna-Glob lander, the electric properties of materials used on the lander surface, as well as Luna-Glob landing place. Initial conditions are chosen using current theoretical models of formation of dusty plasma exosphere and levitating charged dust particles. Simulation for the three cases (local lunar noon, evening and sunset) showed us the surrounding plasma sheath around the spacecraft which gives a significant potential bias in the spacecraft vicinity. This bias influences on the spacecraft sensors but with SPIS software we can estimate the potential of uninfluenced plasma with the data from the plasma sensors (Langmuir probes). SPIS-DUST modification allows us to get the dust dynamics properties. For our three cases we've obtained the dust densities around the spacecraft and near the surface of the Moon. As another practical result of this work we can count a suggestion of improving of dusty plasma instrument for the next mission: it must be valuable to relocate the plasma sensors to a distant boom at some distance from the spacecraft.

Hall-Effect Based Semi-Fast AC On-Board Charging Equipment for Electric Vehicles

PubMed Central

Milanés-Montero, María Isabel; Gallardo-Lozano, Javier; Romero-Cadaval, Enrique; González-Romera, Eva

2011-01-01

The expected increase in the penetration of electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) will produce unbalanced conditions, reactive power consumption and current harmonics drawn by the battery charging equipment, causing a great impact on the power quality of the future smart grid. A single-phase semi-fast electric vehicle battery charger is proposed in this paper. This ac on-board charging equipment can operate in grid-to-vehicle (G2V) mode, and also in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mode, transferring the battery energy to the grid when the vehicle is parked. The charger is controlled with a Perfect Harmonic Cancellation (PHC) strategy, contributing to improve the grid power quality, since the current demanded or injected has no harmonic content and a high power factor. Hall-effect current and voltage transducers have been used in the sensor stage to carry out this control strategy. Experimental results with a laboratory prototype are presented. PMID:22163697

Hall-effect based semi-fast AC on-board charging equipment for electric vehicles.

PubMed

Milanés-Montero, María Isabel; Gallardo-Lozano, Javier; Romero-Cadaval, Enrique; González-Romera, Eva

2011-01-01

The expected increase in the penetration of electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) will produce unbalanced conditions, reactive power consumption and current harmonics drawn by the battery charging equipment, causing a great impact on the power quality of the future smart grid. A single-phase semi-fast electric vehicle battery charger is proposed in this paper. This ac on-board charging equipment can operate in grid-to-vehicle (G2V) mode, and also in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mode, transferring the battery energy to the grid when the vehicle is parked. The charger is controlled with a Perfect Harmonic Cancellation (PHC) strategy, contributing to improve the grid power quality, since the current demanded or injected has no harmonic content and a high power factor. Hall-effect current and voltage transducers have been used in the sensor stage to carry out this control strategy. Experimental results with a laboratory prototype are presented.

Novel semi-airborne CSEM system for the exploration of mineral resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nittinger, Christian; Cherevatova, Maria; Becken, Michael; Rochlitz, Raphael; Günther, Thomas; Martin, Tina; Matzander, Ulrich

2017-04-01

Within the DESMEX project (Deep Electromagnetic Sounding for Mineral Exploration), a semi-airborne CSEM system for mineral exploration is developed which aims to achieve a penetration depth of 1 km with a large areal coverage. Harmonically Time-varying electrical currents are injected with a grounded transmitter in order to measure the electric field on the ground and induced magnetic fields with highly sensitive magnetic sensors in the air. To measure the magnetic field and its variations, three-axis induction coils (MFS-11e by Metronix) and fluxgate sensors (Bartington FGS-03) are mounted on the platform towed by a helicopter. In addition, there is a SQUID based magnetometer, developed by IPHT and Supracon AG, available for future measurements. We deploy the different magnetometer sensors to cover a broad frequency range of 1-10000Hz. During the flight, the sensors encounter a broad variety of motion/vibration which produces noise in the magnetic field sensors. Therefore, a high accuracy motion tracking system is installed within the bird and a low vibrating system design needs to be considered in the airborne sensor platform. We conducted several flights with different source positions in a test area in Germany, which is already covered by ground based measurements. Based on the data, we discuss possible calibration schemes which are needed to overcome orthogonality and scaling errors in the fluxgate data as well as orientation errors. We apply noise correction schemes to the data and calculate transfer functions between the magnetic field and the source current. First 1-D inversion models based on the estimated transfer functions are calculated and compared to existing conductivity models from DC geoelectrics and helicopter electromagnetic (HEM) measurements.

Selectivity Enhancement by Using Double-Layer MOX-Based Gas Sensors Prepared by Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP).

PubMed

Rebholz, Julia; Grossmann, Katharina; Pham, David; Pokhrel, Suman; Mädler, Lutz; Weimar, Udo; Barsan, Nicolae

2016-09-06

Here we present a novel concept for the selective recognition of different target gases with a multilayer semiconducting metal oxide (SMOX)-based sensor device. Direct current (DC) electrical resistance measurements were performed during exposure to CO and ethanol as single gases and mixtures of highly porous metal oxide double- and single-layer sensors obtained by flame spray pyrolysis. The results show that the calculated resistance ratios of the single- and double-layer sensors are a good indicator for the presence of specific gases in the atmosphere, and can constitute some building blocks for the development of chemical logic devices. Due to the inherent lack of selectivity of SMOX-based gas sensors, such devices could be especially relevant for domestic applications.

Selectivity Enhancement by Using Double-Layer MOX-Based Gas Sensors Prepared by Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP)

PubMed Central

Rebholz, Julia; Grossmann, Katharina; Pham, David; Pokhrel, Suman; Mädler, Lutz; Weimar, Udo; Barsan, Nicolae

2016-01-01

Here we present a novel concept for the selective recognition of different target gases with a multilayer semiconducting metal oxide (SMOX)-based sensor device. Direct current (DC) electrical resistance measurements were performed during exposure to CO and ethanol as single gases and mixtures of highly porous metal oxide double- and single-layer sensors obtained by flame spray pyrolysis. The results show that the calculated resistance ratios of the single- and double-layer sensors are a good indicator for the presence of specific gases in the atmosphere, and can constitute some building blocks for the development of chemical logic devices. Due to the inherent lack of selectivity of SMOX-based gas sensors, such devices could be especially relevant for domestic applications. PMID:27608028

A Low noise, Non-contact Capacitive Cardiac Sensor*

PubMed Central

Peng, GuoChen; Bocko, Mark F.

2014-01-01

The development of sensitive, non-contact electric field sensors to measure weak bioelectric signals will be useful for the development of a number of unobtrusive health sensors. In this paper we summarize our recent work on a number of specific challenges in the development of non-contact ECG sensors. First, we considered the design of a low noise sensor preamplifier. We have adapted circuit designs that incorporate a double feedback loop to cancel the input transistor leakage current while providing stable operation, fast settling time and good low frequency response without the need for ultrahigh value resistors. The measured input referred noise of the preamplifier in the frequency band 0.05–100 Hz is 0.76 μVrms, which is several times lower than existing ECG preamplifiers. PMID:23367049

A low noise, non-contact capacitive cardiac sensor.

PubMed

Peng, GuoChen; Bocko, Mark F

2012-01-01

The development of sensitive, non-contact electric field sensors to measure weak bioelectric signals will be useful for the development of a number of unobtrusive health sensors. In this paper we summarize our recent work on a number of specific challenges in the development of non-contact ECG sensors. First, we considered the design of a low noise sensor preamplifier. We have adapted circuit designs that incorporate a double feedback loop to cancel the input transistor leakage current while providing stable operation, fast settling time and good low frequency response without the need for ultrahigh value resistors. The measured input referred noise of the preamplifier in the frequency band 0.05-100 Hz is 0.76 µV(rms), which is several times lower than existing ECG preamplifiers.

Sensors for detecting analytes in fluids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Nathan S. (Inventor); Severin, Erik (Inventor)

1998-01-01

Chemical sensors for detecting analytes in fluids comprise first and second conductive elements (e.g., electrical leads) electrically coupled to and separated by a chemically sensitive resistor which provides an electrical path between the conductive elements. The resistor comprises a plurality of alternating nonconductive regions (comprising a nonconductive organic polymer) and conductive regions (comprising a conductive material) transverse to the electrical path. The resistor provides a difference in resistance between the conductive elements when contacted with a fluid comprising a chemical analyte at a first concentration, than when contacted with a fluid comprising the chemical analyte at a second different concentration. Arrays of such sensors are constructed with at least two sensors having different chemically sensitive resistors providing dissimilar such differences in resistance. Variability in chemical sensitivity from sensor to sensor is provided by qualitatively or quantitatively varying the composition of the conductive and/or nonconductive regions. An electronic nose for detecting an analyte in a fluid may be constructed by using such arrays in conjunction with an electrical measuring device electrically connected to the conductive elements of each sensor.

Sensors for detecting analytes in fluids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Severin, Erik (Inventor); Lewis, Nathan S. (Inventor)

2001-01-01

Chemical sensors for detecting analytes in fluids comprise first and second conductive elements (e.g., electrical leads) electrically coupled to and separated by a chemically sensitive resistor which provides an electrical path between the conductive elements. The resistor comprises a plurality of alternating nonconductive regions (comprising a nonconductive organic polymer) and conductive regions (comprising a conductive material) transverse to the electrical path. The resistor provides a difference in resistance between the conductive elements when contacted with a fluid comprising a chemical analyte at a first concentration, than when contacted with a fluid comprising the chemical analyte at a second different concentration. Arrays of such sensors are constructed with at least two sensors having different chemically sensitive resistors providing dissimilar such differences in resistance. Variability in chemical sensitivity from sensor to sensor is provided by qualitatively or quantitatively varying the composition of the conductive and/or nonconductive regions. An electronic nose for detecting an analyte in a fluid may be constructed by using such arrays in conjunction with an electrical measuring device electrically connected to the conductive elements of each sensor.

Sensors for detecting analytes in fluids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Nathan S. (Inventor); Severin, Erik (Inventor)

1999-01-01

Chemical sensors for detecting analytes in fluids comprise first and second conductive elements (e.g., electrical leads) electrically coupled to and separated by a chemically sensitive resistor which provides an electrical path between the conductive elements. The resistor comprises a plurality of alternating nonconductive regions (comprising a nonconductive organic polymer) and conductive regions (comprising a conductive material) transverse to the electrical path. The resistor provides a difference in resistance between the conductive elements when contacted with a fluid comprising a chemical analyte at a first concentration, than when contacted with a fluid comprising the chemical analyte at a second different concentration. Arrays of such sensors are constructed with at least two sensors having different chemically sensitive resistors providing dissimilar such differences in resistance. Variability in chemical sensitivity from sensor to sensor is provided by qualitatively or quantitatively varying the composition of the conductive and/or nonconductive regions. An electronic nose for detecting an analyte in a fluid may be constructed by using such arrays in conjunction with an electrical measuring device electrically connected to the conductive elements of each sensor.

Sensor arrays for detecting analytes in fluids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Nathan S. (Inventor); Freund, Michael S. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

Chemical sensors for detecting analytes in fluids comprise first and second conductive elements (e.g. electrical leads) electrically coupled to and separated by a chemically sensitive resistor which provides an electrical path between the conductive elements. The resistor comprises a plurality of alternating nonconductive regions (comprising a nonconductive organic polymer) and conductive regions (comprising a conductive material) transverse to the electrical path. The resistor provides a difference in resistance between the conductive elements when contacted with a fluid comprising a chemical analyte at a first concentration, than when contacted with a fluid comprising the chemical analyte at a second different concentration. Arrays of such sensors are constructed with at least two sensors having different chemically sensitive resistors providing dissimilar such differences in resistance. Variability in chemical sensitivity from sensor to sensor is provided by qualitatively or quantitatively varying the composition of the conductive and/or nonconductive regions. An electronic nose for detecting an analyte in a fluid may be constructed by using such arrays in conjunction with an electrical measuring device electrically connected to the conductive elements of each sensor.

Deconvolution of Voltage Sensor Time Series and Electro-diffusion Modeling Reveal the Role of Spine Geometry in Controlling Synaptic Strength.

PubMed

Cartailler, Jerome; Kwon, Taekyung; Yuste, Rafael; Holcman, David

2018-03-07

Most synaptic excitatory connections are made on dendritic spines. But how the voltage in spines is modulated by its geometry remains unclear. To investigate the electrical properties of spines, we combine voltage imaging data with electro-diffusion modeling. We first present a temporal deconvolution procedure for the genetically encoded voltage sensor expressed in hippocampal cultured neurons and then use electro-diffusion theory to compute the electric field and the current-voltage conversion. We extract a range for the neck resistances of 〈R〉=100±35MΩ. When a significant current is injected in a spine, the neck resistance can be inversely proportional to its radius, but not to the radius square, as predicted by Ohm's law. We conclude that the postsynaptic voltage cannot only be modulated by changing the number of receptors, but also by the spine geometry. Thus, spine morphology could be a key component in determining synaptic transduction and plasticity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wireless Sensing System Using Open-circuit, Electrically-conductive Spiral-trace Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E. (Inventor); Taylor, Bryant D. (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A wireless sensing system includes a sensor made from an electrical conductor shaped to form an open-circuit, electrically-conductive spiral trace having inductance and capacitance. In the presence of a time-varying magnetic field, the sensor resonates to generate a harmonic response having a frequency, amplitude and bandwidth. A magnetic field response recorder wirelessly transmits the time-varying magnetic field to the sensor and wirelessly detects the sensor's response frequency, amplitude and bandwidth.

Evaluation and optimization of quartz resonant-frequency retuned fork force sensors with high Q factors, and the associated electric circuits, for non-contact atomic force microscopy.

PubMed

Ooe, Hiroaki; Fujii, Mikihiro; Tomitori, Masahiko; Arai, Toyoko

2016-02-01

High-Q factor retuned fork (RTF) force sensors made from quartz tuning forks, and the electric circuits for the sensors, were evaluated and optimized to improve the performance of non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) performed under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. To exploit the high Q factor of the RTF sensor, the oscillation of the RTF sensor was excited at its resonant frequency, using a stray capacitance compensation circuit to cancel the excitation signal leaked through the stray capacitor of the sensor. To improve the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio in the detected signal, a small capacitor was inserted before the input of an operational (OP) amplifier placed in an UHV chamber, which reduced the output noise from the amplifier. A low-noise, wideband OP amplifier produced a superior S/N ratio, compared with a precision OP amplifier. The thermal vibrational density spectra of the RTF sensors were evaluated using the circuit. The RTF sensor with an effective spring constant value as low as 1000 N/m provided a lower minimum detection limit for force differentiation. A nc-AFM image of a Si(111)-7 × 7 surface was produced with atomic resolution using the RTF sensor in a constant frequency shift mode; tunneling current and energy dissipation images with atomic resolution were also simultaneously produced. The high-Q factor RTF sensor showed potential for the high sensitivity of energy dissipation as small as 1 meV/cycle and the high-resolution analysis of non-conservative force interactions.

A Method to have Multi-Layer Thermal Insulation Provide Damage Detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodward, Stanley E.; Taylor, Bryant D.; Jones, Thomas W.; Shams, Qamar A.; Lyons, Frankel; Henderson, Donald

2007-01-01

Design and testing of a multi-layer thermal insulation system that also provides debris and micrometeorite damage detection is presented. One layer of the insulation is designed as an array of passive open-circuit electrically conductive spiral trace sensors. The sensors are a new class of sensors that are electrically open-circuits that have no electrical connections thereby eliminating one cause of failure to circuits. The sensors are powered using external oscillating magnetic fields. Once electrically active, they produce their own harmonic magnetic fields. The responding field frequency changes if any sensor is damaged. When the sensors are used together in close proximity, the inductive coupling between sensors provides a means of telemetry. The spiral trace design using reflective electrically conductive material provides sufficient area coverage for the sensor array to serves as a layer of thermal insulation. The other insulation layers are designed to allow the sensor s magnetic field to permeate the insulation layers while having total reflective surface area to reduce thermal energy transfer. Results of characterizing individual sensors and the sensor array s response to punctures are presented. Results of hypervelocity impact testing using projectiles of 1-3.6 millimeter diameter having speeds ranging from 6.7-7.1 kilometers per second are also presented.

SansEC: A New Dimension to Sensing Electrical Sensors with No Electrical Connections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

This DVD contains an introduction to SansEC, a new electrical sensor technology without electrical connections. This new class of sensors represents a stand-alone 2-dimensional geometric pattern of electrically open circuits without electrical connections. The sensor is powered with an external, harmonic magnetic field and as the property being sensed changes, responds to frequency, amplitude or bandwidth changes. This response is interrogated using an external antenna, a single electrical component having no electrical connections. The sensor can be encased in any nonconductive material to provide protection from its environment. If the container is nonconductive, the sensor can be placed external to the container without contacting it, making installation very simple. An encased sensor can also be placed inside a container for measuring the level of any fluid or material, including acids. Any readout device can be used with the sensor, including standard or digital gauges. SansEC sensors can be used to measure real-time fluid slosh to determine if a fuel tank's internal structural isogrid can be used to replace some of the baffles surface, thus reducing the overall baffle weight and giving a better understanding of the effect that isogrids have on fluid motion. Any SansEC sensor can also be used for damage or tamper detection. When damaged, torn or tampered with, the measured response shift in frequency is commensurate to the detected damage, with the response frequency increasing with rising damage. The unique sensor design allows it to function even if damaged, because unlike other circuits, there is no single point on the sensor that, if damaged, renders it non-functional. The broad metallic coverage of the array allows the array to be one of many thermal insulation layers. Two such arrays were tested to understand the effects of high velocity damage. Each test article was targeted with metal projectiles emulating micrometeorite or orbital debris impact. Even with the damage that the sensors received every sensor was still functional with the new response baseline, and remained capable of detecting even more damage.

Electric current generation in photorefractive bismuth silicon oxide without application of external electric field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buchhave, Preben; Kukhtarev, Nickolai; Kukhtareva, Tatiana; Edwards, Matthew E.; Reagan, Michael A.; Lyuksyutov, Sergei F.

2003-10-01

A holographic radial diffraction grating (HRDG) is an efficient optical element for splitting single laser beam on three 0, -1st, and +1st- diffraction order beams. The rotation of the grating at certain velocity allows a window for quality control over the frequency detuning between -1st, and +1st diffracted beams. The running interference fringes produced by the beams and projected on photorefractive crystal induce running holographic gratings in the crystal. This simple configuration is an effective tool for the study of such phenomena as space charge waves [1], domains motion [2], and electric current generation [3]. Specifics of photorefractive mechanism in cubic photorefractive crystals (BSO, BTO) normally require a use of external electric field to produce reasonable degree of refractive index modulation to observe associated with it phenomena. In this work we provide a direct experimental observation of the electric current generated in photorefractive BSO using running grating technique without an applied electric field. Moving interference fringes modulate a photoconductivity and an electric field in photorefractive crystal thus creating the photo electro-motive force (emf) and the current. The magnitude of the current varies between 1 and 10 nA depending on the rotation speed of HRDG. The peculiarities of the current behavior include a backward current flow, and current oscillations. The holographic current generated through this technique can find applications in non-destructive testing for ultra-sensitive vibrometry, materials characterization, and for motion sensors. References [1] S.F. Lyuksyutov, P. Buchhave, and M.V. Vasnetsov, Physical Review Letters, 79, No.1, 67-70 (1997) [2] P. Buchhave, S. Lyuksyutov, M. Vasnetsov, and C. Heyde, Journal Optical Society of America B, 13, No.11 2595-2602 (1996) [3] M. Vasnetsov, P. Buchhave, and S. Lyuksyutov Optics Communications, 137, 181-191 (1997)

Multi-environment Nanocalorimeter with Electrical Contacts for Use in the Scanning Electron Microscope.

PubMed

Yi, Feng; Stevanovic, Ana; Osborn, William A; Kolmakov, A; LaVan, David A

2017-11-01

We have developed a versatile nanocalorimeter sensor which allows imaging and electrical measurements of samples under different gaseous environments using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and can simultaneously measure the sample temperature and associated heat of reaction. This new sensor consists of four independent heating/sensing elements for nanocalorimetry and eight electrodes for electrical measurements, all mounted on a 50 nm thick, 250 μm × 250 μm suspended silicon nitride membrane. This membrane is highly electron transparent and mechanically robust enabling in situ SEM observation under realistic temperatures, environmental conditions and pressures up to one atmosphere. To demonstrate this new capability, we report here on 1) in situ SEM-nanocalorimetry study of melting and solidification of polyethylene oxide, 2) the temperature dependence of conductivity of a nanowire; 3) the electron beam induced current measurements (EBID) of a nanowire in vacuum and air. Furthermore, the sensor is easily adaptable to operate in liquid environment and is compatible with most existing SEM. This versatile platform couples nanocalorimetry with in situ SEM imaging under various gaseous and liquid environments and is applicable to materials research, nanotechnology, energy, catalysis and biomedical applications.

More About Thin-Membrane Biosensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Case, George D.; Worley, Jennings F., III

1994-01-01

Report presents additional information about device described in "Thin-Membrane Sensor With Biochemical Switch" (MFS-26121). Device is modular sensor that puts out electrical signal indicative of chemical or biological agent. Signal produced as membrane-crossing ion current triggered by chemical reaction between agent and recognition protein conjugated to channel blocker. Prototype of biosensor useful in numerous laboratory, industrial, or field applications; such as to detect bacterial toxins in food, to screen for disease-producing micro-organisms, or to warn of toxins or pollutants in air.

3D printed high performance strain sensors for high temperature applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Md Taibur; Moser, Russell; Zbib, Hussein M.; Ramana, C. V.; Panat, Rahul

2018-01-01

Realization of high temperature physical measurement sensors, which are needed in many of the current and emerging technologies, is challenging due to the degradation of their electrical stability by drift currents, material oxidation, thermal strain, and creep. In this paper, for the first time, we demonstrate that 3D printed sensors show a metamaterial-like behavior, resulting in superior performance such as high sensitivity, low thermal strain, and enhanced thermal stability. The sensors were fabricated using silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs), using an advanced Aerosol Jet based additive printing method followed by thermal sintering. The sensors were tested under cyclic strain up to a temperature of 500 °C and showed a gauge factor of 3.15 ± 0.086, which is about 57% higher than that of those available commercially. The sensor thermal strain was also an order of magnitude lower than that of commercial gages for operation up to a temperature of 500 °C. An analytical model was developed to account for the enhanced performance of such printed sensors based on enhanced lateral contraction of the NP films due to the porosity, a behavior akin to cellular metamaterials. The results demonstrate the potential of 3D printing technology as a pathway to realize highly stable and high-performance sensors for high temperature applications.

Thin film metallic sensors in an alternating magnetic field for magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia cancer therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussein, Z. A.; Boekelheide, Z.

In magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia in an alternating magnetic field for cancer therapy, it is important to monitor the temperature in situ. This can be done optically or electrically, but electronic measurements can be problematic because conducting parts heat up in a changing magnetic field. Microfabricated thin film sensors may be advantageous because eddy current heating is a function of size, and are promising for further miniaturization of sensors and fabrication of arrays of sensors. Thin films could also be used for in situ magnetic field sensors or for strain sensors. For a proof of concept, we fabricated a metallic thin film resistive thermometer by photolithographically patterning a 500Å Au/100Å Cr thin film on a glass substrate. Measurements were taken in a solenoidal coil supplying 0.04 T (rms) at 235 kHz with the sensor parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field. In the parallel orientation, the resistive thermometer mirrored the background heating from the coil, while in the perpendicular orientation self-heating was observed due to eddy current heating of the conducting elements by Faraday's law. This suggests that metallic thin film sensors can be used in an alternating magnetic field, parallel to the field, with no significant self-heating.

Voltage Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Under a Lewis Research Center Small Business Innovation Research contract, SRICO, Inc. developed a fiber optic voltage sensor to measure voltage in electronic systems in spacecraft. The sensor uses glass and light to sense and transmit electricity, and is relatively safe and accurate. SRICO then commercialized the sensor for measurement of electric field and voltage in applications such as electric power systems and hazardous environments, lightning detection, and fiber optic communication systems.

Irradiation effects on electrical properties of DNA solution/Al Schottky diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Ta'ii, Hassan Maktuff Jaber; Periasamy, Vengadesh; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2018-04-01

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has emerged as one of the most exciting organic material and as such extensively studied as a smart electronic material since the last few decades. DNA molecules have been reported to be utilized in the fabrication of small-scaled sensors and devices. In this current work, the effect of alpha radiation on the electrical properties of an Al/DNA/Al device using DNA solution was studied. It was observed that the carrier transport was governed by electrical interface properties at the Al-DNA interface. Current ( I)-voltage ( V) curves were analyzed by employing the interface limited Schottky current equations, i.e., conventional and Cheung and Cheung's models. Schottky parameters such as ideality factor, barrier height and series resistance were also determined. The extracted barrier height of the Schottky contact before and after radiation was calculated as 0.7845, 0.7877, 0.7948 and 0.7874 eV for the non-radiated, 12, 24 and 36 mGy, respectively. Series resistance of the structure was found to decline with the increase in the irradiation, which was due to the increase in the free radical root effects in charge carriers in the DNA solution. Results pertaining to the electronic profiles obtained in this work may provide a better understanding for the development of precise and rapid radiation sensors using DNA solution.

Sensor arrays for detecting microorganisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Nathan S. (Inventor); Freund, Michael S. (Inventor)

2000-01-01

A sensor array for detecting a microorganism comprising first and second sensors electrically connected to an electrical measuring apparatus, wherein the sensors comprise a region of nonconducting organic material and a region of conducting material compositionally that is different than the nonconducting organic material and an electrical path through the regions of nonconducting organic material and the conducting material. A system for identifying microorganisms using the sensor array, a computer and a pattern recognition algorithm, such as a neural net are also disclosed.

In-vacuum sensors for the beamline components of the ITER neutral beam test facility.

PubMed

Dalla Palma, M; Pasqualotto, R; Sartori, E; Spagnolo, S; Spolaore, M; Veltri, P

2016-11-01

Embedded sensors have been designed for installation on the components of the MITICA beamline, the prototype ITER neutral beam injector (Megavolt ITER Injector and Concept Advancement), to derive characteristics of the particle beam and to monitor the component conditions during operation for protection and thermal control. Along the beamline, the components interacting with the particle beam are the neutralizer, the residual ion dump, and the calorimeter. The design and the positioning of sensors on each component have been developed considering the expected beam-surface interaction including non-ideal and off-normal conditions. The arrangement of the following instrumentation is presented: thermal sensors, strain gages, electrostatic probes including secondary emission detectors, grounding shunt for electrical currents, and accelerometers.

Soil physical property estimation from soil strength and apparent electrical conductivity sensor data

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Quantification of soil physical properties through soil sampling and laboratory analyses is time-, cost-, and labor-consuming, making it difficult to obtain the spatially-dense data required for precision agriculture. Proximal soil sensing is an attractive alternative, but many currently available s...

Demonstration of a high speed hybrid electrical and optical sensing system for next generation launcher applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Selwan K.; O'Dowd, John A.; Honniball, Arthur; Bessler, Vivian; Farnan, Martin; O'Connor, Peter; Melicher, Milos; Gleeson, Danny

2017-09-01

The Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) has a goal of developing various launch vehicle system concepts and identifying the technologies required for the design of Europe's Next-Generation Launcher (NGL) while maintaining competitiveness on the commercial market. Avionics fiber optic sensing technology was investigated as part of the FLPP programme. Here we demonstrate and evaluate a high speed hybrid electrical/optical data acquisition system based on commercial off the shelf (COTS) technology capable of acquiring data from traditional electrical sensors and optical Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors. The proposed system consists of the KAM-500 data acquisition system developed by Curtis-Wright and the I4 tunable laser based fiber optic sensor interrogator developed by FAZ Technology. The key objective was to demonstrate the capability of the hybrid system to acquire data from traditional electrical sensors used in launcher applications e.g. strain, temperature and pressure in combination with optical FBG sensors, as well as data delivery to spacecraft avionics systems. The KAM-500 was configured as the main acquisition unit (MAU) and provided a 1 kHz sampling clock to the I4 interrogator that was configured as the secondary acquisition unit (SAU) to synchronize the data acquisition sample rate between both systems. The SAU acquired data from an array of optical FBG sensors, while the MAU data acquisition system acquired data from the electrical sensors. Data acquired from the optical sensors was processed by the FAZ I4 interrogation system and then encapsulated into UDP/IP packets and transferred to the KAM-500. The KAM-500 encapsulated the optical sensor data together with the data acquired from electrical sensors and transmitted the data over MIL-STD-1553 and Ethernet data interface. The temperature measurements resulted in the optical and electrical sensors performing on a par with each other, with all sensors recording an accuracy within 0.35% FS over the full temperature range of -70°C to +180°C. The pressure measurements were performed over a 0 to 5 bar absolute pressure range and over different temperatures across a -40°C to +80°C range. The tests concluded that the optical pressure sensors performed on par with the electrical pressure sensor for each temperature set, where both sensor technologies measured a pressure accuracy of 1.2% FS. As for the strain measurements, the results show the optical and electrical sensors can measure to within 1% FS (Full Scale) of measurement range +/-1,200 μstrain. The proposed hybrid system can be potentially used for next generation launcher applications delivering weight reduction, improvement in measurement coverage and reduction in Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT) over traditional electrical systems.

Detailed studies of full-size ATLAS12 sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hommels, L. B. A.; Allport, P. P.; Baca, M.; Broughton, J.; Chisholm, A.; Nikolopoulos, K.; Pyatt, S.; Thomas, J. P.; Wilson, J. A.; Kierstead, J.; Kuczewski, P.; Lynn, D.; Arratia, M.; Klein, C. T.; Ullan, M.; Fleta, C.; Fernandez-Tejero, J.; Bloch, I.; Gregor, I. M.; Lohwasser, K.; Poley, L.; Tackmann, K.; Trofimov, A.; Yildirim, E.; Hauser, M.; Jakobs, K.; Kuehn, S.; Mahboubi, K.; Mori, R.; Parzefall, U.; Clark, A.; Ferrere, D.; Gonzalez Sevilla, S.; Ashby, J.; Blue, A.; Bates, R.; Buttar, C.; Doherty, F.; McMullen, T.; McEwan, F.; O`Shea, V.; Kamada, S.; Yamamura, K.; Ikegami, Y.; Nakamura, K.; Takubo, Y.; Unno, Y.; Takashima, R.; Chilingarov, A.; Fox, H.; Affolder, A. A.; Casse, G.; Dervan, P.; Forshaw, D.; Greenall, A.; Wonsak, S.; Wormald, M.; Cindro, V.; Kramberger, G.; Mandić, I.; Mikuž, M.; Gorelov, I.; Hoeferkamp, M.; Palni, P.; Seidel, S.; Taylor, A.; Toms, K.; Wang, R.; Hessey, N. P.; Valencic, N.; Hanagaki, K.; Dolezal, Z.; Kodys, P.; Bohm, J.; Stastny, J.; Mikestikova, M.; Bevan, A.; Beck, G.; Milke, C.; Domingo, M.; Fadeyev, V.; Galloway, Z.; Hibbard-Lubow, D.; Liang, Z.; Sadrozinski, H. F.-W.; Seiden, A.; To, K.; French, R.; Hodgson, P.; Marin-Reyes, H.; Parker, K.; Jinnouchi, O.; Hara, K.; Sato, K.; Sato, K.; Hagihara, M.; Iwabuchi, S.; Bernabeu, J.; Civera, J. V.; Garcia, C.; Lacasta, C.; Marti i Garcia, S.; Rodriguez, D.; Santoyo, D.; Solaz, C.; Soldevila, U.

2016-09-01

The "ATLAS ITk Strip Sensor Collaboration" R&D group has developed a second iteration of single-sided n+-in-p type micro-strip sensors for use in the tracker upgrade of the ATLAS experiment at the High-Luminosity (HL) LHC. The full size sensors measure approximately 97 × 97mm2 and are designed for tolerance against the 1.1 ×1015neq /cm2 fluence expected at the HL-LHC. Each sensor has 4 columns of 1280 individual 23.9 mm long channels, arranged at 74.5 μm pitch. Four batches comprising 120 sensors produced by Hamamatsu Photonics were evaluated for their mechanical, and electrical bulk and strip characteristics. Optical microscopy measurements were performed to obtain the sensor surface profile. Leakage current and bulk capacitance properties were measured for each individual sensor. For sample strips across the sensor batches, the inter-strip capacitance and resistance as well as properties of the punch-through protection structure were measured. A multi-channel probecard was used to measure leakage current, coupling capacitance and bias resistance for each individual channel of 100 sensors in three batches. The compiled results for 120 unirradiated sensors are presented in this paper, including summary results for almost 500,000 strips probed. Results on the reverse bias voltage dependence of various parameters and frequency dependence of tested capacitances are included for validation of the experimental methods used. Comparing results with specified values, almost all sensors fall well within specification.

Revisiting the Characterization of the Losses in Piezoelectric Materials from Impedance Spectroscopy at Resonance.

PubMed

González, Amador M; García, Álvaro; Benavente-Peces, César; Pardo, Lorena

2016-01-26

Electronic devices using the piezoelectric effect contain piezoelectric materials: often crystals, but in many cases poled ferroelectric ceramics (piezoceramics), polymers or composites. On the one hand, these materials exhibit non-negligible losses, not only dielectric, but also mechanical and piezoelectric. In this work, we made simulations of the effect of the three types of losses in piezoelectric materials on the impedance spectrum at the resonance. We analyze independently each type of loss and show the differences among them. On the other hand, electrical and electronic engineers include piezoelectric sensors in electrical circuits to build devices and need electrical models of the sensor element. Frequently, material scientists and engineers use different languages, and the characteristic material coefficients do not have a straightforward translation to those specific electrical circuit components. To connect both fields of study, we propose the use of accurate methods of characterization from impedance measurements at electromechanical resonance that lead to determination of all types of losses, as an alternative to current standards. We introduce a simplified equivalent circuit model with electrical parameters that account for piezoceramic losses needed for the modeling and design of industrial applications.

Revisiting the Characterization of the Losses in Piezoelectric Materials from Impedance Spectroscopy at Resonance

PubMed Central

González, Amador M.; García, Álvaro; Benavente-Peces, César; Pardo, Lorena

2016-01-01

Electronic devices using the piezoelectric effect contain piezoelectric materials: often crystals, but in many cases poled ferroelectric ceramics (piezoceramics), polymers or composites. On the one hand, these materials exhibit non-negligible losses, not only dielectric, but also mechanical and piezoelectric. In this work, we made simulations of the effect of the three types of losses in piezoelectric materials on the impedance spectrum at the resonance. We analyze independently each type of loss and show the differences among them. On the other hand, electrical and electronic engineers include piezoelectric sensors in electrical circuits to build devices and need electrical models of the sensor element. Frequently, material scientists and engineers use different languages, and the characteristic material coefficients do not have a straightforward translation to those specific electrical circuit components. To connect both fields of study, we propose the use of accurate methods of characterization from impedance measurements at electromechanical resonance that lead to determination of all types of losses, as an alternative to current standards. We introduce a simplified equivalent circuit model with electrical parameters that account for piezoceramic losses needed for the modeling and design of industrial applications. PMID:28787872

A sensor for vector electric field measurements through a nonlinear anisotropic optical crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbieri, Luca; Gondola, Marco; Potenza, Marco; Villa, Andrea; Malgesini, Roberto

2017-11-01

Electrical applications require the development of electric field sensors that can reproduce vector electric field waveforms with a very large spectral width ranging from 50 Hz to at least 70 MHz. This makes it possible to measure both the normal operation modes of electrical components and abnormal behaviors such as the corona emission and partial discharges. In this work, we aim to develop a fully dielectric sensor capable of measuring two components of the electric field using a wide class of optical crystals including anisotropic ones, whereas most of the efforts in this field have been devoted to isotropic crystals. We report the results of the measurements performed at 50 Hz and with a lightning impulse, to validate the sensor.

High temperature ion channels and pores

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheley, Stephen (Inventor); Gu, Li Qun (Inventor); Bayley, Hagan (Inventor); Kang, Xiaofeng (Inventor)

2011-01-01

The present invention includes an apparatus, system and method for stochastic sensing of an analyte to a protein pore. The protein pore may be an engineer protein pore, such as an ion channel at temperatures above 55.degree. C. and even as high as near 100.degree. C. The analyte may be any reactive analyte, including chemical weapons, environmental toxins and pharmaceuticals. The analyte covalently bonds to the sensor element to produce a detectable electrical current signal. Possible signals include change in electrical current. Detection of the signal allows identification of the analyte and determination of its concentration in a sample solution. Multiple analytes present in the same solution may also be detected.

Vibration monitoring via nano-composite piezoelectric foam bushings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bird, Evan T.; Merrell, A. Jake; Anderson, Brady K.; Newton, Cory N.; Rosquist, Parker G.; Fullwood, David T.; Bowden, Anton E.; Seeley, Matthew K.

2016-11-01

Most mechanical systems produce vibrations as an inherent side effect of operation. Though some vibrations are acceptable in operation, others can cause damage or signal a machine’s imminent failure. These vibrations would optimally be monitored in real-time, without human supervision to prevent failure and excessive wear in machinery. This paper explores a new alternative to currently-used machine-monitoring equipment, namely a piezoelectric foam sensor system. These sensors are made of a silicone-based foam embedded with nano- and micro-scale conductive particles. Upon impact, they emit an electric response that is directly correlated with impact energy, with no electrical power input. In the present work, we investigated their utility as self-sensing bushings on machinery. These sensors were found to accurately detect both the amplitude and frequency of typical machine vibrations. The bushings could potentially save time and money over other vibration sensing mechanisms, while simultaneously providing a potential control input that could be utilized for correcting vibrational imbalance.

An artificial arm/hand system with a haptic sensory function using electric stimulation of peripheral sensory nerve fibers.

PubMed

Mabuchi, Kunihiko

2013-01-01

We are currently developing an artificial arm/hand system which is capable of sensing stimuli and then transferring these stimuli to users as somatic sensations. Presently, we are evoking the virtual somatic sensations by electrically stimulating a sensory nerve fiber which innervates a single mechanoreceptor unit at the target area; this is done using a tungsten microelectrode that was percutaneously inserted into the use's peripheral nerve (a microstimulation method). The artificial arm/hand system is composed of a robot hand equipped with a pressure sensor system on its fingers. The sensor system detects mechanical stimuli, which are transferred to the user by means of the microstimulation method so that the user experiences the stimuli as the corresponding somatic sensations. In trials, the system worked satisfactorily and there was a good correlation between the pressure applied to the pressure sensors on the robot fingers and the subjective intensities of the evoked pressure sensations.

Optical hydrogen sensors based on metal-hydrides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slaman, M.; Westerwaal, R.; Schreuders, H.; Dam, B.

2012-06-01

For many hydrogen related applications it is preferred to use optical hydrogen sensors above electrical systems. Optical sensors reduce the risk of ignition by spark formation and are less sensitive to electrical interference. Currently palladium and palladium alloys are used for most hydrogen sensors since they are well known for their hydrogen dissociation and absorption properties at relatively low temperatures. The disadvantages of palladium in sensors are the low optical response upon hydrogen loading, the cross sensitivity for oxygen and carbon, the limited detection range and the formation of micro-cracks after some hydrogen absorption/desorption cycles. In contrast to Pd, we find that the use of magnesium or rear earth bases metal-hydrides in optical hydrogen sensors allow tuning of the detection levels over a broad pressure range, while maintaining a high optical response. We demonstrate a stable detection layer for detecting hydrogen below 10% of the lower explosion limit in an oxygen rich environment. This detection layer is deposited at the bare end of a glass fiber as a micro-mirror and is covered with a thin layer of palladium. The palladium layer promotes the hydrogen uptake at room temperature and acts as a hydrogen selective membrane. To protect the sensor for a long time in air a final layer of a hydrophobic fluorine based coating is applied. Such a sensor can be used for example as safety detector in automotive applications. We find that this type of fiber optic hydrogen sensor is also suitable for hydrogen detection in liquids. As example we demonstrate a sensor for detecting a broad range of concentrations in transformer oil. Such a sensor can signal a warning when sparks inside a high voltage power transformer decompose the transformer oil over a long period.

Multiple sensor multifrequency eddy current monitor for solidification and growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, John

1990-01-01

A compact cylindrical multisensor eddy current measuring system with integral furnace was develop to monitor II-VI crystal growth to provide interfacial information, solutal segregation, and conductivities of the growth materials. The use of an array of sensors surrounding the furnace element allows one to monitor the volume of interest. Coupling these data with inverse multifrequency analysis allows radial conductivity profiles to be generated at each sensor position. These outputs were incorporated to control the processes within the melt volume. The standard eddy current system functions with materials whose electric conductivities are as low as 2E2 Mhos/m. A need was seen to extend the measurement range to poorly conducting media so the unit was modified to allow measurement of materials conductivities 4 order of magnitude lower and bulk dielectric properties. Typically these included submicron thick films and semiinsulating GaAs. This system was used to monitor complex heat transfer in grey bodies as well as semiconductor and metallic solidification.

Self-powered Real-time Movement Monitoring Sensor Using Triboelectric Nanogenerator Technology.

PubMed

Jin, Liangmin; Tao, Juan; Bao, Rongrong; Sun, Li; Pan, Caofeng

2017-09-05

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has great potential in the field of self-powered sensor fabrication. Recently, smart electronic devices and movement monitoring sensors have attracted the attention of scientists because of their application in the field of artificial intelligence. In this article, a TENG finger movement monitoring, self-powered sensor has been designed and analysed. Under finger movements, the TENG realizes the contact and separation to convert the mechanical energy into electrical signal. A pulse output current of 7.8 μA is generated by the bending and straightening motions of the artificial finger. The optimal output power can be realized when the external resistance is approximately 30 MΩ. The random motions of the finger are detected by the system with multiple TENG sensors in series. This type of flexible and self-powered sensor has potential applications in artificial intelligence and robot manufacturing.

A versatile fibre optic sensor interrogation system for the Ariane Launcher based on an electro-optically tuneable laser diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plattner, M. P.; Hirth, F.; Müller, M. S.; Hoffmann, L.; Buck, T. C.; Koch, A. W.

2017-11-01

Availability of reliable flight sensor data and knowledge of the structural behaviour are essential for safe operation of the Ariane launcher. The Ariane launcher is currently monitored by hundreds of electric sensors during test and qualification. Fibre optic sensors are regarded as a potential technique to overcome limitations of recent monitoring systems for the Ariane launcher [1]. These limitations include cumbersome application of sensors and harness as well as a very limited degree of distributed sensing capability. But, in order to exploit the various advantages of fibre optic sensors (high degree of multiplexing, distributed sensing capability, lower mass impact, etc.) dedicated measurement systems have to be developed and investigated. State-of-the-art fibre optic measurement systems often use free beam setups making them bulky and sensitive to vibration impact. Therefore a new measurement system is developed as part of the ESAstudy [2].

Optical fibre sensing: a solution for industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, T.; Fabian, M.; Chen, Y.; Vidakovic, M.; Javdani, S.; Grattan, K. T. V.; Carlton, J.; Gerada, C.; Brun, L.

2017-04-01

Optical fibres have been explored widely for their sensing capability to meet increasing industrial needs, building on their success in telecommunications. This paper provides a review of research activities at City University of London in response to industrial challenges through the development of a range of fibre Bragg grating (FBG)-based sensors for transportation structural monitoring. For marine propellers, arrays of FBGs mapped onto the surface of propeller blades allow for capturing vibrational modes, with reference to simulation data. The research funded by EU Cleansky programme enables the development of self-sensing electric motor drives to support `More Electric Aircraft' concept. The partnership with Faiveley Brecknell Willis in the UK enables the integration of FBG sensors into the railway current-collecting pantographs for real-time condition monitoring when they are operating under 25kV conditions.

Electric Field Measurements During the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) Field Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bateman, Monte G.; Blakeslee, Richard J.; Mach, Douglas M.

2010-01-01

During the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) field program, a system of 6 electric field mills was flown on one of NASA's Global Hawk aircraft. We placed several mills on the aircraft to enable us to measure the vector electric field. We created a distributed, ethernet-connected system so that each sensor has its own embedded Linux system, complete with web server. This makes our current generation system fully "sensor web enabled." The Global Hawk has several unique qualities, but relevant to quality storm electric field measurements are high altitude (20 km) and long duration (20-30 hours) flights. There are several aircraft participating in the GRIP program, and coordinated measurements are happening. Lightning and electric field measurements will be used to study the relationships between lightning and other storm characteristics. It has been long understood that lightning can be used as a marker for strong convective activity. Past research and field programs suggest that lightning flash rate may serve as an indicator and precursor for rapid intensification change in tropical cyclones and hurricanes. We have the opportunity to sample hurricanes for many hours at a time and observe intensification (or de-intensification) periods. The electrical properties of hurricanes during such periods are not well known. American

An analytical model for bio-electronic organic field-effect transistor sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macchia, Eleonora; Giordano, Francesco; Magliulo, Maria; Palazzo, Gerardo; Torsi, Luisa

2013-09-01

A model for the electrical characteristics of Functional-Bio-Interlayer Organic Field-Effect Transistors (FBI-OFETs) electronic sensors is here proposed. Specifically, the output current-voltage characteristics of a streptavidin (SA) embedding FBI-OFET are modeled by means of the analytical equations of an enhancement mode p-channel OFET modified according to an ad hoc designed equivalent circuit that is also independently simulated with pspice. An excellent agreement between the model and the experimental current-voltage output characteristics has been found upon exposure to 5 nM of biotin. A good agreement is also found with the SA OFET parameters graphically extracted from the device transfer I-V curves.

High sensitivity pH sensing on the BEOL of industrial FDSOI transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahhal, Lama; Ayele, Getenet Tesega; Monfray, Stéphane; Cloarec, Jean-Pierre; Fornacciari, Benjamin; Pardoux, Eric; Chevalier, Celine; Ecoffey, Serge; Drouin, Dominique; Morin, Pierre; Garnier, Philippe; Boeuf, Frederic; Souifi, Abdelkader

2017-08-01

In this work we demonstrate the use of Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (FDSOI) transistors as pH sensors with a 23 nm silicon nitride sensing layer built in the Back-End-Of-Line (BEOL). The back end process to deposit the sensing layer and fabricate the electrical structures needed for testing is detailed. A series of tests employing different pH buffer solutions has been performed on transistors of different geometries, controlled via the back gate. The main findings show a shift of the drain current (ID) as a function of the back gate voltage (VB) when different pH buffer solutions are probed in the range of pH 6 to pH 8. This shift is observed at VB voltages swept from 0 V to 3 V, demonstrating the sensor operation at low voltage. A high sensitivity of up to 250 mV/pH unit (more than 4-fold larger than Nernstian response) is observed on FDSOI MOS transistors of 0.06 μm gate length and 0.08 μm gate width. She is currently working as a Postdoctoral researcher at Institut des nanotechnologies de Lyon in collaboration with STMicroelectronics and Université de Sherbrook (Canada) working on ;Integration of ultra-low-power gas and pH sensors with advanced technologies;. Her research interest includes selection, machining, optimisation and electrical characterisation of the sensitive layer for a low power consumption gas sensor based on advanced MOS transistors.

Evaluation and refinement of a field-portable drinking water toxicity sensor utilizing electric cell-substrate impedance sensing and a fluidic biochip.

PubMed

Widder, Mark W; Brennan, Linda M; Hanft, Elizabeth A; Schrock, Mary E; James, Ryan R; van der Schalie, William H

2015-07-01

The US Army's need for a reliable and field-portable drinking water toxicity sensor was the catalyst for the development and evaluation of an electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) device. Water testing technologies currently available to soldiers in the field are analyte-specific and have limited capabilities to detect broad-based water toxicity. The ECIS sensor described here uses rainbow trout gill epithelial cells seeded on fluidic biochips to measure changes in impedance for the detection of possible chemical contamination of drinking water supplies. Chemicals selected for testing were chosen as representatives of a broad spectrum of toxic industrial compounds. Results of a US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)-sponsored evaluation of the field portable device were similar to previously published US Army testing results of a laboratory-based version of the same technology. Twelve of the 18 chemicals tested following USEPA Technology Testing and Evaluation Program procedures were detected by the ECIS sensor within 1 h at USEPA-derived human lethal concentrations. To simplify field-testing methods further, elimination of a procedural step that acclimated cells to serum-free media streamlined the test process with only a slight loss of chemical sensitivity. For field use, the ECIS sensor will be used in conjunction with an enzyme-based sensor that is responsive to carbamate and organophosphorus pesticides. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Human Location Detection System Using Micro-Electromechanical Sensor for Intelligent Fan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parnin, S.; Rahman, M. M.

2017-03-01

This paper presented the development of sensory system for detection of both the presence and the location of human in a room spaces using MEMS Thermal sensor. The system is able to detect the surface temperature of occupants by a non-contact detection at the maximum of 6 meters far. It can be integrated to any swing type of electrical appliances such as standing fan or a similar devices. Differentiating human from other moving and or static object by heat variable is nearly impossible since human, animals and electrical appliances produce heat. The uncontrollable heat properties which can change and transfer will add to the detection issue. Integrating the low cost MEMS based thermal sensor can solve the first of human sensing problem by its ability to detect human in stationary. Further discrimination and analysis must therefore be made to the measured temperature data to distinguish human from other objects. In this project, the fan is properly designed and program in such a way that it can adapt to different events starting from the human sensing stage to its dynamic and mechanical moving parts. Up to this stage initial testing to the Omron D6T microelectromechanical thermal sensor is currently under several experimental stages. Experimental result of the sensor tested on stationary and motion state of human are behaviorally differentiable and successfully locate the human position by detecting the maximum temperature of each sensor reading.

Crystalline Microporous Organosilicates with Reversed Functionalities of Organic and Inorganic Components for Room-Temperature Gas Sensing.

PubMed

Fabbri, Barbara; Bonoldi, Lucia; Guidi, Vincenzo; Cruciani, Giuseppe; Casotti, Davide; Malagù, Cesare; Bellussi, Giuseppe; Millini, Roberto; Montanari, Luciano; Carati, Angela; Rizzo, Caterina; Montanari, Erica; Zanardi, Stefano

2017-07-26

A deepened investigation on an innovative organic-inorganic hybrid material, referred to as ECS-14 (where ECS = Eni carbon silicates), revealed the possibility to use them as gas sensors. Indeed, among ECS phases, the crystalline state and the hexagonal microplateletlike morphology characteristic of ECS-14 seemed favorable properties to obtain continuous and uniform films. ECS-14 phase was used as functional material in screen-printable compositions and was thus deposited by drop coating for morphological, structural, thermal, and electrical characterizations. Possible operation at room temperature was investigated as technological progress, offering intrinsic safety in sensors working in harsh or industrial environments and avoiding high power consumption of most common sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors. Electrical characterization of the sensors based on ECS-14 versus concentrations of gaseous analytes gave significant results at room temperature in the presence of humidity, thereby demonstrating fundamental properties for a good quality sensor (speed, reversibility, and selectivity) that make them competitive with respect to systems currently in use. Remarkably, we observed functionality reversal of the organic and inorganic components; that is, in contrast to other hybrids, for ECS-14 the functional site has been ascribed to the inorganic phase while the organic component provided structural stability to the material. The sensing mechanism for humidity was also investigated.

Ultrasensitive, passive and wearable sensors for monitoring human muscle motion and physiological signals.

PubMed

Cai, Feng; Yi, Changrui; Liu, Shichang; Wang, Yan; Liu, Lacheng; Liu, Xiaoqing; Xu, Xuming; Wang, Li

2016-03-15

Flexible sensors have attracted more and more attention as a fundamental part of anthropomorphic robot research, medical diagnosis and physical health monitoring. Here, we constructed an ultrasensitive and passive flexible sensor with the advantages of low cost, lightness and wearability, electric safety and reliability. The fundamental mechanism of the sensor is based on triboelectric effect inducing electrostatic charges on the surfaces between two different materials. Just like a plate capacitor, current will be generated while the distance or size of the parallel capacitors changes caused by the small mechanical disturbance upon it and therefore the output current/voltage will be produced. Typically, the passive sensor unambiguously monitors muscle motions including hand motion from stretch-clench-stretch, mouth motion from open-bite-open, blink and respiration. Moreover, this sensor records the details of the consecutive phases in a cardiac cycle of the apex cardiogram, and identify the peaks including percussion wave, tidal wave and diastolic wave of the radial pulse wave. To record subtle human physiological signals including radial pulsilogram and apex cardiogram with excellent signal/noise ratio, stability and reproducibility, the sensor shows great potential in the applications of medical diagnosis and daily health monitoring. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

System providing limit switch function with simultaneous absolute position output

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alhorn, Dean C. (Inventor); Howard, David E. (Inventor); Smith, Dennis A. (Inventor)

2006-01-01

A limit and position sensing system includes a sensor assembly and an emitter. The sensor assembly includes first and second electrical conductors arranged in opposing parallel planes. The first electrical conductor is coiled outwardly from either end thereof in a clockwise fashion to form a first coil region and a second coil region. The second electrical conductor forms a single coil with portions of the single coil's rings lying between the first end and second end of the first electrical conductor being parallel to an axis of the first electrical conductor's plane. Ferromagnetic material is aligned with the first and second electrical conductors and spans beyond (a) the first and second ends of the first electrical conductor, and (b) the portions of the rings of the second electrical conductor's single coil that lie between the first end and second end of the first electrical conductor. The emitter is spaced apart from the sensor assembly and transmits a periodic electromagnetic wave towards the sensor assembly.

C/NOFS Measurements of Stormtime Magnetic Perturbations in the Low-latitude Ionosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Le, Guan; Burke, William J.; Pfaff, Robert F.; Freudenreich, Henry; Maus, Stefan; Luehr, Hermann

2012-01-01

The Vector Electric Field Investigation suite on the C/NOFS satellite includes a fluxgate magnetometer to monitor the Earth's magnetic fields in the low-latitude ionosphere. Measurements yield full magnetic vectors every second over the range of +/- 45,000 nT with a one-bit resolution of 1.37 nT (16 bit AID) in each component. The sensor's primary responsibility is to support calculations of both VxB and ExB with greater accuracy than can be obtained using standard magnetic field models. The data also contain information about large-scale current systems, that, when analyzed in conjunction with electric field measurements, promise to significantly expand understanding of equatorial electrodynamics. We first compare in situ measurements with the POMME (POtsdam Magnetic Model of the Earth) model to establish in-flight sensor "calibrations" and to compute magnetic residuals. At low latitudes the residuals are predominately products of the stormtime ring current. Since C/NOFS provides a complete coverage of all local times every 97 minutes, magnetic field data allow studies of the temporal evolution and local-time variations of stormtime ring current. The analysis demonstrates the feasibility of using instrumented spacecraft in low-inclination orbits to extract a timely proxy for the provisional Dst index and to specify the ring current's evolution.

Optical and Electric Multifunctional CMOS Image Sensors for On-Chip Biosensing Applications

PubMed Central

Tokuda, Takashi; Noda, Toshihiko; Sasagawa, Kiyotaka; Ohta, Jun

2010-01-01

In this review, the concept, design, performance, and a functional demonstration of multifunctional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors dedicated to on-chip biosensing applications are described. We developed a sensor architecture that allows flexible configuration of a sensing pixel array consisting of optical and electric sensing pixels, and designed multifunctional CMOS image sensors that can sense light intensity and electric potential or apply a voltage to an on-chip measurement target. We describe the sensors’ architecture on the basis of the type of electric measurement or imaging functionalities. PMID:28879978

Flammable and noxious gas sensing using a microtripolar electrode sensor with diameter and chirality sorted single-walled carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Shengbing; Duan, Zhe min; Zhang, Yong

2013-08-01

We report on the utilization of densely packed (˜10 SWCNTs µm-1), well-aligned arrays of single-chirality single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as an effective thin-film for integration into a gas sensor with a microtripolar electrode, based on field ionization by dielectrophoretic assembly from a monodisperse SWCNTs solution obtained by polymer-mediated sorting. The sensor is characterized as a field ionization electrode with sorted SWCNTs acting as both the sensing material and transducer gas concentrated directly into an electrical signal, an extractor serving to improve electric field uniformity and a collector electrode completing the current path. The gas sensing properties toward flammable and noxious gases, such as CO and H2, were investigated at room temperature. Besides the high sensitivity, the as-fabricated sensor exhibited attractive behaviors in terms of both the detection limit and a fast response, suggesting that our sensor could be used to partly circumvent the low sensing selectivity, long recovery time or irreversibility and allow for a preferential identification of the selected flammable and noxious analytes. Interestingly, the excellent sensing behaviors of the sensors based on the field ionization effect derive directly from the combined effects of the high-quality, low defect SWCNTs arrays, which leads to a small device-to-device variation in the properties and the optimization of electrode fabrication, highlighting the sensor as an appealing candidate in view of nanotube electronics.

Electric-field enhanced performance in catalysis and solid-state devices involving gases

DOEpatents

Blackburn, Bryan M.; Wachsman, Eric D.; Van Assche, IV, Frederick Martin

2015-05-19

Electrode configurations for electric-field enhanced performance in catalysis and solid-state devices involving gases are provided. According to an embodiment, electric-field electrodes can be incorporated in devices such as gas sensors and fuel cells to shape an electric field provided with respect to sensing electrodes for the gas sensors and surfaces of the fuel cells. The shaped electric fields can alter surface dynamics, system thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, and adsorption/desorption processes. In one embodiment, ring-shaped electric-field electrodes can be provided around sensing electrodes of a planar gas sensor.

Development of Conductivity Sensors for Multi-Phase Flow Local Measurements at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and University Jaume I of Castellon (UJI).

PubMed

Muñoz-Cobo, José Luis; Chiva, Sergio; Méndez, Santos; Monrós, Guillem; Escrivá, Alberto; Cuadros, José Luis

2017-05-10

This paper describes all the procedures and methods currently used at UPV (Universitat Politécnica de Valencia) and UJI (University Jaume I) for the development and use of sensors for multi-phase flow analysis in vertical pipes. This paper also describes the methods that we use to obtain the values of the two-phase flow magnitudes from the sensor signals and the validation and cross-verification methods developed to check the consistency of the results obtained for these magnitudes with the sensors. First, we provide information about the procedures used to build the multi-sensor conductivity probes and some of the tests performed with different materials to avoid sensor degradation issues. In addition, we provide information about the characteristics of the electric circuits that feed the sensors. Then the data acquisition of the conductivity probe, the signal conditioning and the data processing including the device that have been designed to automatize all the measurement process of moving the sensors inside the channels by means of stepper electric motors controlled by computer are shown in operation. Then, we explain the methods used for bubble identification and categorization. Finally, we describe the methodology used to obtain the two-phase flow information from the sensor signals. This includes the following items: void fraction, gas velocity, Sauter mean diameter and interfacial area concentration. The last part of this paper is devoted to the conductance probes developed for the annular flow analysis, which includes the analysis of the interfacial waves produced in annular flow and that requires a different type of sensor.

Development of Conductivity Sensors for Multi-Phase Flow Local Measurements at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and University Jaume I of Castellon (UJI)

PubMed Central

Muñoz-Cobo, José Luis; Chiva, Sergio; Méndez, Santos; Monrós, Guillem; Escrivá, Alberto; Cuadros, José Luis

2017-01-01

This paper describes all the procedures and methods currently used at UPV (Universitat Politécnica de Valencia) and UJI (University Jaume I) for the development and use of sensors for multi-phase flow analysis in vertical pipes. This paper also describes the methods that we use to obtain the values of the two-phase flow magnitudes from the sensor signals and the validation and cross-verification methods developed to check the consistency of the results obtained for these magnitudes with the sensors. First, we provide information about the procedures used to build the multi-sensor conductivity probes and some of the tests performed with different materials to avoid sensor degradation issues. In addition, we provide information about the characteristics of the electric circuits that feed the sensors. Then the data acquisition of the conductivity probe, the signal conditioning and the data processing including the device that have been designed to automatize all the measurement process of moving the sensors inside the channels by means of stepper electric motors controlled by computer are shown in operation. Then, we explain the methods used for bubble identification and categorization. Finally, we describe the methodology used to obtain the two-phase flow information from the sensor signals. This includes the following items: void fraction, gas velocity, Sauter mean diameter and interfacial area concentration. The last part of this paper is devoted to the conductance probes developed for the annular flow analysis, which includes the analysis of the interfacial waves produced in annular flow and that requires a different type of sensor. PMID:28489035

Organic magnetic field sensor

DOEpatents

McCamey, Dane; Boehme, Christoph

2017-01-24

An organic, spin-dependent magnetic field sensor (10) includes an active stack (12) having an organic material with a spin-dependence. The sensor (10) also includes a back electrical contact (14) electrically coupled to a back of the active stack (12) and a front electrical contact (16) electrically coupled to a front of the active stack (12). A magnetic field generator (18) is oriented so as to provide an oscillating magnetic field which penetrates the active stack (12).

Extraction of natural weight shift and foot rolling in gait based on hetero-core optical fiber load sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otsuka, Yudai; Koyama, Yuya; Nishiyama, Michiko; Watanabe, Kazuhiro

2016-03-01

Gait in daily activity affects human health because it may cause physical problems such as asymmetric pelvis, flat foot and bowlegs. Monitoring natural weight shift and foot rolling on plantar has been employed in order for researchers to analyze gait characteristics. Conventional gait monitoring systems have been developed using camera, acceleration sensor, gyro sensor and electrical load sensors. They have some problems such as limited measurement place, temperature dependence and electric leakage. On the other hand, a hetero-core optical fiber sensor has many advantages such as high sensitivity for macro-bending, light weight sensor element, independency on temperature fluctuations, and no electric contact. This paper describes extraction of natural weight shift and foot rolling for gait evaluation by using a sensitive shoe, in the insole of which hetero-core optical load sensors are embedded for detecting plantar pressure. Plantar pressure of three subjects who wear the sensitive shoe and walk on the treadmill was monitored. As a result, weight shift and foot rolling for three subjects were extracted using the proposed sensitive shoe in terms of centroid movement and positions. Additionally, these extracted data are compared to that of electric load sensor to ensure consistency. For these results, it was successfully demonstrated that hetero-core optical fiber load sensor performed in unconstraint gait monitoring as well as electric load sensor.

On the behavior of return stroke current and the remotely detected electric field change waveform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Xuan-Min; Lay, Erin; Jacobson, Abram R.

2012-04-01

After accumulating a large number of remotely recorded negative return stroke electric field change waveforms, a subtle but persistent kink was found following the main return stroke peak by several microseconds. To understand the corresponding return stroke current properties behind the kink and the general return stroke radiation waveform, we analyze strokes occurring in triggered lightning flashes for which have been measured both the channel base current and simultaneous remote electric radiation field. In this study, the channel base current is assumed to propagate along the return stroke channel in a dispersive and lossy manner. The measured channel base current is band-pass filtered, and the higher-frequency component is assumed to attenuate faster than the lower-frequency component. The radiation electric field is computed for such a current behavior and is then propagated to distant sensors. It is found that such a return stroke model is capable of very closely reproducing the measured electric waveforms at multiple stations for the triggered return strokes, and such a model is considered applicable to the common behavior of the natural return stroke as well. On the basis of the analysis, a number of other observables are derived. The time-evolving current dispersion and attenuation compare well with previously reported optical observations. The observable speed tends to agree with optical and VHF observations. Line charge density that is removed or deposited by the return stroke is derived, and the implication of the charge density distribution on leader channel decay is discussed.

Constellation of CubeSats for Realtime Ionospheric E-field Measurements for Global Space Weather

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crowley, G.; Swenson, C.; Pilinski, M.; Fish, C. S.; Neilsen, T. L.; Stromberg, E. M.; Azeem, I.; Barjatya, A.

2014-12-01

Inexpensive and robust space-weather monitoring instruments are needed to fill upcoming gaps in the Nation's ability to meet requirements for space weather specification and forecasting. Foremost among the needed data are electric fields, since they drive global ionospheric and thermospheric behavior, and because there are relatively few ground-based measurements. We envisage a constellation of CubeSats to provide global coverage of the electric field and its variability. The DICE (Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment) mission was a step towards this goal, with two identical 1.5U CubeSats, each carrying three space weather instruments: (1) double probe instruments to measure AC and DC electric fields; (2) Langmuir probes to measure ionospheric electron density, and; (3) a magnetometer to measure field-aligned currents. DICE launched in October 2011. DICE was the first CubeSat mission to observe a Storm Enhanced Density event, fulfilling a major goal of the mission. Due to attitude control anomalies encountered in orbit, the DICE electric field booms have not yet been deployed. Important lessons have been learned for the implementation of a spin-stabilized CubeSat, and the design and performance of the Attitude Determination & Control System (ADCS). These lessons are now being applied to the DIME SensorSat, a risk-reduction mission that is capable of deploying flexible electric field booms up to a distance of 10-m tip-to-tip from a 1.5U CubeSat. DIME will measure AC and DC electric fields, and will exceed several IORD-2 threshold requirements. Ion densities, and magnetic fields will also be measured to characterize the performance of the sensor in different plasma environments. We show the utility of a constellation of electric field measurements, describe the DIME SensorSat, and demonstrate how the measurement will meet or exceed IORD requirements. The reduced cost of these sensors will enable constellations that can, for the first time, adequately resolve the spatial and temporal variability in ionospheric electrodynamics. DICE and DIME are collaborations between ASTRA and Space Dynamics Lab/Utah State University.

Uncertainty in Steady-State Diagnostics of a Current-Pressure Transducer: How Confident are We in Diagnosing Faults

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-02

and off-nominal behav- ior of the I/ P transducer; however, sensor measurements are not fast enough to capture brief transient states that are in...nasa.gov 3 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA kai.goebel@nasa.gov ABSTRACT Current-Pressure (I/ P ) transducers are effective...transducers (I/ P transducer or IPT) are ef- fective pressure regulators that vary the output pressure de- pending on the supplied electrical current

Voltage- and current-activated metal-insulator transition in VO2-based electrical switches: a lifetime operation analysis.

PubMed

Crunteanu, Aurelian; Givernaud, Julien; Leroy, Jonathan; Mardivirin, David; Champeaux, Corinne; Orlianges, Jean-Christophe; Catherinot, Alain; Blondy, Pierre

2010-12-01

Vanadium dioxide is an intensively studied material that undergoes a temperature-induced metal-insulator phase transition accompanied by a large change in electrical resistivity. Electrical switches based on this material show promising properties in terms of speed and broadband operation. The exploration of the failure behavior and reliability of such devices is very important in view of their integration in practical electronic circuits. We performed systematic lifetime investigations of two-terminal switches based on the electrical activation of the metal-insulator transition in VO 2 thin films. The devices were integrated in coplanar microwave waveguides (CPWs) in series configuration. We detected the evolution of a 10 GHz microwave signal transmitted through the CPW, modulated by the activation of the VO 2 switches in both voltage- and current-controlled modes. We demonstrated enhanced lifetime operation of current-controlled VO 2 -based switching (more than 260 million cycles without failure) compared with the voltage-activated mode (breakdown at around 16 million activation cycles). The evolution of the electrical self-oscillations of a VO 2 -based switch induced in the current-operated mode is a subtle indicator of the material properties modification and can be used to monitor its behavior under various external stresses in sensor applications.

Simulation and optimization of silicon-on-sapphire pressure sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulesh, N. A.; Kudyukov, E. V.; Balymov, K. G.; Beloyshov, A. A.

2017-09-01

In this paper, finite element analysis software COMSOL Multiphysics was used to simulate the performance of silicon-on-sapphire piezoresistive pressure sensor, aiming to elaborate a flexible model suitable for further optimization and customization of the currently produced pressure sensors. The base model was built around the cylindrical pressure cell made of titanium alloy having a circular diaphragm with monocrystalline sapphire layer attached. The monocrystalline piezoresistive elements were placed on top of the double-layer diaphragm and electrically connected to form the Wheatstone bridge. Verification of the model and parametric study included three main areas: geometrical parameters of the cell, position of the elements on the diaphragm, and operation at elevated temperature. Optimization of the cell geometry included variation of bossed titanium diaphragm parameters as well as rounding-off radiuses near the edges of the diaphragm. Influence of the temperature was considered separately for thermal expansion of the mechanical components and for the changes of electrical and piezoresistive properties of the piezoresistive elements. In conclusion, the simulation results were compared to the experimental data obtained for three different constructions of the commercial pressure sensors produced by SPA of Automatics named after Academician N.A. Semikhatov.

Fiber Bragg grating temperature sensors in a 6.5-MW generator exciter bridge and the development and simulation of its thermal model.

PubMed

de Morais Sousa, Kleiton; Probst, Werner; Bortolotti, Fernando; Martelli, Cicero; da Silva, Jean Carlos Cardozo

2014-09-05

This work reports the thermal modeling and characterization of a thyristor. The thyristor is used in a 6.5-MW generator excitation bridge. Temperature measurements are performed using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. These sensors have the benefits of being totally passive and immune to electromagnetic interference and also multiplexed in a single fiber. The thyristor thermal model consists of a second order equivalent electric circuit, and its power losses lead to an increase in temperature, while the losses are calculated on the basis of the excitation current in the generator. Six multiplexed FBGs are used to measure temperature and are embedded to avoid the effect of the strain sensitivity. The presented results show a relationship between field current and temperature oscillation and prove that this current can be used to determine the thermal model of a thyristor. The thermal model simulation presents an error of 1.5 °C, while the FBG used allows for the determination of the thermal behavior and the field current dependence. Since the temperature is a function of the field current, the corresponding simulation can be used to estimate the temperature in the thyristors.

Fiber Bragg Grating Temperature Sensors in a 6.5-MW Generator Exciter Bridge and the Development and Simulation of Its Thermal Model

PubMed Central

de Morais Sousa, Kleiton; Probst, Werner; Bortolotti, Fernando; Martelli, Cicero; da Silva, Jean Carlos Cardozo

2014-01-01

This work reports the thermal modeling and characterization of a thyristor. The thyristor is used in a 6.5-MW generator excitation bridge. Temperature measurements are performed using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. These sensors have the benefits of being totally passive and immune to electromagnetic interference and also multiplexed in a single fiber. The thyristor thermal model consists of a second order equivalent electric circuit, and its power losses lead to an increase in temperature, while the losses are calculated on the basis of the excitation current in the generator. Six multiplexed FBGs are used to measure temperature and are embedded to avoid the effect of the strain sensitivity. The presented results show a relationship between field current and temperature oscillation and prove that this current can be used to determine the thermal model of a thyristor. The thermal model simulation presents an error of 1.5 °C, while the FBG used allows for the determination of the thermal behavior and the field current dependence. Since the temperature is a function of the field current, the corresponding simulation can be used to estimate the temperature in the thyristors. PMID:25198007

Calculations of flexibility module in measurements instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wróbel, A.; Płaczek, M.; Baier, A.

2017-08-01

Piezoelectricity has found a lot of applications since it were discovered in 1880 by Pierre and Jacques Curie. There are many applications of the direct piezoelectric effect - the production of an electric potential when stress is applied to the piezoelectric material, as well as the reverse piezoelectric effect - the production of strain when an electric field is applied. This work presents a mathematical model of a new model of vibration sensor. The principle of operation of currently used sensors is based on the idea: changes in thickness of the piezoelectric plates cause the vibration of the mechanical element, so-called “fork”. If the “forks” are not buried by the material deformation of the full tiles broadcasting is transmitted to receiver piezoelectric plate. As a result of vibration of receiver plates the cladding is formed on the potential difference proportional to the force. The value of this voltage is processed by an electronic circuit. In the case of backfilling “forks” the electric signal is lower. At the same time is not generated the potential for cladding tiles. Such construction have a lot of drawbacks, for example: need to use several piezoelectric plates, with the increase in number of components is increased failure of sensors, sensors have now produced two forks resonance, using these sensors in moist materials is often the case that the material remains between the forks and at the same time causes a measurement error. Mentioned disadvantages do not appear in the new proposed sensor design. The Galerkin method of the analysis of considered systems will be presented started from development of the mathematical model, to determine the graphs of flexibility and confirm two methods: exact and approximate. Analyzed beam is a part of the vibration level sensor and the results will be used to identify the electrical parameters of the generator. Designing of technical systems containing piezoelectric transducers is a complex process, due to the phenomena occurring in them. A correct description of the given device in the form of a mathematical model, already in its design phase, is a fundamental condition for its proper functioning. The presented analyzes may be used in the study of any mechanism by piezoelectric sensor, including for the steering column examination.

Sensor system for web inspection

DOEpatents

Sleefe, Gerard E.; Rudnick, Thomas J.; Novak, James L.

2002-01-01

A system for electrically measuring variations over a flexible web has a capacitive sensor including spaced electrically conductive, transmit and receive electrodes mounted on a flexible substrate. The sensor is held against a flexible web with sufficient force to deflect the path of the web, which moves relative to the sensor.

Thin membrane sensor with biochemical switch

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Worley, III, Jennings F. (Inventor); Case, George D. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A modular biosensor system for chemical or biological agent detection utilizes electrochemical measurement of an ion current across a gate membrane triggered by the reaction of the target agent with a recognition protein conjugated to a channel blocker. The sensor system includes a bioresponse simulator or biochemical switch module which contains the recognition protein-channel blocker conjugate, and in which the detection reactions occur, and a transducer module which contains a gate membrane and a measuring electrode, and in which the presence of agent is sensed electrically. In the poised state, ion channels in the gate membrane are blocked by the recognition protein-channel blocker conjugate. Detection reactions remove the recognition protein-channel blocker conjugate from the ion channels, thus eliciting an ion current surge in the gate membrane which subsequently triggers an output alarm. Sufficiently large currents are generated that simple direct current electronics are adequate for the measurements. The biosensor has applications for environmental, medical, and industrial use.

Residual stress evaluation by Barkhausen signals with a magnetic field sensor for high efficiency electrical motors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuchida, Yuji; Enokizono, Masato

2018-04-01

The iron loss of industrial motors increases by residual stress during manufacturing processes. It is very important to make clear the distribution of the residual stress in the motor cores to reduce the iron loss in the motors. Barkhausen signals which occur on electrical steel sheets can be used for the evaluation of the residual stress because they are very sensitive to the material properties. Generally, a B-sensor is used to measure Barkhausen signals, however, we developed a new H-sensor to measure them and applied it into the stress evaluation. It is supposed that the Barkhausen signals by using a H-sensor can be much effective to the residual stress on the electrical steel sheets by referring our results regarding to the stress evaluations. We evaluated the tensile stress of the electrical steel sheets by measuring Barkhausen signals by using our developed H-sensor for high efficiency electrical motors.

Ultra-sensitive Hall sensors based on graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dauber, Jan; Stampfer, Christoph; Peter Grünberg Institute

2015-05-11

The encapsulation of graphene in hexagonal boron nitride provides graphene on substrate with excellent material quality. Here, we present the fabrication and characterization of Hall sensor elements based on graphene boron nitride heterostructures, where we gain from high mobility and low charge carrier density at room temperature. We show a detailed device characterization including Hall effect measurements under vacuum and ambient conditions. We achieve a current- and voltage-related sensitivity of up to 5700 V/AT and 3 V/VT, respectively, outpacing state-of-the-art silicon and III/V Hall sensor devices. Finally, we extract a magnetic resolution limited by low frequency electric noise of less than 50more » nT/√(Hz) making our graphene sensors highly interesting for industrial applications.« less

In-vacuum sensors for the beamline components of the ITER neutral beam test facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dalla Palma, M., E-mail: mauro.dallapalma@igi.cnr.it; Pasqualotto, R.; Spagnolo, S.

2016-11-15

Embedded sensors have been designed for installation on the components of the MITICA beamline, the prototype ITER neutral beam injector (Megavolt ITER Injector and Concept Advancement), to derive characteristics of the particle beam and to monitor the component conditions during operation for protection and thermal control. Along the beamline, the components interacting with the particle beam are the neutralizer, the residual ion dump, and the calorimeter. The design and the positioning of sensors on each component have been developed considering the expected beam-surface interaction including non-ideal and off-normal conditions. The arrangement of the following instrumentation is presented: thermal sensors, strainmore » gages, electrostatic probes including secondary emission detectors, grounding shunt for electrical currents, and accelerometers.« less

Technology for low-cost PIR security sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liddiard, Kevin C.

2008-03-01

Current passive infrared (PIR) security sensors employing pyroelectric detectors are simple, cheap and reliable, but have several deficiencies. These sensors, developed two decades ago, are essentially short-range moving-target hotspot detectors. They cannot detect slow temperature changes, and thus are unable to respond to radiation stimuli indicating potential danger such as overheating electrical appliances and developing fires. They have a poor optical resolution and limited ability to recognize detected targets. Modern uncooled thermal infrared technology has vastly superior performance but as yet is too costly to challenge the PIR security sensor market. In this paper microbolometer technology will be discussed which can provide enhanced performance at acceptable cost. In addition to security sensing the technology has numerous applications in the military, industrial and domestic markets where target range is short and low cost is paramount.

Metallic Bead Detection by Using Eddy-Current Probe with SV-GMR Sensor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yamada, S.; Chomsuwan, K.; Hagino, T.

2005-04-09

The progress of the ECT probe with micro magnetic sensor becomes possible to apply to various applications. The detection of micro metallic bead used for electric packaging has been reported in this paper. We proposed micro ECT probes with meander coil as exciter and spin-valve giant magneto-resistance (SV-GMR) as receiver. Micro metallic bead(solder ball) with the diameter of 0.25 to 0.76 mm is used as a measuring object. We discuss the detection and alignment of metallic bead by using ECT technique.

Electroinduction disk sensor of electric field strength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biryukov, S. V.; Korolyova, M. A.

2018-01-01

Measurement of the level of electric fields exposure to the technical and biological objects for a long time is an urgent task. To solve this problem, the required electric field sensors with specified metrological characteristics. The aim of the study is the establishment of theoretical assumptions for the calculation of the flat electric field sensors. It is proved that the accuracy of the sensor does not exceed 3% in the spatial range 0

Inflammable Gas Mixture Detection with a Single Catalytic Sensor Based on the Electric Field Effect

PubMed Central

Tong, Ziyuan; Tong, Min-Ming; Meng, Wen; Li, Meng

2014-01-01

This paper introduces a new way to analyze mixtures of inflammable gases with a single catalytic sensor. The analysis technology was based on a new finding that an electric field on the catalytic sensor can change the output sensitivity of the sensor. The analysis of mixed inflammable gases results from processing the output signals obtained by adjusting the electric field parameter of the catalytic sensor. For the signal process, we designed a group of equations based on the heat balance of catalytic sensor expressing the relationship between the output signals and the concentration of gases. With these equations and the outputs of different electric fields, the gas concentration in a mixture could be calculated. In experiments, a mixture of methane, butane and ethane was analyzed by this new method, and the results showed that the concentration of each gas in the mixture could be detected with a single catalytic sensor, and the maximum relative error was less than 5%. PMID:24717635

Design of Edible Oil Degradation Tool by Using Electromagnetic Field Absorbtion Principle which was Characterized to Peroxide Number

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isnen, M.; Nasution, T. I.; Perangin-angin, B.

2016-08-01

The identification of changes in oil quality has been conducted by indicating the change of dielectric constant which was showed by sensor voltage. Sensor was formed from two parallel flats that worked by electromagnetic wave propagation principle. By measuring its amplitude of electromagnetic wave attenuation caused by interaction between edible oil samples and the sensor, dielectric constant could be identified and estimated as well as peroxide number. In this case, the parallel flats were connected to an electric oscillator 700 kHz. Furthermore, sensor system could showed measurable voltage differences for each different samples. The testing carried out to five oil samples after undergoing an oxidation treatment at fix temperature of 235oC for 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes. Iodometry method testing showed peroxide values about 1.99, 9.95, 5.96, 11.86, and 15.92 meq/kg respectively with rising trend. Besides that, the testing result by sensor system showed voltages values 1.139, 1.147, 1.165, 1.173, and 1.176 volts with rising trend, respectively. It means that the higher sensor voltages showed the higher damage rate of edible oil when the change in sensor voltage was caused by the change in oil dielectric constant in which heating process caused damage in edible oil molecules structure. The more damage of oil structure caused the more difficulties of oil molecules to polarize and it is indicated by smaller dielectric constant. Therefore electric current would be smaller when sensor voltage was higher. On the other side, the higher sensor voltage means the smaller dielectric constant and the higher peroxide number.

Single conducting polymer nanowire based conductometric sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bangar, Mangesh Ashok

The detection of toxic chemicals, gases or biological agents at very low concentrations with high sensitivity and selectivity has been subject of immense interest. Sensors employing electrical signal readout as transduction mechanism offer easy, label-free detection of target analyte in real-time. Traditional thin film sensors inherently suffered through loss of sensitivity due to current shunting across the charge depleted/added region upon analyte binding to the sensor surface, due to their large cross sectional area. This limitation was overcome by use of nanostructure such as nanowire/tube as transducer where current shunting during sensing was almost eliminated. Due to their benign chemical/electrochemical fabrication route along with excellent electrical properties and biocompatibility, conducting polymers offer cost-effective alternative over other nanostructures. Biggest obstacle in using these nanostructures is lack of easy, scalable and cost-effective way of assembling these nanostructures on prefabricated micropatterns for device fabrication. In this dissertation, three different approaches have been taken to fabricate individual or array of single conducting polymer (and metal) nanowire based devices and using polymer by itself or after functionalization with appropriate recognition molecule they have been applied for gas and biochemical detection. In the first approach electrochemical fabrication of multisegmented nanowires with middle functional Ppy segment along with ferromagnetic nickel (Ni) and end gold segments for better electrical contact was studied. This multi-layered nanowires were used along with ferromagnetic contact electrode for controlled magnetic assembly of nanowires into devices and were used for ammonia gas sensing. The second approach uses conducting polymer, polypyrrole (Ppy) nanowires using simple electrophoretic alignment and maskless electrodeposition to anchor nanowire which were further functionalized with antibodies against cancer marker protein (Cancer Antigen, CA 125) using covalent immobilization for detection of CA 125 in buffer and human blood plasma. Third approach combined electrochemical deposition of conducting polymer and assembly steps into a single step fabrication & functionalization using e-beam lithographically patterned nano-channels. Using this method array of Ppy nanowires were fabricated. Further during fabrication step, by entrapping recognition molecule (avidin) biofunctionalization was achieved. Subsequently these sensors were used for detection of biotinylated single stranded DNA.

Liquid on Paper: Rapid Prototyping of Soft Functional Components for Paper Electronics.

PubMed

Han, Yu Long; Liu, Hao; Ouyang, Cheng; Lu, Tian Jian; Xu, Feng

2015-07-01

This paper describes a novel approach to fabricate paper-based electric circuits consisting of a paper matrix embedded with three-dimensional (3D) microchannels and liquid metal. Leveraging the high electric conductivity and good flowability of liquid metal, and metallophobic property of paper, it is possible to keep electric and mechanical functionality of the electric circuit even after a thousand cycles of deformation. Embedding liquid metal into paper matrix is a promising method to rapidly fabricate low-cost, disposable, and soft electric circuits for electronics. As a demonstration, we designed a programmable displacement transducer and applied it as variable resistors and pressure sensors. The unique metallophobic property, combined with softness, low cost and light weight, makes paper an attractive alternative to other materials in which liquid metal are currently embedded.

An impedimetric chemical sensor for determination of detergents residues.

PubMed

Bratov, Andrey; Abramova, Natalia; Ipatov, Andrey; Merlos, Angel

2013-03-15

A new impedimetric sensor based on an interdigitated electrode array with electrode digits located at the bottom of microcapillaries formed in silicon dioxide is presented. Microcapillaries are opened at the top, so that in contact with an electrolyte solution the ac current flows close to the surface of the capillary wall from one electrode to another and is significantly affected by changes in the surface conductance at the SiO2/electrolyte interface. Adsorption of detergents on the sensor surface affects the charge distribution in the electrical double layer and thus the surface conductance. These changes are registered by measuring impedance. Effect of surface adsorption of ionic and non-ionic surfactants on the sensor impedance is studied. The sensor is shown to be able to measure commercial detergents residues in a tap water starting from 5 ppm even in solutions with high electrolyte conductivity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison between field mill and corona point instrumentation at Kennedy Space Center - Use of these data with a model to determine cloudbase electric fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markson, R.; Anderson, B.; Govaert, J.; Fairall, C. W.

1989-01-01

A novel coronal current-determining instrument is being used at NASA-KSC which overcomes previous difficulties with wind sensitivity and a voltage-threshold 'deadband'. The mounting of the corona needle at an elevated location reduces coronal and electrode layer space-charge influences on electric fields, rendering the measurement of space charge density possible. In conjunction with a space-charge compensation model, these features allow a more realistic estimation of cloud base electric fields and the potential for lightning strike than has previously been possible with ground-based sensors.

Suspended Gate Field Effect Transistor Modified with Polypyrrole as Alcohol Sensor.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-10-31

phase oc (if the interaction follows the Boltzman statistics ). The dipolar term in Eq. 4 changes with adsorption of species at the " surface of phase oc...at 20 - 45 ml min - I . The transitors were operated in a constant-current mode [5]. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION As expected the electrical

Field Emission Characteristics of Carbon Nanotubes and Their Applications in Sensors and Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaseashta, Ashok

2003-03-01

FIELD EMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF CARBON NANOTUBES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN SENSORS AND DEVICES A. Vaseashta, C. Shaffer, M. Collins, A. Mwuara Dept of Physics, Marshall University, Huntington, WV V. Pokropivny Institute for Materials Sciences of NASU, Kiev, Ukraine. D. Dimova-Malinovska Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria. The dimensionality of a system has profound influence on its physical behavior. With advances in technology over the past few decades, it has become possible to fabricate and study reduced-dimensional systems, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Carbon nanotubes are especially promising candidate for cold cathode field emitter because of their electrical properties, high aspect ratio, and small radius of curvature at the tips. Electron emission from the carbon nanotubes was investigated. Based upon the field emission investigation of carbon nanotubes, several prototype devices have been suggested that operate with low swing voltages with sufficient high current densities. Characteristics that allow improved current stability and long lifetime operation for electrical and opto-electronics devices are presented. The aim of this brief overview is to illustrate the useful characteristics of carbon nanotubes and its possible application.

High dynamic range electric field sensor for electromagnetic pulse detection.

PubMed

Lin, Che-Yun; Wang, Alan X; Lee, Beom Suk; Zhang, Xingyu; Chen, Ray T

2011-08-29

We design a high dynamic range electric field sensor based on domain inverted electro-optic (E-O) polymer Y-fed directional coupler for electromagnetic wave detection. This electrode-less, all optical, wideband electrical field sensor is fabricated using standard processing for E-O polymer photonic devices. Experimental results demonstrate effective detection of electric field from 16.7V/m to 750KV/m at a frequency of 1GHz, and spurious free measurement range of 70dB.

Vortex dynamics in superconducting transition edge sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ezaki, S.; Maehata, K.; Iyomoto, N.; Asano, T.; Shinozaki, B.

2018-02-01

The temperature dependence of the electrical resistance (R-T) and the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics has been measured and analyzed in a 40 nm thick Ti thin film, which is used as a transition edge sensor (TES). The analyses of the I-V characteristics with the vortex-antivortex pair dissociation model indicate the possible existence of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition in two-dimensional superconducting Ti thin films. We investigated the noise due to the vortices' flow in TESs. The values of the current noise spectral density in the TESs were estimated by employing the vortex dynamics caused by the BKT transition in the Ti thin films. The estimated values of the current noise spectral density induced by the vortices' flow were in respectable agreement with the values of excess noise experimentally observed in the TESs with Ti/Au bilayer.

A Fiber-Optic Current Sensor for Lightning Measurement Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Ely, Jay J.; Szatkowski, George N.

2015-01-01

An optical-fiber sensor based on Faraday Effect is developed for measuring total lightning electric current. It has many unique capabilities not possible with traditional current sensors. Designed for aircraft installation, the sensor is lightweight, non-conducting, structure-conforming, and is immune to electromagnetic interference, hysteresis and saturation. It can also be used on windmills, lightning towers, and can help validate lightning detection network measurements. Faraday Effect causes light polarization to rotate when the fiber is exposed to a magnetic field in the direction of light propagation. Thus, the magnetic field strength can be determined from the light polarization change. By forming closed fiber loops and applying Ampere's law, measuring the total light rotation yields the total current enclosed. The broadband, dual-detector, reflective polarimetric scheme allows measurement of both DC component and AC waveforms with about 60 dB dynamic range. Three sensor systems were built with different sensitivities from different laser wavelengths. Operating at 850nm, the first system uses twisted single-mode fiber and has a 150 A - 150 KA range. The second system operates at 1550nm, uses spun polarization maintaining fiber, and can measure 400 A - 400 KA. Both systems were validated with rocket-triggered lightning measurements and achieved excellent results when compared to a resistive shunt. The third system operates at 1310nm, uses spun polarization maintaining fiber, and can measure approximately 300 A - 300 KA. High current measurements up to 200 KA were demonstrated at a commercial lightning test facility. The system was recently installed on an aircraft and flown near icing weather conditions.

A fiber-optic current sensor for lightning measurement applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Ely, Jay J.; Szatkowski, George N.

2015-05-01

An optical-fiber sensor based on Faraday Effect is developed for measuring total lightning electric current. It has many unique capabilities not possible with traditional current sensors. Designed for aircraft installation, the sensor is lightweight, non-conducting, structure-conforming, and is immune to electromagnetic interference, hysteresis and saturation. It can also be used on windmills, lightning towers, and can help validate lightning detection network measurements. Faraday Effect causes light polarization to rotate when the fiber is exposed to a magnetic field in the direction of light propagation. Thus, the magnetic field strength can be determined from the light polarization change. By forming closed fiber loops and applying Ampere's law, measuring the total light rotation yields the total current enclosed. The broadband, dual-detector, reflective polarimetric scheme allows measurement of both DC component and AC waveforms with about 60 dB dynamic range. Three sensor systems were built with different sensitivities from different laser wavelengths. Operating at 850nm, the first system uses twisted single-mode fiber and has a 150 A - 150 KA range. The second system operates at 1550nm, uses spun polarization maintaining fiber, and can measure 400 A - 400 KA. Both systems were validated with rocket-triggered lightning measurements and achieved excellent results when compared to a resistive shunt. The third system operates at 1310nm, uses spun polarization maintaining fiber, and can measure approximately 300 A - 300 KA. High current measurements up to 200 KA were demonstrated at a commercial lightning test facility. The system was recently installed on an aircraft and flown near icing weather conditions.

An All Oxide-Based Imperceptible Thin-Film Transistor with Humidity Sensing Properties

PubMed Central

Kim, Kyung Su; Ahn, Cheol Hyoun; Kang, Won Jun; Cho, Sung Woon; Jung, Sung Hyeon; Yoon, Dae Ho; Cho, Hyung Koun

2017-01-01

We have examined the effects of oxygen content and thickness in sputtered InSnO (ITO) electrodes, especially for the application of imperceptible amorphous-InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) in humidity sensors. The imperceptible a-IGZO TFT with 50-nm ITO electrodes deposited at Ar:O2 = 29:0.3 exhibited good electrical performances with Vth of −0.23 V, SS of 0.34 V/dec, µFE of 7.86 cm2/V∙s, on/off ratio of 8.8 × 107, and has no degradation for bending stress up to a 3.5-mm curvature. The imperceptible oxide TFT sensors showed the highest sensitivity for the low and wide gate bias of −1~2 V under a wide range of relative humidity (40–90%) at drain voltage 1 V, resulting in low power consumption by the sensors. Exposure to water vapor led to a negative shift in the threshold voltage (or current enhancement), and an increase in relative humidity induced continuous threshold voltage shift. In particular, compared to conventional resistor-type sensors, the imperceptible oxide TFT sensors exhibited extremely high sensitivity from a current amplification of >103. PMID:28772888

An All Oxide-Based Imperceptible Thin-Film Transistor with Humidity Sensing Properties.

PubMed

Kim, Kyung Su; Ahn, Cheol Hyoun; Kang, Won Jun; Cho, Sung Woon; Jung, Sung Hyeon; Yoon, Dae Ho; Cho, Hyung Koun

2017-05-13

We have examined the effects of oxygen content and thickness in sputtered InSnO (ITO) electrodes, especially for the application of imperceptible amorphous-InGaZnO ( a -IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) in humidity sensors. The imperceptible a -IGZO TFT with 50-nm ITO electrodes deposited at Ar:O₂ = 29:0.3 exhibited good electrical performances with V th of -0.23 V, SS of 0.34 V/dec, µ FE of 7.86 cm²/V∙s, on/off ratio of 8.8 × 10⁷, and has no degradation for bending stress up to a 3.5-mm curvature. The imperceptible oxide TFT sensors showed the highest sensitivity for the low and wide gate bias of -1~2 V under a wide range of relative humidity (40-90%) at drain voltage 1 V, resulting in low power consumption by the sensors. Exposure to water vapor led to a negative shift in the threshold voltage (or current enhancement), and an increase in relative humidity induced continuous threshold voltage shift. In particular, compared to conventional resistor-type sensors, the imperceptible oxide TFT sensors exhibited extremely high sensitivity from a current amplification of >10³.

Power inverter with optical isolation

DOEpatents

Duncan, Paul G.; Schroeder, John Alan

2005-12-06

An optically isolated power electronic power conversion circuit that includes an input electrical power source, a heat pipe, a power electronic switch or plurality of interconnected power electronic switches, a mechanism for connecting the switch to the input power source, a mechanism for connecting comprising an interconnecting cable and/or bus bar or plurality of interconnecting cables and/or input bus bars, an optically isolated drive circuit connected to the switch, a heat sink assembly upon which the power electronic switch or switches is mounted, an output load, a mechanism for connecting the switch to the output load, the mechanism for connecting including an interconnecting cable and/or bus bar or plurality of interconnecting cables and/or output bus bars, at least one a fiber optic temperature sensor mounted on the heat sink assembly, at least one fiber optic current sensor mounted on the load interconnection cable and/or output bus bar, at least one fiber optic voltage sensor mounted on the load interconnection cable and/or output bus bar, at least one fiber optic current sensor mounted on the input power interconnection cable and/or input bus bar, and at least one fiber optic voltage sensor mounted on the input power interconnection cable and/or input bus bar.

Performance monitoring algorithm for optimizing electrical power generated by using photovoltaic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pradeep, M. V. K.; Balbir, S. M. S.; Norani, M. M.

2016-11-01

Demand for electricity in Malaysia has seen a substantial hike in light of the nation's rapid economic development. The current method of generating electricity is through the combustion of fossil fuels which has led to the detrimental effects on the environment besides causing social and economic outbreaks due to its highly volatile prices. Thus the need for a sustainable energy source is paramount and one that is quickly gaining acceptance is solar energy. However, due to the various environmental and geographical factors that affect the generation of solar electricity, the capability of solar electricity generating system (SEGS) is unable to compete with the high conversion efficiencies of conventional energy sources. In order to effectively monitor SEGS, this study is proposing a performance monitoring system that is capable of detecting drops in the system's performance for parallel networks through a diagnostic mechanism. The performance monitoring system consists of microcontroller connected to relevant sensors for data acquisition. The acquired data is transferred to a microcomputer for software based monitoring and analysis. In order to enhance the interception of sunlight by the SEGS, a sensor based sun tracking system is interfaced to the same controller to allow the PV to maneuver itself autonomously to an angle of maximum sunlight exposure.

Tactile Robotic Topographical Mapping Without Force or Contact Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, Kevin; Melko, Joseph; Krajewski, Joel; Cady, Ian

2008-01-01

A method of topographical mapping of a local solid surface within the range of motion of a robot arm is based on detection of contact between the surface and the end effector (the fixture or tool at the tip of the robot arm). The method was conceived to enable mapping of local terrain by an exploratory robot on a remote planet, without need to incorporate delicate contact switches, force sensors, a vision system, or other additional, costly hardware. The method could also be used on Earth for determining the size and shape of an unknown surface in the vicinity of a robot, perhaps in an unanticipated situation in which other means of mapping (e.g., stereoscopic imaging or laser scanning with triangulation) are not available. The method uses control software modified to utilize the inherent capability of the robotic control system to measure the joint positions, the rates of change of the joint positions, and the electrical current demanded by the robotic arm joint actuators. The system utilizes these coordinate data and the known robot-arm kinematics to compute the position and velocity of the end effector, move the end effector along a specified trajectory, place the end effector at a specified location, and measure the electrical currents in the joint actuators. Since the joint actuator current is approximately proportional to the actuator forces and torques, a sudden rise in joint current, combined with a slowing of the joint, is a possible indication of actuator stall and surface contact. Hence, even though the robotic arm is not equipped with contact sensors, it is possible to sense contact (albeit with reduced sensitivity) as the end effector becomes stalled against a surface that one seeks to measure.

Research and Experiments on a Unipolar Capacitive Voltage Sensor

PubMed Central

Zhou, Qiang; He, Wei; Li, Songnong; Hou, Xingzhe

2015-01-01

Voltage sensors are an important part of the electric system. In service, traditional voltage sensors need to directly contact a high-voltage charged body. Sensors involve a large volume, complex insulation structures, and high design costs. Typically an iron core structure is adopted. As a result, ferromagnetic resonance can occur easily during practical application. Moreover, owing to the multilevel capacitor divider, the sensor cannot reflect the changes of measured voltage in time. Based on the electric field coupling principle, this paper designs a new voltage sensor; the unipolar structure design solves many problems of traditional voltage sensors like the great insulation design difficulty and high costs caused by grounding electrodes. A differential signal input structure is adopted for the detection circuit, which effectively restrains the influence of the common-mode interference signal. Through sensor modeling, simulation and calculations, the structural design of the sensor electrode was optimized, miniaturization of the sensor was realized, the voltage division ratio of the sensor was enhanced, and the phase difference of sensor measurement was weakened. The voltage sensor is applied to a single-phase voltage class line of 10 kV for testing. According to the test results, the designed sensor is able to meet the requirements of accurate and real-time measurement for voltage of the charged conductor as well as to provide a new method for electricity larceny prevention and on-line monitoring of the power grid in an electric system. Therefore, it can satisfy the development demands of the smart power grid. PMID:26307992

Method and Apparatus for Characterizing Pressure Sensors using Modulated Light Beam Pressure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert C. (Inventor)

2003-01-01

Embodiments of apparatuses and methods are provided that use light sources instead of sound sources for characterizing and calibrating sensors for measuring small pressures to mitigate many of the problems with using sound sources. In one embodiment an apparatus has a light source for directing a beam of light on a sensing surface of a pressure sensor for exerting a force on the sensing surface. The pressure sensor generates an electrical signal indicative of the force exerted on the sensing surface. A modulator modulates the beam of light. A signal processor is electrically coupled to the pressure sensor for receiving the electrical signal.

Soil water sensor response to bulk electrical conductivity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil water monitoring using electromagnetic (EM) sensors can facilitate observations of water content at high temporal and spatial resolutions. These sensors measure soil dielectric permittivity (Ka) which is largely a function of volumetric water content. However, bulk electrical conductivity BEC c...

Magnetic Sensors Based on Amorphous Ferromagnetic Materials: A Review

PubMed Central

Morón, Carlos; Cabrera, Carolina; Morón, Alberto; García, Alfonso; González, Mercedes

2015-01-01

Currently there are many types of sensors that are used in lots of applications. Among these, magnetic sensors are a good alternative for the detection and measurement of different phenomena because they are a “simple” and readily available technology. For the construction of such devices there are many magnetic materials available, although amorphous ferromagnetic materials are the most suitable. The existence in the market of these materials allows the production of different kinds of sensors, without requiring expensive manufacture investments for the magnetic cores. Furthermore, these are not fragile materials that require special care, favouring the construction of solid and reliable devices. Another important feature is that these sensors can be developed without electric contact between the measuring device and the sensor, making them especially fit for use in harsh environments. In this review we will look at the main types of developed magnetic sensors. This work presents the state of the art of magnetic sensors based on amorphous ferromagnetic materials used in modern technology: security devices, weapon detection, magnetic maps, car industry, credit cards, etc. PMID:26569244

Magnetic Sensors Based on Amorphous Ferromagnetic Materials: A Review.

PubMed

Morón, Carlos; Cabrera, Carolina; Morón, Alberto; García, Alfonso; González, Mercedes

2015-11-11

Currently there are many types of sensors that are used in lots of applications. Among these, magnetic sensors are a good alternative for the detection and measurement of different phenomena because they are a "simple" and readily available technology. For the construction of such devices there are many magnetic materials available, although amorphous ferromagnetic materials are the most suitable. The existence in the market of these materials allows the production of different kinds of sensors, without requiring expensive manufacture investments for the magnetic cores. Furthermore, these are not fragile materials that require special care, favouring the construction of solid and reliable devices. Another important feature is that these sensors can be developed without electric contact between the measuring device and the sensor, making them especially fit for use in harsh environments. In this review we will look at the main types of developed magnetic sensors. This work presents the state of the art of magnetic sensors based on amorphous ferromagnetic materials used in modern technology: security devices, weapon detection, magnetic maps, car industry, credit cards, etc.

Piezoelectric microelectromechanical resonant sensors for chemical and biological detection.

PubMed

Pang, Wei; Zhao, Hongyuan; Kim, Eun Sok; Zhang, Hao; Yu, Hongyu; Hu, Xiaotang

2012-01-07

Piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) resonant sensors, known for their excellent mass resolution, have been studied for many applications, including DNA hybridization, protein-ligand interactions, and immunosensor development. They have also been explored for detecting antigens, organic gas, toxic ions, and explosives. Most piezoelectric MEMS resonant sensors are acoustic sensors (with specific coating layers) that enable selective and label-free detection of biological events in real time. These label-free technologies have recently garnered significant attention for their sensitive and quantitative multi-parameter analysis of biological systems. Since piezoelectric MEMS resonant sensors do more than transform analyte mass or thickness into an electrical signal (e.g., frequency and impedance), special attention must be paid to their potential beyond microweighing, such as measuring elastic and viscous properties, and several types of sensors currently under development operate at different resonant modes (i.e., thickness extensional mode, thickness shear mode, lateral extensional mode, flexural mode, etc.). In this review, we provide an overview of recent developments in micromachined resonant sensors and activities relating to biochemical interfaces for acoustic sensors.

High temperature sensor

DOEpatents

Tokarz, Richard D.

1982-01-01

A high temperature sensor includes a pair of electrical conductors separated by a mass of electrical insulating material. The insulating material has a measurable resistivity within the sensor that changes in relation to the temperature of the insulating material within a high temperature range (1,000 to 2,000 K.). When required, the sensor can be encased within a ceramic protective coating.

SansEC Sensing Technology - A New Tool for Designing Space Systems and Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E.

2011-01-01

This paper presents concepts for using the NASA developed SansEC sensing technology for reconfiguring/modifying many space subsystems to add to their original function the ability to be sensors/sensor arrays without the addition of the electrical circuitry typically used for sensors. Each sensor is a self-resonating planar pattern of electrically conductive material that is an open-circuit single component without electrical connections. The sensors are wirelessly powered using external oscillating magnetic fields and when electrically excited respond with their own magnetic fields whose frequency, amplitude and bandwidth can be correlated with the magnitude of multiple unrelated physical quantities. These sensors have been demonstrated for numerous measurements required for spacecraft and inflatable/expandable structures. SansEC sensors are damage resilient and simple to fabricate. Thin films of conductive material can be used to create sensor arrays that function as sensing skins. Each sensor on the skin can be tailored for a science or engineering measurement. Additionally, each sensor has an inherent damage detection capability. These sensing skins can be used to redesign inflatable habitat multi-layer insulation to provide additional functions of environmental measurement and micrometeorite/orbital debris damage detections. The sensing skins can be deposited on planetary exploratory vehicles to increase the number of measurements with negligible weight increase.

Backside illuminated CMOS-TDI line scan sensor for space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Omer; Ofer, Oren; Abramovich, Gil; Ben-Ari, Nimrod; Gershon, Gal; Brumer, Maya; Shay, Adi; Shamay, Yaron

2018-05-01

A multi-spectral backside illuminated Time Delayed Integration Radiation Hardened line scan sensor utilizing CMOS technology was designed for continuous scanning Low Earth Orbit small satellite applications. The sensor comprises a single silicon chip with 4 independent arrays of pixels where each array is arranged in 2600 columns with 64 TDI levels. A multispectral optical filter whose spectral responses per array are adjustable per system requirement is assembled at the package level. A custom 4T Pixel design provides the required readout speed, low-noise, very low dark current, and high conversion gains. A 2-phase internally controlled exposure mechanism improves the sensor's dynamic MTF. The sensor high level of integration includes on-chip 12 bit per pixel analog to digital converters, on-chip controller, and CMOS compatible voltage levels. Thus, the power consumption and the weight of the supporting electronics are reduced, and a simple electrical interface is provided. An adjustable gain provides a Full Well Capacity ranging from 150,000 electrons up to 500,000 electrons per column and an overall readout noise per column of less than 120 electrons. The imager supports line rates ranging from 50 to 10,000 lines/sec, with power consumption of less than 0.5W per array. Thus, the sensor is characterized by a high pixel rate, a high dynamic range and a very low power. To meet a Latch-up free requirement RadHard architecture and design rules were utilized. In this paper recent electrical and electro-optical measurements of the sensor's Flight Models will be presented for the first time.

Integration of OLEDs in biomedical sensor systems: design and feasibility analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Pratyush; Kumar, Prashanth S.; Varadan, Vijay K.

2010-04-01

Organic (electronic) Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) have been shown to have applications in the field of lighting and flexible display. These devices can also be incorporated in sensors as light source for imaging/fluorescence sensing for miniaturized systems for biomedical applications and low-cost displays for sensor output. The current device capability aligns well with the aforementioned applications as low power diffuse lighting and momentary/push button dynamic display. A top emission OLED design has been proposed that can be incorporated with the sensor and peripheral electrical circuitry, also based on organic electronics. Feasibility analysis is carried out for an integrated optical imaging/sensor system, based on luminosity and spectrum band width. A similar study is also carried out for sensor output display system that functions as a pseudo active OLED matrix. A power model is presented for device power requirements and constraints. The feasibility analysis is also supplemented with the discussion about implementation of ink-jet printing and stamping techniques for possibility of roll to roll manufacturing.

What we can learn from measurements of air electric conductivity in 222Rn-rich atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seran, E.; Godefroy, M.; Pili, E.; Michielsen, N.; Bondiguel, S.

2017-02-01

Electric conductivity of air is an important characteristic of the electric properties of an atmosphere. Testing instruments to measure electric conductivity ranging from 10-13 to 10-9 S m-1 in natural conditions found in the Earth atmosphere is not an easy task. One possibility is to use stratospheric balloon flights; another (and a simpler one) is to look for terrestrial environments with significant radioactive decay. In this paper we present measurements carried out with different types of conductivity sensors in two 222Rn-rich environments, i.e., in the Roselend underground tunnel (French Alps) and in the Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety BACCARA (BAnC de CAllibrage du RAdon) chamber. The concept of the conductivity sensor is based on the classical time relaxation method. New elements in our design include isolation of the sensor sensitive part (electrode) from the external electric field and sensor miniaturization. This greatly extends the application domain of the sensor and permits to measure air electric conductivity when the external electric field is high and varies from few tens of V m-1 to up to few tens of kV m-1. This is suitable to propose the instrument for a planetary mission. Two-fold objectives were attained as the outcome of these tests and their analysis. First was directly related to the performances of the conductivity sensors and the efficiency of the conductivity sensor design to shield the external electric field. Second objective aimed at understanding the decay mechanisms of 222Rn and its progeny in atmosphere and the impact of the enclosed space on the efficiency of gas ionization.

Pulsed eddy current differential probe to detect the defects in a stainless steel pipe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angani, C. S.; Park, D. G.; Kim, C. G.; Leela, P.; Kishore, M.; Cheong, Y. M.

2011-04-01

Pulsed eddy current (PEC) is an electromagnetic nondestructive technique widely used to detect and quantify the flaws in conducting materials. In the present study a differential Hall-sensor probe which is used in the PEC system has been fabricated for the detection of defects in stainless steel pipelines. The differential probe has an exciting coil with two Hall-sensors. A stainless steel test sample with electrical discharge machining (EDM) notches under different depths of 1-5 mm was made and the sample was laminated by plastic insulation having uniform thickness to simulate the pipelines in nuclear power plants (NPPs). The driving coil in the probe is excited by a rectangular current pulse and the resultant response, which is the difference of the two Hall-sensors, has been detected as the PEC probe signal. The discriminating time domain features of the detected pulse such as peak value and time to zero are used to interpret the experimental results with the defects in the test sample. A feature extraction technique such as spectral power density has been devised to infer the PEC response.

Domain IV voltage-sensor movement is both sufficient and rate limiting for fast inactivation in sodium channels.

PubMed

Capes, Deborah L; Goldschen-Ohm, Marcel P; Arcisio-Miranda, Manoel; Bezanilla, Francisco; Chanda, Baron

2013-08-01

Voltage-gated sodium channels are critical for the generation and propagation of electrical signals in most excitable cells. Activation of Na(+) channels initiates an action potential, and fast inactivation facilitates repolarization of the membrane by the outward K(+) current. Fast inactivation is also the main determinant of the refractory period between successive electrical impulses. Although the voltage sensor of domain IV (DIV) has been implicated in fast inactivation, it remains unclear whether the activation of DIV alone is sufficient for fast inactivation to occur. Here, we functionally neutralize each specific voltage sensor by mutating several critical arginines in the S4 segment to glutamines. We assess the individual role of each voltage-sensing domain in the voltage dependence and kinetics of fast inactivation upon its specific inhibition. We show that movement of the DIV voltage sensor is the rate-limiting step for both development and recovery from fast inactivation. Our data suggest that activation of the DIV voltage sensor alone is sufficient for fast inactivation to occur, and that activation of DIV before channel opening is the molecular mechanism for closed-state inactivation. We propose a kinetic model of sodium channel gating that can account for our major findings over a wide voltage range by postulating that DIV movement is both necessary and sufficient for fast inactivation.

A system for respiratory motion detection using optical fibers embedded into textiles.

PubMed

D'Angelo, L T; Weber, S; Honda, Y; Thiel, T; Narbonneau, F; Luth, T C

2008-01-01

In this contribution, a first prototype for mobile respiratory motion detection using optical fibers embedded into textiles is presented. The developed system consists of a T-shirt with an integrated fiber sensor and a portable monitoring unit with a wireless communication link enabling the data analysis and visualization on a PC. A great effort is done worldwide to develop mobile solutions for health monitoring of vital signs for patients needing continuous medical care. Wearable, comfortable and smart textiles incorporating sensors are good approaches to solve this problem. In most of the cases, electrical sensors are integrated, showing significant limits such as for the monitoring of anaesthetized patients during Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). OFSETH (Optical Fibre Embedded into technical Textile for Healthcare) uses optical sensor technologies to extend the current capabilities of medical technical textiles.

Electro-Optic Lightning Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koshak, William J.; Solakiewica, R. J.

1998-01-01

Electric field measurements are fundamental to the study of thunderstorm electrification, thundercloud charge structure, and the determination of the locations and magnitudes of charges deposited by lightning. Continuous field observations can also be used to warn of impending electrical hazards. For example, the USAF Eastern Range (ER) and NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida currently operate a ground-based network of electric field mill sensors to warn against lightning hazards to space vehicle operations/launches. The sensors provide continuous recordings of the ambient field. Others investigators have employed flat-plate electric field antennas to detect changes In the ambient field due to lightning. In each approach, electronic circuitry is used to directly detect and amplify the effects of the ambient field on an exposed metal conductor (antenna plate); in the case of continuous field recordings, the antenna plate is alternately shielded and unshielded by a grounded conductor. In this work effort, an alternate optical method for detecting lightning-caused electric field changes is Introduced. The primary component in the detector is an anisotropic electro-optic crystal of potassium di-hydrogen phosphate (chemically written as KH2PO4 (KDP)). When a voltage Is placed across the electro-optic crystal, the refractive Indices of the crystal change. This change alters the polarization state of a laser light beam that is passed down the crystal optic axis. With suitable application of vertical and horizontal polarizers, a light transmission measurement is related to the applied crystal voltage (which in turn Is related to the lightning caused electric field change). During the past two years, all critical optical components were procured, assembled, and aligned. An optical housing, calibration set-up, and data acquisition system was integrated for breadboard testing. The sensor was deployed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in the summer of 1998 to collect storm data. Because solid-state technology is used, future designs of the sensor will be significantly scaled down In physical dimension and weight compared to the present optical breadboard prototype. The use of fiber optics would also provide significant practical improvements.

Global Electric Circuit Implications of Total Current Measurements over Electrified Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mach, Douglas M.; Blakeslee, Richard J.; Bateman, Monte G.

2009-01-01

We determined total conduction (Wilson) currents and flash rates for 850 overflights of electrified clouds spanning regions including the Southeastern United States, the Western Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America and adjacent oceans, Central Brazil, and the South Pacific. The overflights include storms over land and ocean, with and without lightning, and with positive and negative Wilson currents. We combined these individual storm overflight statistics with global diurnal lightning variation data from the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) and Optical Transient Detector (OTD) to estimate the thunderstorm and electrified shower cloud contributions to the diurnal variation in the global electric circuit. The contributions to the global electric circuit from lightning producing clouds are estimated by taking the mean current per flash derived from the overflight data for land and ocean overflights and combining it with the global lightning rates (for land and ocean) and their diurnal variation derived from the LIS/OTD data. We estimate the contribution of non-lightning producing electrified clouds by assuming several different diurnal variations and total non-electrified storm counts to produce estimates of the total storm currents (lightning and non-lightning producing storms). The storm counts and diurnal variations are constrained so that the resultant total current diurnal variation equals the diurnal variation in the fair weather electric field (+/-15%). These assumptions, combined with the airborne and satellite data, suggest that the total mean current in the global electric circuit ranges from 2.0 to 2.7 kA, which is greater than estimates made by others using other methods.

A Safe, Self-Calibrating, Wireless System for Measuring Volume of Any Fuel at Non-Horizontal Orientation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodward, Stanley E.; Taylor, Bryant D.

2010-01-01

A system for wirelessly measuring the volume of fluid in tanks at non-horizontal orientation is predicated upon two technologies developed at Langley Research Center. The first is a magnetic field response recorder that powers and interrogates magnetic field response sensors [ Magnetic Field Response Measurement Acquisition System, (LAR-16908), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 30, No. 6 (June 2006), page 28]. Magnetic field response sensors are a class of sensors that are powered via oscillating magnetic fields and when electrically active respond with their own magnetic fields whose attributes are dependent upon the magnitude of the physical quantity being measured. The response recorder facilitates the use of the second technology, which is a magnetic field response fluid-level sensor ["Wireless Fluid- Level Sensors for Harsh Environments," (LAR-17155), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 33, No. 4 (April 2009), page 30]. The method for powering and interrogating the sensors allows them to be completely encased in materials (Fig. 1) that are chemically resilient to the fluid being measured, thereby facilitating measurement of substances (e.g., acids, petroleum, cryogenic, caustic, and the like) that would normally destroy electronic circuitry. When the sensors are encapsulated, no fluid (or fluid vapor) is exposed to any electrical component of the measurement system. There is no direct electrical line from the vehicle or plant power into a fuel container. The means of interrogating and powering the sensors can be completely physically and electrically isolated from the fuel and vapors by placing the sensor on the other side of an electrically non-conductive bulkhead (Fig. 2). These features prevent the interrogation system and its electrical components from becoming an ignition source.

Study and Control of Various Corona Modes in an Atmospheric Pressure Weakly Ionized Plasma Reactor Using a Current Sensor Characterized by a Broad Frequency Band

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islam, Rokibul; Pedrow, Patrick; Lekobou, William; Englund, Karl

2013-09-01

A broad band current sensor is being used to monitor the various phenomena (primary streamers, secondary streamers, back corona, etc.) associated with an atmospheric pressure needle-array-to-grounded-screen corona discharge. The reactor consists of a PVC tube and the needle array consists of nickel coated steel electrodes with radius of curvature about 50 μ . The grounded screen is made from stainless steel mesh and applied voltage has a frequency of 60 Hz with an RMS value ranging from 0 to 10 kV. The voltage sensor is a resistive divider and the current sensor is a viewing resistor with value 50 Ω. The feed gas stream is presently (argon + acetylene) or (argon + oxygen) with the argon acting as carrier gas and the acetylene and oxygen acting as precursor gases. Voltage and current are captured with a LeCroy 9350AL 500MHz oscilloscope and analyzed with Matlab using digital signal processing algorithms. The goals of the research are 1) to measure reactor electrical power on a real time basis; 2) to provide real time control of the applied voltage and thus avoid spark conditions; and 3) to identify the various corona modes present in the reactor. Processing of substrates takes place downstream from the grounded screen, outside of the harsh corona discharge environment.

Continuous and embedded solutions for SHM of concrete structures using changing electrical potential in self-sensing cement-based composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Downey, Austin; Garcia-Macias, Enrique; D'Alessandro, Antonella; Laflamme, Simon; Castro-Triguero, Rafael; Ubertini, Filippo

2017-04-01

Interest in the concept of self-sensing structural materials has grown in recent years due to its potential to enable continuous low-cost monitoring of next-generation smart-structures. The development of cement-based smart sensors appears particularly well suited for monitoring applications due to their numerous possible field applications, their ease of use and long-term stability. Additionally, cement-based sensors offer a unique opportunity for structural health monitoring of civil structures because of their compatibility with new or existing infrastructure. Particularly, the addition of conductive carbon nanofillers into a cementitious matrix provides a self-sensing structural material with piezoresistive characteristics sensitive to deformations. The strain-sensing ability is achieved by correlating the external loads with the variation of specific electrical parameters, such as the electrical resistance or impedance. Selection of the correct electrical parameter for measurement to correlate with features of interest is required for the condition assessment task. In this paper, we investigate the potential of using altering electrical potential in cement-based materials doped with carbon nanotubes to measure strain and detect damage in concrete structures. Experimental validation is conducted on small-scale specimens including a steel-reinforced beam of conductive cement paste. Comparisons are made with constant electrical potential and current methods commonly found in the literature. Experimental results demonstrate the ability of the changing electrical potential at detecting features important for assessing the condition of a structure.

Global Electric Circuit Implications of Combined Aircraft Storm Electric Current Measurements and Satellite-Based Diurnal Lightning Statistics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mach, Douglas M.; Blakeslee, Richard J.; Bateman, Monte G.

2011-01-01

Using rotating vane electric field mills and Gerdien capacitors, we measured the electric field profile and conductivity during 850 overflights of thunderstorms and electrified shower clouds (ESCs) spanning regions including the Southeastern United States, the Western Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America and adjacent oceans, Central Brazil, and the South Pacific. The overflights include storms over land and ocean, and with positive and negative fields above the storms. Over three-quarters (78%) of the land storms had detectable lightning, while less than half (43%) of the oceanic storms had lightning. Integrating our electric field and conductivity data, we determined total conduction currents and flash rates for each overpass. With knowledge of the storm location (land or ocean) and type (with or without lightning), we determine the mean currents by location and type. The mean current for ocean thunderstorms is 1.7 A while the mean current for land thunderstorms is 1.0 A. The mean current for ocean ESCs 0.41 A and the mean current for land ESCs is 0.13 A. We did not find any significant regional or latitudinal based patterns in our total conduction currents. By combining the aircraft derived storm currents and flash rates with diurnal flash rate statistics derived from the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) and Optical Transient Detector (OTD) low Earth orbiting satellites, we reproduce the diurnal variation in the global electric circuit (i.e., the Carnegie curve) to within 4% for all but two short periods of time. The agreement with the Carnegie curve was obtained without any tuning or adjustment of the satellite or aircraft data. Given our data and assumptions, mean contributions to the global electric circuit are 1.1 kA (land) and 0.7 kA (ocean) from thunderstorms, and 0.22 kA (ocean) and 0.04 (land) from ESCs, resulting in a mean total conduction current estimate for the global electric circuit of 2.0 kA. Mean storm counts are 1100 for land thunderstorms, 530 for ocean ESCs, 390 for ocean thunderstorms, and 330 for land ESCs.

C/NOFS Measurements of Magnetic Perturbations in the Low-Latitude Ionosphere During Magnetic Storms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Le, Guan; Burke, William J.; Pfaff, Robert F.; Freudenreich, Henry; Maus, Stefan; Luhr, Hermann

2011-01-01

The Vector Electric Field Investigation suite on the C/NOFS satellite includes a fluxgate magnetometer to monitor the Earth s magnetic fields in the low-latitude ionosphere. Measurements yield full magnetic vectors every second over the range of +/-45,000 nT with a one-bit resolution of 1.37 nT (16 bit A/D) in each component. The sensor s primary responsibility is to support calculations of both V x B and E x B with greater accuracy than can be obtained using standard magnetic field models. The data also contain information about large-scale current systems that, when analyzed in conjunction with electric field measurements, promise to significantly expand understanding of equatorial electrodynamics. We first compare in situ measurements with the POMME (Potsdam Magnetic Model of the Earth) model to establish in-flight sensor "calibrations" and to compute magnetic residuals. At low latitudes the residuals are predominately products of the storm time ring current. Since C/NOFS provides a complete coverage of all local times every 97 min, magnetic field data allow studies of the temporal evolution and local time variations of storm time ring current. The analysis demonstrates the feasibility of using instrumented spacecraft in low-inclination orbits to extract a timely proxy for the provisional Dst index and to specify the ring current s evolution.

Wireless Temperature Sensor Having No Electrical Connections and Sensing Method for Use Therewith

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Marie (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A wireless temperature sensor includes an electrical conductor and a dielectric material on the conductor. The conductor is electrically unconnected and is shaped for storage of an electric field and a magnetic field. In the presence of a time-varying magnetic field, the conductor resonates to generate harmonic electric and magnetic field responses, each of which has a frequency associated therewith. The material is selected such that it experiences changes in either dielectric or magnetic permeability attributes in the presence of a temperature change. Shifts from the sensor's baseline frequency response indicate that the material has experienced a temperature change.

High-temperature sensor

DOEpatents

Not Available

1981-01-29

A high temperature sensor is described which includes a pair of electrical conductors separated by a mass of electrical insulating material. The insulating material has a measurable resistivity within the sensor that changes in relation to the temperature of the insulating material within a high temperature range (1000 to 2000/sup 0/K). When required, the sensor can be encased within a ceramic protective coating.

Measuring Thicknesses of Wastewater Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schubert, F. H.; Davenport, R. J.

1987-01-01

Sensor determines when thickness of film of electrically conductive wastewater on rotating evaporator drum exceeds preset value. Sensor simple electrical probe that makes contact with liquid surface. Made of materials resistant to chemicals in liquid. Mounted on shaft in rotating cylinder, liquid-thickness sensor extends toward cylinder wall so tip almost touches. Sensor body accommodates probe measuring temperature of evaporated water in cylinder.

Fluidic Active Transducer for Electricity Generation

PubMed Central

Yang, YoungJun; Park, Junwoo; Kwon, Soon-Hyung; Kim, Youn Sang

2015-01-01

Flows in small size channels have been studied for a long time over multidisciplinary field such as chemistry, biology and medical through the various topics. Recently, the attempts of electricity generation from the small flows as a new area for energy harvesting in microfluidics have been reported. Here, we propose for the first time a new fluidic electricity generator (FEG) by modulating the electric double layer (EDL) with two phase flows of water and air without external power sources. We find that an electric current flowed by the forming/deforming of the EDL with a simple separated phase flow of water and air at the surface of the FEG. Electric signals between two electrodes of the FEG are checked from various water/air passing conditions. Moreover, we verify the possibility of a self-powered air slug sensor by applying the FEG in the detection of an air slug. PMID:26511626

Apparatus and method for magnetically unloading a rotor bearing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sanders, Seth Robert

An apparatus and method for unloading a rotor bearing is described. The apparatus includes an electromagnet for levitating the rotor. In one embodiment, a sensor of the magnetic field near the electromagnet is used to control the current to levitate the rotor. In another embodiment, a method is provided that includes rotating the rotor, increasing the current to levitate the rotor and decrease the gap between electromagnet and rotor, and then reducing the current to levitate the rotor with a minimal amount of electric power to the electromagnet.

Automated hardwood lumber grading utilizing a multiple sensor machine vision technology

Treesearch

D. Earl Kline; Chris Surak; Philip A. Araman

2003-01-01

Over the last 10 years, scientists at the Thomas M. Brooks Forest Products Center, the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the USDA Forest Service have been working on lumber scanning systems that can accurately locate and identify defects in hardwood lumber. Current R&D efforts are targeted toward developing automated lumber grading...

Stochastic sensing through covalent interactions

DOEpatents

Bayley, Hagan; Shin, Seong-Ho; Luchian, Tudor; Cheley, Stephen

2013-03-26

A system and method for stochastic sensing in which the analyte covalently bonds to the sensor element or an adaptor element. If such bonding is irreversible, the bond may be broken by a chemical reagent. The sensor element may be a protein, such as the engineered P.sub.SH type or .alpha.HL protein pore. The analyte may be any reactive analyte, including chemical weapons, environmental toxins and pharmaceuticals. The analyte covalently bonds to the sensor element to produce a detectable signal. Possible signals include change in electrical current, change in force, and change in fluorescence. Detection of the signal allows identification of the analyte and determination of its concentration in a sample solution. Multiple analytes present in the same solution may be detected.

A curved edge diffraction-utilized displacement sensor for spindle metrology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, ChaBum, E-mail: clee@tntech.edu; Zhao, Rui; Jeon, Seongkyul

This paper presents a new dimensional metrological sensing principle for a curved surface based on curved edge diffraction. Spindle error measurement technology utilizes a cylindrical or spherical target artifact attached to the spindle with non-contact sensors, typically a capacitive sensor (CS) or an eddy current sensor, pointed at the artifact. However, these sensors are designed for flat surface measurement. Therefore, measuring a target with a curved surface causes error. This is due to electric fields behaving differently between a flat and curved surface than between two flat surfaces. In this study, a laser is positioned incident to the cylindrical surfacemore » of the spindle, and a photodetector collects the total field produced by the diffraction around the target surface. The proposed sensor was compared with a CS within a range of 500 μm. The discrepancy between the proposed sensor and CS was 0.017% of the full range. Its sensing performance showed a resolution of 14 nm and a drift of less than 10 nm for 7 min of operation. This sensor was also used to measure dynamic characteristics of the spindle system (natural frequency 181.8 Hz, damping ratio 0.042) and spindle runout (22.0 μm at 2000 rpm). The combined standard uncertainty was estimated as 85.9 nm under current experiment conditions. It is anticipated that this measurement technique allows for in situ health monitoring of a precision spindle system in an accurate, convenient, and low cost manner.« less

Liquid on Paper: Rapid Prototyping of Soft Functional Components for Paper Electronics

PubMed Central

Long Han, Yu; Liu, Hao; Ouyang, Cheng; Jian Lu, Tian; Xu, Feng

2015-01-01

This paper describes a novel approach to fabricate paper-based electric circuits consisting of a paper matrix embedded with three-dimensional (3D) microchannels and liquid metal. Leveraging the high electric conductivity and good flowability of liquid metal, and metallophobic property of paper, it is possible to keep electric and mechanical functionality of the electric circuit even after a thousand cycles of deformation. Embedding liquid metal into paper matrix is a promising method to rapidly fabricate low-cost, disposable, and soft electric circuits for electronics. As a demonstration, we designed a programmable displacement transducer and applied it as variable resistors and pressure sensors. The unique metallophobic property, combined with softness, low cost and light weight, makes paper an attractive alternative to other materials in which liquid metal are currently embedded. PMID:26129723

Multi-functional properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Felix, A. A.; Rupp, J. L. M.; Varela, J. A.; Orlandi, M. O.

2012-09-01

In this work, electric transport properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) thin films were investigated for resistive switching, rectifying and gas sensor applications. Single phase CCTO thin films were produced by polymeric precursor method (PPM) on different substrates and their electrical properties were studied. Films produced on LNO/Si substrates have symmetrical non-ohmic current-voltage characteristics, while films deposited on Pt/Si substrates have a highly asymmetrical non-ohmic behavior which is related to a metal-semiconductor junction formed at the CCTO/Pt interface. In addition, results confirm that CCTO has a resistive switching response which is enhanced by Schottky contacts. Sensor response tests revealed that CCTO films are sensitive to oxygen gas and exhibit n-type conductivity. These results demonstrate the versatility of CCTO thin film prepared by the PPM method for gas atmosphere or bias dependent resistance applications.

Chemical detection demonstrated using an evanescent wave graphene optical sensor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maliakal, Ashok; Reith, Leslie; Cabot, Steve

Graphene devices have been constructed on silicon mirrors, and the graphene is optically probed through an evanescent wave interaction in an attenuated total reflectance configuration using an infrared spectrometer. The graphene is electrically biased in order to tune its optical properties. Exposure of the device to the chemicals iodine and ammonia causes observable and reversible changes to graphene's optical absorption spectra in the mid to near infrared range which can be utilized for the purpose of sensing. Electrical current measurements through the graphene are made simultaneously with optical measurements allowing for simultaneous sensing using two separate detection modalities. Our currentmore » results reveal sub-ppm detection limits for iodine and approximately 100 ppm detection limits for ammonia. We have also demonstrated that this approach will work at 1.55 μm, which opens up the possibility for graphene optical sensors that leverage commercial telecom light sources.« less

Sensoring fusion data from the optic and acoustic emissions of electric arcs in the GMAW-S process for welding quality assessment.

PubMed

Alfaro, Sadek Crisóstomo Absi; Cayo, Eber Huanca

2012-01-01

The present study shows the relationship between welding quality and optical-acoustic emissions from electric arcs, during welding runs, in the GMAW-S process. Bead on plate welding tests was carried out with pre-set parameters chosen from manufacturing standards. During the welding runs interferences were induced on the welding path using paint, grease or gas faults. In each welding run arc voltage, welding current, infrared and acoustic emission values were acquired and parameters such as arc power, acoustic peaks rate and infrared radiation rate computed. Data fusion algorithms were developed by assessing known welding quality parameters from arc emissions. These algorithms have showed better responses when they are based on more than just one sensor. Finally, it was concluded that there is a close relation between arc emissions and quality in welding and it can be measured from arc emissions sensing and data fusion algorithms.

Sequential variable fuel injection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weglarz, M.W.; Vincent, M.T.; Prestel, J.F.

This patent describes a fuel injection system for an engine of an automotive vehicle including cylinders, a spark plug for each of the cylinders, a distributor electrically connected to the spark plug, a throttle body having a throttle valve connected to the engine to allow or prevent air to the cylinders, a fuel source at least one fuel line connected to the fuel source, fuel injectors connected to the fuel line for delivering fuel to the cylinders, a sensor located near the distributor for sensing predetermined states of the distributor, and an electronic control unit (ECU) electrically connected to themore » sensor, distributor and fuel injectors. It comprises calculating a desired total injector on time for current engine conditions; calculating a variable injection time (VIT) and a turn on time based on the VIT; and firing the fuel injectors at the calculated turn on time for the calculated total injector on time.« less

Design of a GaAs/Ge Solar Array for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scheiman, David A.; Brinker, David J.; Bents, David J.; Colozza, Anthony J.

1995-01-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are being proposed for many applications including surveillance, mapping and atmospheric studies. These applications require a lightweight, low speed, medium to long duration airplane. Due to the weight, speed, and altitude constraints imposed on such aircraft, solar array generated electric power is a viable alternative to air-breathing engines. Development of such aircraft is currently being funded under the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) is currently building a Solar Electric Airplane to demonstrate UAV technology. This aircraft utilizes high efficiency Applied Solar Energy Corporation (ASEC) GaAs/Ge space solar cells. The cells have been provided by the Air Force through the ManTech Office. Expected completion of the plane is early 1995, with the airplane currently undergoing flight testing using battery power.

Design of a GaAs/Ge solar array for unmanned aerial vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scheiman, David A.; Brinker, David J.; Bents, David J.; Colozza, Anthony J.

1995-03-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are being proposed for many applications including surveillance, mapping and atmospheric studies. These applications require a lightweight, low speed, medium to long duration airplane. Due to the weight, speed, and altitude constraints imposed on such aircraft, solar array generated electric power is a viable alternative to air-breathing engines. Development of such aircraft is currently being funded under the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) is currently building a Solar Electric Airplane to demonstrate UAV technology. This aircraft utilizes high efficiency Applied Solar Energy Corporation (ASEC) GaAs/Ge space solar cells. The cells have been provided by the Air Force through the ManTech Office. Expected completion of the plane is early 1995, with the airplane currently undergoing flight testing using battery power.

Testing low cost OEM CO2 sensors for outdoor ecological studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macintyre, C. M.; Risk, D. A.

2011-12-01

IR (Infrared) gas sensors are used extensively in CO2 research but price and power requirement often limits low-cost distributed sensing. In the past three years, sensors have been introduced to the industrial market at prices as low as $100 US for air-handling and automotive application. These inexpensive sensors are small in size, and have low power demand making them potentially ideal for low-cost distributed deployments. However, the sensors are only tested and calibrated for indoor use and for industrial standards and may not show their true potential for outdoor ecological studies. This poster summarizes the results of a sensor inter-comparison test, to document functionality, response time, electrical noise, precision, and accuracy, under varying moistures and temperatures broadly representative of a wide range of outdoor settings. The three selected sensors were placed in a closed loop system with a valving system using a LiCor Li-7000 as reference, controlled by a CR1000 datalogger that controlled CO2 and moisture concentrations content within the cell on the basis of LiCor readings. To achieve different temperatures, the tests were repeated at room temperature, inside a freezer (-18°C) and incubator (40°C). The tests involved repeatedly stepping the sensors from 2000 ppm CO2 to 400 ppm CO2 in 200 ppm or 400 ppm increments, at various moisture contents, and under the various temperature regimes. Vaisala 222 and 343 sensors were also part of the test group as comparators, as both are used widely in ecological research. The OEM sensors displayed good linearity, fast response time, and results comparable to Vaisala probes. In most cases the sensors performed beyond our expectations with notably less electrical noise than the Vaisala sensors and excellent power thriftiness. Some sensors showed better response to extreme moisture and temperature conditions. Provided that suitable protective embodiments were built around them, and that they are deployed in an environment suiting their tolerance limits, most of the tested sensors would be suitable as low-cost alternatives to sensors currently being sold for outdoor ecological studies.

Toward increased reliability in the electric power industry: direct temperature measurement in transformers using fiber optic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonald, Greg

1998-09-01

Optimal loading, prevention of catastrophic failures and reduced maintenance costs are some of the benefits of accurate determination of hot spot winding temperatures in medium and high power transformers. Temperature estimates obtained using current theoretical models are not always accurate. Traditional technology (IR, thermocouples...) are unsuitable or inadequate for direct measurement. Nortech fiber-optic temperature sensors offer EMI immunity and chemical resistance and are a proven solution to the problem. The Nortech sensor's measurement principle is based on variations in the spectral absorption of a fiber-mounted semiconductor chip and probes are interchangeable with no need for recalibration. Total length of probe + extension can be up to several hundred meters allowing system electronics to be located in the control room or mounted in the transformer instrumentation cabinet. All of the sensor materials withstand temperatures up to 250 degree(s)C and have demonstrated excellent resistance to the harsh transformer environment (hot oil, kerosene). Thorough study of the problem and industry collaboration in testing and installation allows Nortech to identify and meet the need for durable probes, leak-proof feedthroughs, standard computer interfaces and measurement software. Refined probe technology, the method's simplicity and reliable calibration are all assets that should lead to growing acceptance of this type of direct measuring in the electric power industry.

Silicon carbide transparent chips for compact atomic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huet, L.; Ammar, M.; Morvan, E.; Sarazin, N.; Pocholle, J.-P.; Reichel, J.; Guerlin, C.; Schwartz, S.

2017-11-01

Atom chips [1] are an efficient tool for trapping, cooling and manipulating cold atoms, which could open the way to a new generation of compact atomic sensors addressing space applications. This is in particular due to the fact that they can achieve strong magnetic field gradients near the chip surface, hence strong atomic confinement at moderate electrical power. However, this advantage usually comes at the price of reducing the optical access to the atoms, which are confined very close to the chip surface. We will report at the conference experimental investigations showing how these limits could be pushed farther by using an atom chip made of a gold microcircuit deposited on a single-crystal Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrate [2]. With a band gap energy value of about 3.2 eV at room temperature, the latter material is transparent at 780nm, potentially restoring quasi full optical access to the atoms. Moreover, it combines a very high electrical resistivity with a very high thermal conductivity, making it a good candidate for supporting wires with large currents without the need of any additional electrical insulation layer [3].

Control of the Intrinsic Sensor Response to Volatile Organic Compounds with Fringing Electric Fields.

PubMed

Henning, Alex; Swaminathan, Nandhini; Vaknin, Yonathan; Jurca, Titel; Shimanovich, Klimentiy; Shalev, Gil; Rosenwaks, Yossi

2018-01-26

The ability to control surface-analyte interaction allows tailoring chemical sensor sensitivity to specific target molecules. By adjusting the bias of the shallow p-n junctions in the electrostatically formed nanowire (EFN) chemical sensor, a multiple gate transistor with an exposed top dielectric layer allows tuning of the fringing electric field strength (from 0.5 × 10 7 to 2.5 × 10 7 V/m) above the EFN surface. Herein, we report that the magnitude and distribution of this fringing electric field correlate with the intrinsic sensor response to volatile organic compounds. The local variations of the surface electric field influence the analyte-surface interaction affecting the work function of the sensor surface, assessed by Kelvin probe force microscopy on the nanometer scale. We show that the sensitivity to fixed vapor analyte concentrations can be nullified and even reversed by varying the fringing field strength, and demonstrate selectivity between ethanol and n-butylamine at room temperature using a single transistor without any extrinsic chemical modification of the exposed SiO 2 surface. The results imply an electric-field-controlled analyte reaction with a dielectric surface extremely compelling for sensitivity and selectivity enhancement in chemical sensors.

Microfabricated AC impedance sensor

DOEpatents

Krulevitch, Peter; Ackler, Harold D.; Becker, Frederick; Boser, Bernhard E.; Eldredge, Adam B.; Fuller, Christopher K.; Gascoyne, Peter R. C.; Hamilton, Julie K.; Swierkowski, Stefan P.; Wang, Xiao-Bo

2002-01-01

A microfabricated instrument for detecting and identifying cells and other particles based on alternating current (AC) impedance measurements. The microfabricated AC impedance sensor includes two critical elements: 1) a microfluidic chip, preferably of glass substrates, having at least one microchannel therein and with electrodes patterned on both substrates, and 2) electrical circuits that connect to the electrodes on the microfluidic chip and detect signals associated with particles traveling down the microchannels. These circuits enable multiple AC impedance measurements of individual particles at high throughput rates with sufficient resolution to identify different particle and cell types as appropriate for environmental detection and clinical diagnostic applications.

Micromachined magnetohydrodynamic actuators and sensors

DOEpatents

Lee, Abraham P.; Lemoff, Asuncion V.

2000-01-01

A magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) micropump and microsensor which utilizes micromachining to integrate the electrodes with microchannels and includes a magnet for producing magnetic fields perpendicular to both the electrical current direction and the fluid flow direction. The magnet can also be micromachined and integrated with the micropump using existing technology. The MHD micropump, for example, can generate continuous, reversible flow, with readily controllable flow rates. The flow can be reversed by either reversing the electrical current flow or reversing the magnetic field. By mismatching the electrodes, a swirling vortex flow can be generated for potential mixing applications. No moving parts are necessary and the dead volume is minimal. The micropumps can be placed at any position in a fluidic circuit and a combination of micropumps can generate fluidic plugs and valves.

Wireless Chemical Sensor and Sensing Method for Use Therewith

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oglesby, Donald M. (Inventor); Taylor, Bryant D. (Inventor); Woodard, Stanley E. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A wireless chemical sensor includes an electrical conductor and a material separated therefrom by an electric insulator. The electrical conductor is an unconnected open-circuit shaped for storage of an electric field and a magnetic field. In the presence of a time-varying magnetic field, the first electrical conductor resonates to generate harmonic electric and magnetic field responses. The material is positioned at a location lying within at least one of the electric and magnetic field responses so-generated. The material changes in electrical conductivity in the presence of a chemical-of-interest.

Wireless Chemical Sensor and Sensing Method for Use Therewith

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E. (Inventor); Oglesby, Donald M. (Inventor); Taylor, Bryant Douglas (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A wireless chemical sensor includes an electrical conductor and a material separated therefrom by an electric insulator. The electrical conductor is an unconnected open-circuit shaped for storage of an electric field and a magnetic field. In the presence of a time-varying magnetic field, the first electrical conductor resonates to generate harmonic electric and magnetic field responses. The material is positioned at a location lying within at least one of the electric and magnetic field responses so-generated. The material changes in electrical conductivity in the presence of a chemical-of-interest.

Configurable UUV Sensor Network II

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-13

the South Florida Ocean Test Facility (SFOMF). A larger 3”-diameter ball-shaped electric field sensor was developed and fabricated. A pre -amplifier...magnetic field sensors, and tested at the South Florida Ocean Test Facility (SFOMF). A larger 3”-diameter ball-shaped electric field sensor was developed...and fabricated. Testing of the 3”-diameter ball-shaped sensor at UI showed a noise floor of IpV/m RMS in the frequency band 0.02-20 Hz. UUV

A Magnetic Field Response Recorder: A New Tool for Measurement Acquisition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E.; Taylor, Bryant D.

2006-01-01

A magnetic field response recorder was developed to facilitate a measurement acquisition method that uses magnetic fields to power and to interrogate all sensors. Sensors are designed as electrically passive inductive-capacitive or passive inductive-capacitive-resistive circuits that produce magnetic field responses when electrically activated by oscillating magnetic fields. When electrically activated, the sensor's magnetic field response attributes (frequency, amplitude and bandwidth) correspond to the one or more physical states that each sensor measures. The response recorder makes it possible to simultaneously measure two unrelated physical properties using this class of sensors. The recorder is programmable allowing it to analyze one or more response attributes simultaneously. A single sensor design will be used to demonstrate that the acquisition method and the sensor example can be used to for all phases of a component's life from manufacturing to damage that can destroy it.

Understanding the low temperature electrical properties of nanocrystalline tin oxide for gas sensor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drake, Christina Hartsell

Nanocrystalline metal/metal oxide is an important class of transparent and electronic materials due to its potential use in many applications, including gas sensors. At the nanoscale, many of the phenomena observed that give nanocrystalline semiconducting oxide enhanced performance as a gas sensor material over other conventional engineering materials is still poorly understood. This study is aimed at understanding the low temperature electrical and chemical properties of nanocrystalline SnO2 that makes it suitable for room temperature gas detectors. Studies were carried out in order to understand how various synthesis methods affect the surfaces on the nano-oxides, interactions of a target gas (in this study hydrogen) with different surface species, and changes in the electrical properties as a function of dopants and grain size. A correlation between the surface reactions and the electrical response of doped nanocrystalline metal-oxide-semiconductors exposed to a reducing gas is established using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy attached to a specially built custom designed catalytic cell. First principle calculations of oxygen vacancy concentrations from absorbance spectra are presented. FTIR is used for effectively screening of these nanostructures for gas sensing applications. The effect of processing temperature on the microstructural evolution and on the electronic properties of nanocrystalline trivalent doped-SnO 2 is also presented. This study includes the effect of dopants (In and Ce) on the growth of nano-SnO2, as well as their effects on the electronic properties and gas sensor behavior of the nanomaterial at room temperature. Band bending affects are also investigated for this system and are related to enhanced low temperature gas sensing. The role and importance of oxygen vacancies in the electronic and chemical behavior of surface modified nanocrystalline SnO2 are explored in this study. A generalized explanation for the low temperature gas sensor behavior of nanocrystalline oxide is presented that can be generalized to other nano-oxide systems and be useful in specific engineering of other nanomaterials. Deeper understanding of how nano-oxides react chemically and electronically would be extremely beneficial to issues present in current low cost, low temperature sensor technology. Ability to exactly monitor and then engineer the chemistry of nanostructures in the space charge region as well as the surface is also of great significance. Knowledge of the mechanisms responsible for enhanced sensor response in this material system could viably be applied to other material systems for sensor applications.

Modular manifold for integrated fluidics and electronics

DOEpatents

Adkins, Douglas Ray

2010-03-30

An airtight preconcentrator housing and/or a sensor housing for chemical testing, the housing(s) comprising internal dimensions such that a pre-manufactured preconcentrator and/or sensor can be disposed therein. The housings can also comprise electrical contacts disposed therein which align with and thus provide electrical connection to the preconcentrator and/or sensor. The preconcentrator and/or sensor can be easily and quickly replaced.

Wireless Fluid Level Measuring System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Bryant D. (Inventor); Woodard, Stanley E. (Inventor)

2007-01-01

A level-sensing probe positioned in a tank is divided into sections with each section including (i) a fluid-level capacitive sensor disposed along the length thereof, (ii) an inductor electrically coupled to the capacitive sensor, (iii) a sensor antenna positioned for inductive coupling to the inductor, and (iv) an electrical conductor coupled to the sensor antenna. An electrically non-conductive housing accessible from a position outside of the tank houses antennas arrayed in a pattern. Each antenna is electrically coupled to the electrical conductor from a corresponding one of the sections. A magnetic field response recorder has a measurement head with transceiving antennas arrayed therein to correspond to the pattern of the housing's antennas. When a measurement is to be taken, the measurement head is mechanically coupled to the housing so that each housing antenna is substantially aligned with a specific one of the transceiving antennas.

Thermally Stimulated Currents in Nanocrystalline Titania

PubMed Central

Bruzzi, Mara; Mori, Riccardo; Baldi, Andrea; Cavallaro, Alessandro; Scaringella, Monica

2018-01-01

A thorough study on the distribution of defect-related active energy levels has been performed on nanocrystalline TiO2. Films have been deposited on thick-alumina printed circuit boards equipped with electrical contacts, heater and temperature sensors, to carry out a detailed thermally stimulated currents analysis on a wide temperature range (5–630 K), in view to evidence contributions from shallow to deep energy levels within the gap. Data have been processed by numerically modelling electrical transport. The model considers both free and hopping contribution to conduction, a density of states characterized by an exponential tail of localized states below the conduction band and the convolution of standard Thermally Stimulated Currents (TSC) emissions with gaussian distributions to take into account the variability in energy due to local perturbations in the highly disordered network. Results show that in the low temperature range, up to 200 K, hopping within the exponential band tail represents the main contribution to electrical conduction. Above room temperature, electrical conduction is dominated by free carriers contribution and by emissions from deep energy levels, with a defect density ranging within 1014–1018 cm−3, associated with physio- and chemi-sorbed water vapour, OH groups and to oxygen vacancies. PMID:29303976

Thermally Stimulated Currents in Nanocrystalline Titania.

PubMed

Bruzzi, Mara; Mori, Riccardo; Baldi, Andrea; Carnevale, Ennio Antonio; Cavallaro, Alessandro; Scaringella, Monica

2018-01-05

A thorough study on the distribution of defect-related active energy levels has been performed on nanocrystalline TiO₂. Films have been deposited on thick-alumina printed circuit boards equipped with electrical contacts, heater and temperature sensors, to carry out a detailed thermally stimulated currents analysis on a wide temperature range (5-630 K), in view to evidence contributions from shallow to deep energy levels within the gap. Data have been processed by numerically modelling electrical transport. The model considers both free and hopping contribution to conduction, a density of states characterized by an exponential tail of localized states below the conduction band and the convolution of standard Thermally Stimulated Currents (TSC) emissions with gaussian distributions to take into account the variability in energy due to local perturbations in the highly disordered network. Results show that in the low temperature range, up to 200 K, hopping within the exponential band tail represents the main contribution to electrical conduction. Above room temperature, electrical conduction is dominated by free carriers contribution and by emissions from deep energy levels, with a defect density ranging within 10 14 -10 18 cm -3 , associated with physio- and chemi-sorbed water vapour, OH groups and to oxygen vacancies.

Inversion of soil electrical conductivity data to estimate layered soil properties

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

CBulk apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) sensors respond to multiple soil properties, including clay content, water content, and salt content (i.e., salinity). They provide a single sensor value for an entire soil profile down to a sensor-dependent measurement depth, weighted by a nonlinear...

Sensor probes and phantoms for advanced transcranial magnetic stimulation system developments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Qinglei; Patel, Prashil; Trivedi, Sudhir; Du, Xiaoming; Hong, Elliot; Choa, Fow-Sen

2015-05-01

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has become one of the most widely used noninvasive method for brain tissue stimulation and has been used as a treatment tool for various neurological and psychiatric disorders including migraine, stroke, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, tinnitus and depression. In the process of developing advanced TMS deep brain stimulation tools, we need first to develop field measurement devices like sensory probes and brain phantoms, which can be used to calibrate the TMS systems. Currently there are commercially available DC magnetic or electric filed measurement sensors, but there is no instrument to measure transient fields. In our study, we used a commercial figure-8 shaped TMS coil to generate transient magnetic field and followed induced field and current. The coil was driven by power amplified signal from a pulse generator with tunable pulse rate, amplitude, and duration. In order to obtain a 3D plot of induced vector electric field, many types of probes were designed to detect single component of electric-field vectors along x, y and z axis in the space around TMS coil. We found that resistor probes has an optimized signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) near 3k ohm but it signal output is too weak compared with other techniques. We also found that inductor probes can have very high output for Curl E measurement, but it is not the E-field distribution we are interested in. Probes with electrical wire wrapped around iron coil can directly measure induced E-field with high sensitivity, which matched computer simulation results.

Power harvesting for railroad track safety enhancement using vertical track displacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Carl A.; Platt, Stephen R.; Hansen, Sean E.; Fateh, Mahmood

2009-03-01

A significant portion of railroad infrastructure exists in areas that are relatively remote. Railroad crossings in these areas are typically only marked with reflective signage and do not have warning light systems or crossbars due to the cost of electrical infrastructure. Distributed sensor networks used for railroad track health monitoring applications would be useful in these areas, but the same limitation regarding electrical infrastructure exists. This motivates the search for a long-term, low-maintenance power supply solution for remote railroad deployment. This paper describes the development of a mechanical device for harvesting mechanical power from passing railcar traffic that can be used to supply electrical power to warning light systems at crossings and to remote networks of sensors via rechargeable batteries. The device is mounted to and spans two rail ties such that it directly harnesses the vertical displacement of the rail and attached ties and translates the linear motion into rotational motion. The rotational motion is amplified and mechanically rectified to rotate a PMDC generator that charges a system of batteries. A prototype was built and tested in a laboratory setting for verifying functionality of the design. Results indicate power production capabilities on the order of 10 W per device in its current form. This is sufficient for illuminating high-efficiency LED lights at a railroad crossing or for powering track-health sensor networks.

Highly sensitive current sensor utilizing CrNi-wire supported microfiber coils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Xiaodong; Li, Jie; Sun, Li-Peng; Jin, Long; Guan, Bai-ou

2013-09-01

High current sensitivity is obtained based on a microfiber that is wrapping around a chrome-nickel (CrNi) wire. Due to the strong heating effect of the CrNi wire with the flowing electric current, the mode index and the loop length of microfiber are changed, resulting in the shift of resonant wavelength. The measured current responsivity is as high as 220.65nm/A2, which is in two or three magnitude orders than the previously-obtained ones. We study the influence of component size to the structure performance, which is useful for future applications of current sensing or tuning devices.

Flexible Graphene Transistor Architecture for Optical Sensor Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ordonez, Richard Christopher

The unique electrical and optoelectronic properties of graphene allow tunable conductivity and broadband electromagnetic absorption that spans the ultraviolet and infrared regimes. However, in the current state-of-art graphene sensor architectures, junction resistance and doping concentration are predominant factors that affect signal strength and sensitivity. Unfortunately, graphene produces high contact resistances with standard electrode materials ( few kilo-ohms), therefore, signal is weak and large carrier concentrations are required to probe sensitivity. Moreover, the atomic thickness of graphene enables the potential for flexible electronics, but there has not been a successful graphene sensor architecture that demonstrates stable operation on flexible substrates and with minimal fabrication cost. In this study, the author explores a novel 3-terminal transistor architecture that integrates twodimensional graphene, liquid metal, and electrolytic gate dielectrics (LM-GFETs: Liquid Metal and Graphene Field-Effect Transistors ). The goal is to deliver a sensitive, flexible, and lightweight transistor architecture that will improve sensor technology and maneuverability. The reported high thermal conductivity of graphene provides potential for room-temperature thermal management without the need of thermal-electric and gas cooling systems that are standard in sensor platforms. Liquid metals provide a unique opportunity for conformal electrodes that maximize surface area contact, therefore, enable flexibility, lower contact resistance, and reduce damage to the graphene materials involved. Lastly, electrolytic gate dielectrics provide conformability and high capacitances needed for high on/off rations and electrostatic gating. Results demonstrated that with minimal fabrication steps the proposed flexible graphene transistor architecture demonstrated ambipolar current-voltage transfer characteristics that are comparable to the current state-of-the-art. An additional investigation demonstrated PN junction operation and the successful integration of the proposed architecture into an optoelectronic application with the use of semiconductor quantum dots in contact with the graphene material that acted as optical absorbers to increase detector gain. Applications that can benefit from such technology advancement include Nano-satellites (Nanosat), Underwater autonomous vehicles (UAV), and airborne platforms in which flexibility and sensitivity are critical parameters that must be optimized to increase mission duration and range.

ChromAIX2: A large area, high count-rate energy-resolving photon counting ASIC for a Spectral CT Prototype

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steadman, Roger; Herrmann, Christoph; Livne, Amir

2017-08-01

Spectral CT based on energy-resolving photon counting detectors is expected to deliver additional diagnostic value at a lower dose than current state-of-the-art CT [1]. The capability of simultaneously providing a number of spectrally distinct measurements not only allows distinguishing between photo-electric and Compton interactions but also discriminating contrast agents that exhibit a K-edge discontinuity in the absorption spectrum, referred to as K-edge Imaging [2]. Such detectors are based on direct converting sensors (e.g. CdTe or CdZnTe) and high-rate photon counting electronics. To support the development of Spectral CT and show the feasibility of obtaining rates exceeding 10 Mcps/pixel (Poissonian observed count-rate), the ChromAIX ASIC has been previously reported showing 13.5 Mcps/pixel (150 Mcps/mm2 incident) [3]. The ChromAIX has been improved to offer the possibility of a large area coverage detector, and increased overall performance. The new ASIC is called ChromAIX2, and delivers count-rates exceeding 15 Mcps/pixel with an rms-noise performance of approximately 260 e-. It has an isotropic pixel pitch of 500 μm in an array of 22×32 pixels and is tile-able on three of its sides. The pixel topology consists of a two stage amplifier (CSA and Shaper) and a number of test features allowing to thoroughly characterize the ASIC without a sensor. A total of 5 independent thresholds are also available within each pixel, allowing to acquire 5 spectrally distinct measurements simultaneously. The ASIC also incorporates a baseline restorer to eliminate excess currents induced by the sensor (e.g. dark current and low frequency drifts) which would otherwise cause an energy estimation error. In this paper we report on the inherent electrical performance of the ChromAXI2 as well as measurements obtained with CZT (CdZnTe)/CdTe sensors and X-rays and radioactive sources.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening Using a Piezo-Electric Sensor

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

In this study, we propose a novel method for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) detection using a piezo-electric sensor. OSA is a relatively common sleep disorder. However, more than 80% of OSA patients remain undiagnosed. We investigated the feasibility of OSA assessment using a single-channel physiological signal to simplify the OSA screening. We detected both snoring and heartbeat information by using a piezo-electric sensor, and snoring index (SI) and features based on pulse rate variability (PRV) analysis were extracted from the filtered piezo-electric sensor signal. A support vector machine (SVM) was used as a classifier to detect OSA events. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated on 45 patients from mild, moderate, and severe OSA groups. The method achieved a mean sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 72.5%, 74.2%, and 71.5%; 85.8%, 80.5%, and 80.0%; and 70.3%, 77.1%, and 71.9% for the mild, moderate, and severe groups, respectively. Finally, these results not only show the feasibility of OSA detection using a piezo-electric sensor, but also illustrate its usefulness for monitoring sleep and diagnosing OSA. PMID:28480645

Scanning-SQUID investigation of spin-orbit torque acting on yttrium iron garnet devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenberg, Aaron J.; Jermain, Colin L.; Aradhya, Sriharsha V.; Brangham, Jack T.; Nowack, Katja C.; Kirtley, John R.; Yang, Fengyuan; Ralph, Daniel C.; Moler, Kathryn A.

Successful manipulation of electrically insulating magnets, such as yttrium iron garnet, by by current-driven spin-orbit torques could provide a highly efficient platform for spintronic memory. Compared to devices fabricated using magnetic metals, magnetic insulators have the advantage of the ultra-low magnetic damping and the elimination of shunting currents in the magnet that reduce the torque efficiency. Here, we apply current in the spin Hall metal β-Ta to manipulate the magnetic orientation of micron-sized, electrically-insulating yttrium iron garnet devices. We do not observe spin-torque switching even for applied currents well above the critical current expected in a macrospin switching model. This suggests either inefficient transfer of spin torque at our Ta/YIG interface or a breakdown of the macrospin approximation. This work is supported by FAME, one of six centers of STARnet sponsored by MARCO and DARPA. The SQUID microscope and sensors were developed with support from the NSF-sponsored Center NSF-NSEC 0830228, and from NSF IMR-MIP 0957616.

Microscopic origin of gating current fluctuations in a potassium channel voltage sensor.

PubMed

Freites, J Alfredo; Schow, Eric V; White, Stephen H; Tobias, Douglas J

2012-06-06

Voltage-dependent ion channels open and close in response to changes in membrane electrical potential due to the motion of their voltage-sensing domains (VSDs). VSD charge displacements within the membrane electric field are observed in electrophysiology experiments as gating currents preceding ionic conduction. The elementary charge motions that give rise to the gating current cannot be observed directly, but appear as discrete current pulses that generate fluctuations in gating current measurements. Here we report direct observation of gating-charge displacements in an atomistic molecular dynamics simulation of the isolated VSD from the KvAP channel in a hydrated lipid bilayer on the timescale (10-μs) expected for elementary gating charge transitions. The results reveal that gating-charge displacements are associated with the water-catalyzed rearrangement of salt bridges between the S4 arginines and a set of conserved acidic side chains on the S1-S3 transmembrane segments in the hydrated interior of the VSD. Copyright © 2012 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Techniques for the measurement of disruption halo currents in the National Spherical Torus Experiment.

PubMed

Gerhardt, S P; Fredrickson, E; Guttadora, L; Kaita, R; Kugel, H; Menard, J; Takahashi, H

2011-10-01

This paper describes techniques for measuring halo currents, and their associated toroidal peaking, in the National Spherical Torus Experiments [M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)]. The measurements are based on three techniques: (1) measurement of the toroidal field created by the poloidal halo current, either with segmented Rogowski coils or discrete toroidal field sensors, (2) the direct measurement of halo currents into specially instrument tiles, and (3) small Rogowski coils placed on the mechanical supports of in-vessel components. For the segmented Rogowski coils and discrete toroidal field detectors, it is shown that the toroidal peaking factor inferred from the data is significantly less than the peaking factor of the underlying halo current distribution, and a simple model is developed to relate the two. For the array of discrete toroidal field detectors and small Rogowski sensors, the compensation steps that are used to isolate the halo current signal are described. The electrical and mechanical design of compact under-tile resistive shunts and mini-Rogowski coils is described. Example data from the various systems are shown.

Techniques for the measurement of disruption halo currents in the National Spherical Torus Experiment

DOE PAGES

Gerhardt, S. P.; Fredrickson, E.; Guttadora, L.; ...

2011-10-06

This paper describes techniques for measuring halo currents, and their associated toroidal peaking, in the National Spherical Torus Experiments. The measurements are based on three techniques: (i) measurement of the toroidal field created by the poloidal halo current, either with segmented Rogowski coils or discrete toroidal field sensors, (ii) the direct measurement of halo currents into specially instrument tiles, and (iii) small Rogowski coils placed on the mechanical supports of in-vessel components. For the segmented Rogowski coils and discrete toroidal field detectors, it is shown that the toroidal peaking factor inferred from the data is significantly less than the peakingmore » factor of the underlying halo current distribution, and a simple model is developed to relate the two. For the array of discrete toroidal field detectors and small Rogowski sensors, the compensation steps that are used to isolate the halo current signal are described. The electrical and mechanical design of compact under-tile resistive shunts and mini-Rogowski coils is described. Example data from the various systems is shown.« less

High Frequency Amplitude Detector for GMI Magnetic Sensors

PubMed Central

Asfour, Aktham; Zidi, Manel; Yonnet, Jean-Paul

2014-01-01

A new concept of a high-frequency amplitude detector and demodulator for Giant-Magneto-Impedance (GMI) sensors is presented. This concept combines a half wave rectifier, with outstanding capabilities and high speed, and a feedback approach that ensures the amplitude detection with easily adjustable gain. The developed detector is capable of measuring high-frequency and very low amplitude signals without the use of diode-based active rectifiers or analog multipliers. The performances of this detector are addressed throughout the paper. The full circuitry of the design is given, together with a comprehensive theoretical study of the concept and experimental validation. The detector has been used for the amplitude measurement of both single frequency and pulsed signals and for the demodulation of amplitude-modulated signals. It has also been successfully integrated in a GMI sensor prototype. Magnetic field and electrical current measurements in open- and closed-loop of this sensor have also been conducted. PMID:25536003

Achievement of High-Response Organic Field-Effect Transistor NO₂ Sensor by Using the Synergistic Effect of ZnO/PMMA Hybrid Dielectric and CuPc/Pentacene Heterojunction.

PubMed

Han, Shijiao; Cheng, Jiang; Fan, Huidong; Yu, Junsheng; Li, Lu

2016-10-21

High-response organic field-effect transistor (OFET)-based NO₂ sensors were fabricated using the synergistic effect the synergistic effect of zinc oxide/poly(methyl methacrylate) (ZnO/PMMA) hybrid dielectric and CuPc/Pentacene heterojunction. Compared with the OFET sensors without synergistic effect, the fabricated OFET sensors showed a remarkable shift of saturation current, field-effect mobility and threshold voltage when exposed to various concentrations of NO₂ analyte. Moreover, after being stored in atmosphere for 30 days, the variation of saturation current increased more than 10 folds at 0.5 ppm NO₂. By analyzing the electrical characteristics, and the morphologies of organic semiconductor films of the OFET-based sensors, the performance enhancement was ascribed to the synergistic effect of the dielectric and organic semiconductor. The ZnO nanoparticles on PMMA dielectric surface decreased the grain size of pentacene formed on hybrid dielectric, facilitating the diffusion of CuPc molecules into the grain boundary of pentacene and the approach towards the conducting channel of OFET. Hence, NO₂ molecules could interact with CuPc and ZnO nanoparticles at the interface of dielectric and organic semiconductor. Our results provided a promising strategy for the design of high performance OFET-based NO₂ sensors in future electronic nose and environment monitoring.

Achievement of High-Response Organic Field-Effect Transistor NO2 Sensor by Using the Synergistic Effect of ZnO/PMMA Hybrid Dielectric and CuPc/Pentacene Heterojunction

PubMed Central

Han, Shijiao; Cheng, Jiang; Fan, Huidong; Yu, Junsheng; Li, Lu

2016-01-01

High-response organic field-effect transistor (OFET)-based NO2 sensors were fabricated using the synergistic effect the synergistic effect of zinc oxide/poly(methyl methacrylate) (ZnO/PMMA) hybrid dielectric and CuPc/Pentacene heterojunction. Compared with the OFET sensors without synergistic effect, the fabricated OFET sensors showed a remarkable shift of saturation current, field-effect mobility and threshold voltage when exposed to various concentrations of NO2 analyte. Moreover, after being stored in atmosphere for 30 days, the variation of saturation current increased more than 10 folds at 0.5 ppm NO2. By analyzing the electrical characteristics, and the morphologies of organic semiconductor films of the OFET-based sensors, the performance enhancement was ascribed to the synergistic effect of the dielectric and organic semiconductor. The ZnO nanoparticles on PMMA dielectric surface decreased the grain size of pentacene formed on hybrid dielectric, facilitating the diffusion of CuPc molecules into the grain boundary of pentacene and the approach towards the conducting channel of OFET. Hence, NO2 molecules could interact with CuPc and ZnO nanoparticles at the interface of dielectric and organic semiconductor. Our results provided a promising strategy for the design of high performance OFET-based NO2 sensors in future electronic nose and environment monitoring. PMID:27775653

Design and Performance Analysis of an Intrinsically Safe Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor

PubMed Central

Zhang, Hongjuan; Wang, Yu; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Dong; Jin, Baoquan

2016-01-01

In flammable or explosive environments, an ultrasonic sensor for distance measurement poses an important engineering safety challenge, because the driving circuit uses an intermediate frequency transformer as an impedance transformation element, in which the produced heat or spark is available for ignition. In this paper, an intrinsically safe ultrasonic ranging sensor is designed and implemented. The waterproof piezoelectric transducer with integrated transceiver is chosen as an energy transducing element. Then a novel transducer driving circuit is designed based on an impedance matching method considering safety spark parameters to replace an intermediate frequency transformer. Then, an energy limiting circuit is developed to achieve dual levels of over-voltage and over-current protection. The detail calculation and evaluation are executed and the electrical characteristics are analyzed to verify the intrinsic safety of the driving circuit. Finally, an experimental platform of the ultrasonic ranging sensor system is constructed, which involves short-circuit protection. Experimental results show that the proposed ultrasonic ranging sensor is excellent in both ranging performance and intrinsic safety. PMID:27304958

Design and Performance Analysis of an Intrinsically Safe Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor.

PubMed

Zhang, Hongjuan; Wang, Yu; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Dong; Jin, Baoquan

2016-06-13

In flammable or explosive environments, an ultrasonic sensor for distance measurement poses an important engineering safety challenge, because the driving circuit uses an intermediate frequency transformer as an impedance transformation element, in which the produced heat or spark is available for ignition. In this paper, an intrinsically safe ultrasonic ranging sensor is designed and implemented. The waterproof piezoelectric transducer with integrated transceiver is chosen as an energy transducing element. Then a novel transducer driving circuit is designed based on an impedance matching method considering safety spark parameters to replace an intermediate frequency transformer. Then, an energy limiting circuit is developed to achieve dual levels of over-voltage and over-current protection. The detail calculation and evaluation are executed and the electrical characteristics are analyzed to verify the intrinsic safety of the driving circuit. Finally, an experimental platform of the ultrasonic ranging sensor system is constructed, which involves short-circuit protection. Experimental results show that the proposed ultrasonic ranging sensor is excellent in both ranging performance and intrinsic safety.

Computational investigation of single-wall carbon nanotube functionalized with palladium nanoclusters as hydrogen sulfide gas sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagherzadeh-Nobari, S.; Hosseini-Istadeh, K.; Kalantarinejad, R.; Elahi, S. M.; Shokri, A. A.

2018-03-01

Our aim is to study theoretically, the sensitivity of a hydrogen sulfide gas sensor, with regard to electrical conductance behavior. Our senor consists of a semiconductor single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT), functionalized with palladium nanoclusters, sandwiched between two gold electrodes. Initially, we have computed the optimized structure of the sensor, via molecular dynamic simulations. Then by using non-equilibrium Green's function method, combined with density functional theory, the electronic and transport properties of the sensor were calculated, and compared before and after adsorption of H2S gas, at different bias voltages. The highest sensitivity is achieved at 40 mV bias voltage. In this bias voltage, H2S gas adsorption causes a significant decrease of current, because as a result of charge transfer from the CNT and palladium nanoclusters, to H2S gas, majority carriers (electrons) decrease. The results show that CNT decorated with palladium nanoclusters can be a promising candidate in gas-sensorics.

Electrophysiological assessment of water stress in fruit-bearing woody plants.

PubMed

Ríos-Rojas, Liliana; Tapia, Franco; Gurovich, Luis A

2014-06-15

Development and evaluation of a real-time plant water stress sensor, based on the electrophysiological behavior of fruit-bearing woody plants is presented. Continuous electric potentials are measured in tree trunks for different irrigation schedules, inducing variable water stress conditions; results are discussed in relation to soil water content and micro-atmospheric evaporative demand, determined continuously by conventional sensors, correlating this information with tree electric potential measurements. Systematic and differentiable patterns of electric potentials for water-stressed and no-stressed trees in 2 fruit species are presented. Early detection and recovery dynamics of water stress conditions can also be monitored with these electrophysiology sensors, which enable continuous and non-destructive measurements for efficient irrigation scheduling throughout the year. The experiment is developed under controlled conditions, in Faraday cages located at a greenhouse area, both in Persea americana and Prunus domestica plants. Soil moisture evolution is controlled using capacitance sensors and solar radiation, temperature, relative humidity, wind intensity and direction are continuously registered with accurate weather sensors, in a micro-agrometeorological automatic station located at the experimental site. The electrophysiological sensor has two stainless steel electrodes (measuring/reference), inserted on the stem; a high precision Keithley 2701 digital multimeter is used to measure plant electrical signals; an algorithm written in MatLab(®), allows correlating the signal to environmental variables. An electric cyclic behavior is observed (circadian cycle) in the experimental plants. For non-irrigated plants, the electrical signal shows a time positive slope and then, a negative slope after restarting irrigation throughout a rather extended recovery process, before reaching a stable electrical signal with zero slope. Well-watered plants presented a continuous signal with daily maximum and a minimum EP of similar magnitude in time, with zero slope. This plant electrical behavior is proposed for the development of a sensor measuring real-time plant water status. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a multi-sensor machine vision system for automated hardwood lumber grading

Treesearch

D. Earl Kline; Chris Surak; Philip A. Araman

2000-01-01

Over the last 10 years, scientists at the Thomas M. Brooks Forest Products Center, the Bradley Department of Electrical Engineering, and the USDA Forest Service have been working on lumber scanning systems that can accurately locate and identify defects in hardwood lumber. Current R&D efforts are targeted toward developing automated lumber grading technologies. The...

Material Damage System and Method for Determining Same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Okojie, Robert (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A system and method for determining a change in a thickness and temperature of a surface of a material are disclosed herein. The system and the method are usable in a thermal protection system of a space vehicle, such as an aeroshell of a space vehicle. The system and method may incorporate micro electric sensors arranged in a ladder network and capacitor strip sensors. Corrosion or ablation causes a change in an electrical property of the sensors. An amount of or rate of the corrosion or the ablation and a temperature of the material is determined based on the change of the electrical property of the sensors.

Design and application of a novel high precision and low cost electronic tachogenerator for sensor-based brushless direct current motor drivers.

PubMed

Ozgenel, Mehmet Cihat; Bal, Gungor; Uygun, Durmus

2017-03-01

This study presents a precise speed control method for Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) Motors using an electronic tachogenerator (ETg) instead of an electro-mechanical tachogenerator. Most commonly used three-phase BLDC motors have three position sensors for rotor position data to provide commutation among stator windings. Aforementioned position sensors are usually Hall-effect sensors delivering binary-high and binary-low data as long as the motor rotates. These binary sets from three Hall-effect sensors can be used as an analogue rotor speed signal for closed loop applications. Each position sensor signal is apart from 120 electrical degrees. By using an electronic circuitry, a combination of position sensor signals is converted to the analogue signal providing an input to a PI speed controller. To implement this, a frequency to voltage converter has been used in this study. Then, the analogue speed signal has been evaluated as rotor speed data in comparison with the reference speed. So, an ETg system has been successfully achieved in place of an electro-mechanical tachogenerator for BLDC motor speed control. The proposed ETg has been tested under various speed conditions on an experimental setup. Employed tests and obtained results show that the proposed low-cost speed feedback sub-system can be effectively used in BLDC motor drive systems. Through the proved method and designed sub-system, a new motor controller chip with a speed feedback capability has been aimed.

Design and application of a novel high precision and low cost electronic tachogenerator for sensor-based brushless direct current motor drivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozgenel, Mehmet Cihat; Bal, Gungor; Uygun, Durmus

2017-03-01

This study presents a precise speed control method for Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) Motors using an electronic tachogenerator (ETg) instead of an electro-mechanical tachogenerator. Most commonly used three-phase BLDC motors have three position sensors for rotor position data to provide commutation among stator windings. Aforementioned position sensors are usually Hall-effect sensors delivering binary-high and binary-low data as long as the motor rotates. These binary sets from three Hall-effect sensors can be used as an analogue rotor speed signal for closed loop applications. Each position sensor signal is apart from 120 electrical degrees. By using an electronic circuitry, a combination of position sensor signals is converted to the analogue signal providing an input to a PI speed controller. To implement this, a frequency to voltage converter has been used in this study. Then, the analogue speed signal has been evaluated as rotor speed data in comparison with the reference speed. So, an ETg system has been successfully achieved in place of an electro-mechanical tachogenerator for BLDC motor speed control. The proposed ETg has been tested under various speed conditions on an experimental setup. Employed tests and obtained results show that the proposed low-cost speed feedback sub-system can be effectively used in BLDC motor drive systems. Through the proved method and designed sub-system, a new motor controller chip with a speed feedback capability has been aimed.

Optimal Magnetic Sensor Vests for Cardiac Source Imaging

PubMed Central

Lau, Stephan; Petković, Bojana; Haueisen, Jens

2016-01-01

Magnetocardiography (MCG) non-invasively provides functional information about the heart. New room-temperature magnetic field sensors, specifically magnetoresistive and optically pumped magnetometers, have reached sensitivities in the ultra-low range of cardiac fields while allowing for free placement around the human torso. Our aim is to optimize positions and orientations of such magnetic sensors in a vest-like arrangement for robust reconstruction of the electric current distributions in the heart. We optimized a set of 32 sensors on the surface of a torso model with respect to a 13-dipole cardiac source model under noise-free conditions. The reconstruction robustness was estimated by the condition of the lead field matrix. Optimization improved the condition of the lead field matrix by approximately two orders of magnitude compared to a regular array at the front of the torso. Optimized setups exhibited distributions of sensors over the whole torso with denser sampling above the heart at the front and back of the torso. Sensors close to the heart were arranged predominantly tangential to the body surface. The optimized sensor setup could facilitate the definition of a standard for sensor placement in MCG and the development of a wearable MCG vest for clinical diagnostics. PMID:27231910

Micro-resonator-based electric field sensors with long durations of sensitivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Amir R.

2017-05-01

In this paper, we present a new fabrication method for the whispering gallery mode (WGM) micro-sphere based electric field sensor that which allows for longer time periods of sensitivity. Recently, a WGM-based photonic electric field sensor was proposed using a coupled dielectric microsphere-beam. The external electric field imposes an electrtrostriction force on the dielectric beam, deflecting it. The beam, in turn compresses the sphere causing a shift in its WGM. As part of the fabrication process, the PDMS micro-beams and the spheres are curied at high-temperature (100oC) and subsequently poled by exposing to strong external electric field ( 8 MV/m) for two hours. The poling process allows for the deposition of surface charges thereby increasing the electrostriction effect. This methodology is called curing-then-poling (CTP). Although the sensors do become sufficiently sensitive to electric field, they start de-poling after a short period (within 10 minutes) after poling, hence losing sensitivity. In an attempt to mitigate this problem and to lock the polarization for a longer period, we use an alternate methodology whereby the beam is poled and cured simultaneously (curing-while-poling or CWP). The new fabrication method allows for the retention of polarization (and hence, sensitivity to electric field) longer ( 1500 minutes). An analysis is carried out along with preliminary experiments. Results show that electric fields as small as 100 V/m can be detected with a 300 μm diameter sphere sensor a day after poling.

Mastication noise reduction method for fully implantable hearing aid using piezo-electric sensor.

PubMed

Na, Sung Dae; Lee, Gihyoun; Wei, Qun; Seong, Ki Woong; Cho, Jin Ho; Kim, Myoung Nam

2017-07-20

Fully implantable hearing devices (FIHDs) can be affected by generated biomechanical noise such as mastication noise. To reduce the mastication noise using a piezo-electric sensor, the mastication noise is measured with the piezo-electric sensor, and noise reduction is practiced by the energy difference. For the experiment on mastication noise, a skull model was designed using artificial skull model and a piezo-electric sensor that can measure the vibration signals better than other sensors. A 1 kHz pure-tone sound through a standard speaker was applied to the model while the lower jawbone of the model was moved in a masticatory fashion. The correlation coefficients and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) before and after application of the proposed method were compared. It was found that the signal-to-noise ratio and correlation coefficients increased by 4.48 dB and 0.45, respectively. The mastication noise is measured by piezo-electric sensor as the mastication noise that occurred during vibration. In addition, the noise was reduced by using the proposed method in conjunction with MATLAB. In order to confirm the performance of the proposed method, the correlation coefficients and signal-to-noise ratio before and after signal processing were calculated. In the future, an implantable microphone for real-time processing will be developed.

Open Circuit Resonant (SansEC) Sensor Technology for Lightning Mitigation and Damage Detection and Diagnosis for Composite Aircraft Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szatkowski, George N.; Dudley, Kenneth L.; Smith, Laura J.; Wang, Chuantong; Ticatch, Larry A.

2014-01-01

Traditional methods to protect composite aircraft from lightning strike damage rely on a conductive layer embedded on or within the surface of the aircraft composite skin. This method is effective at preventing major direct effect damage and minimizes indirect effects to aircraft systems from lightning strike attachment, but provides no additional benefit for the added parasitic weight from the conductive layer. When a known lightning strike occurs, the points of attachment and detachment on the aircraft surface are visually inspected and checked for damage by maintenance personnel to ensure continued safe flight operations. A new multi-functional lightning strike protection (LSP) method has been developed to provide aircraft lightning strike protection, damage detection and diagnosis for composite aircraft surfaces. The method incorporates a SansEC sensor array on the aircraft exterior surfaces forming a "Smart skin" surface for aircraft lightning zones certified to withstand strikes up to 100 kiloamperes peak current. SansEC sensors are open-circuit devices comprised of conductive trace spiral patterns sans (without) electrical connections. The SansEC sensor is an electromagnetic resonator having specific resonant parameters (frequency, amplitude, bandwidth & phase) which when electromagnetically coupled with a composite substrate will indicate the electrical impedance of the composite through a change in its resonant response. Any measureable shift in the resonant characteristics can be an indication of damage to the composite caused by a lightning strike or from other means. The SansEC sensor method is intended to diagnose damage for both in-situ health monitoring or ground inspections. In this paper, the theoretical mathematical framework is established for the use of open circuit sensors to perform damage detection and diagnosis on carbon fiber composites. Both computational and experimental analyses were conducted to validate this new method and system for aircraft composite damage detection and diagnosis. Experimental test results on seeded fault damage coupons and computational modeling simulation results are presented. This paper also presents the shielding effectiveness along with the lightning direct effect test results from several different SansEC LSP and baseline protected and unprotected carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) test panels struck at 40 and 100 kiloamperes following a universal common practice test procedure to enable damage comparisons between SansEC LSP configurations and common practice copper mesh LSP approaches. The SansEC test panels were mounted in a LSP test bed during the lightning test. Electrical, mechanical and thermal parameters were measured during lightning attachment and are presented with post test nondestructive inspection comparisons. The paper provides correlational results between the SansEC sensors computed electric field distribution and the location of the lightning attachment on the sensor trace and visual observations showing the SansEC sensor's affinity for dispersing the lightning attachment.

Electric Vehicles near the Hangar at the Lewis Research Center

NASA Image and Video Library

1977-06-21

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center tested 16 commercially-manufactured electric vehicles, including these, during the mid-1970s. Lewis and the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) engaged in several energy-related programs in the mid-1970s, including the Electric Vehicle Project. NASA and ERDA undertook the program in 1976 to determine the state of the current electric vehicle technology. The tests were primarily conducted on a 7.5-mile track at the Transportation Research Center located approximately 160 miles southwest of Cleveland, Ohio. Some of the vehicles had analog data recording systems to measure the battery during operation and sensors to determine speed and distance. The tests analyzed the vehicle’s range, acceleration, coast-down, braking, and energy consumption. From left to right: RIPP-Electric, EVA Contactor, Otis P-500, C.H. Waterman DAF, Zagato Elcar, unknown, Sebring-Vanguard Citicar, and Hattronic Minivan

Wireless Open-Circuit In-Plane Strain and Displacement Sensor Requiring No Electrical Connections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E. (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A wireless in-plane strain and displacement sensor includes an electrical conductor fixedly coupled to a substrate subject to strain conditions. The electrical conductor is shaped between its ends for storage of an electric field and a magnetic field, and remains electrically unconnected to define an unconnected open-circuit having inductance and capacitance. In the presence of a time-varying magnetic field, the electrical conductor so-shaped resonates to generate harmonic electric and magnetic field responses. The sensor also includes at least one electrically unconnected electrode having an end and a free portion extending from the end thereof. The end of each electrode is fixedly coupled to the substrate and the free portion thereof remains unencumbered and spaced apart from a portion of the electrical conductor so-shaped. More specifically, at least some of the free portion is disposed at a location lying within the magnetic field response generated by the electrical conductor. A motion guidance structure is slidingly engaged with each electrode's free portion in order to maintain each free portion parallel to the electrical conductor so-shaped.

Electric-field sensors for bullet detection systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinci, Stephen; Hull, David; Ghionea, Simon; Ludwig, William; Deligeorges, Socrates; Gudmundsson, Thorkell; Noras, Maciej

2014-06-01

Research and experimental trials have shown that electric-field (E-field) sensors are effective at detecting charged projectiles. E-field sensors can likely complement traditional acoustic sensors, and help provide a more robust and effective solution for bullet detection and tracking. By far, the acoustic sensor is the most prevalent technology in use today for hostile fire defeat systems due to compact size and low cost, yet they come with a number of challenges that include multipath, reverberant environments, false positives and low signal-to-noise. Studies have shown that these systems can benefit from additional sensor modalities such as E-field sensors. However, E-field sensors are a newer technology that is relatively untested beyond basic experimental trials; this technology has not been deployed in any fielded systems. The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has conducted live-fire experiments at Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG) to collect data from E-field sensors. Three types of E-field sensors were included in these experiments: (a) an electric potential gradiometer manufactured by Quasar Federal Systems (QFS), (b) electric charge induction, or "D-dot" sensors designed and built by the Army Research Lab (ARL), and (c) a varactor based E-field sensor prototype designed by University of North Carolina-Charlotte (UNCC). Sensors were placed in strategic locations near the bullet trajectories, and their data were recorded. We analyzed the performance of each E-field sensor type in regard to small-arms bullet detection capability. The most recent experiment in October 2013 allowed demonstration of improved versions of the varactor and D-dot sensor types. Results of new real-time analysis hardware employing detection algorithms were also tested. The algorithms were used to process the raw data streams to determine when bullet detections occurred. Performance among the sensor types and algorithm effectiveness were compared to estimates from acoustics signatures and known ground truth. Results, techniques and configurations that might work best for a given sensor platform are discussed.

Thermal properties of alkali-activated aluminosilicates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Florian, Pavel; Valentova, Katerina; Fiala, Lukas; Zmeskal, Oldrich

2017-07-01

The paper is focused on measurements and evaluation of thermal properties of alkali-activated aluminosilicates (AAA) with various carbon admixtures. Such composites consisting of blast-furnace slag, quartz sand, water glass as alkali activator and small amount of electrically conductive carbon admixture exhibit better electric and thermal properties than the reference material. Such enhancement opens up new practical applications, such as designing of snow-melting, de-icing or self-sensing systems that do not need any external sensors to detect current condition of building material. Thermal properties of the studied materials were measured by the step-wise transient method and mutually compared.

Non Invasive Sensors for Monitoring the Efficiency of AC Electrical Rotating Machines

PubMed Central

Zidat, Farid; Lecointe, Jean-Philippe; Morganti, Fabrice; Brudny, Jean-François; Jacq, Thierry; Streiff, Frédéric

2010-01-01

This paper presents a non invasive method for estimating the energy efficiency of induction motors used in industrial applications. This method is innovative because it is only based on the measurement of the external field emitted by the motor. The paper describes the sensors used, how they should be placed around the machine in order to decouple the external field components generated by both the air gap flux and the winding end-windings. The study emphasizes the influence of the eddy currents flowing in the yoke frame on the sensor position. A method to estimate the torque from the external field use is proposed. The measurements are transmitted by a wireless module (Zig-Bee) and they are centralized and stored on a PC computer. PMID:22163631

Non invasive sensors for monitoring the efficiency of AC electrical rotating machines.

PubMed

Zidat, Farid; Lecointe, Jean-Philippe; Morganti, Fabrice; Brudny, Jean-François; Jacq, Thierry; Streiff, Frédéric

2010-01-01

This paper presents a non invasive method for estimating the energy efficiency of induction motors used in industrial applications. This method is innovative because it is only based on the measurement of the external field emitted by the motor. The paper describes the sensors used, how they should be placed around the machine in order to decouple the external field components generated by both the air gap flux and the winding end-windings. The study emphasizes the influence of the eddy currents flowing in the yoke frame on the sensor position. A method to estimate the torque from the external field use is proposed. The measurements are transmitted by a wireless module (Zig-Bee) and they are centralized and stored on a PC computer.

The reflection of evolving bearing faults in the stator current's extended park vector approach for induction machines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corne, Bram; Vervisch, Bram; Derammelaere, Stijn; Knockaert, Jos; Desmet, Jan

2018-07-01

Stator current analysis has the potential of becoming the most cost-effective condition monitoring technology regarding electric rotating machinery. Since both electrical and mechanical faults are detected by inexpensive and robust current-sensors, measuring current is advantageous on other techniques such as vibration, acoustic or temperature analysis. However, this technology is struggling to breach into the market of condition monitoring as the electrical interpretation of mechanical machine-problems is highly complicated. Recently, the authors built a test-rig which facilitates the emulation of several representative mechanical faults on an 11 kW induction machine with high accuracy and reproducibility. Operating this test-rig, the stator current of the induction machine under test can be analyzed while mechanical faults are emulated. Furthermore, while emulating, the fault-severity can be manipulated adaptively under controllable environmental conditions. This creates the opportunity of examining the relation between the magnitude of the well-known current fault components and the corresponding fault-severity. This paper presents the emulation of evolving bearing faults and their reflection in the Extended Park Vector Approach for the 11 kW induction machine under test. The results confirm the strong relation between the bearing faults and the stator current fault components in both identification and fault-severity. Conclusively, stator current analysis increases reliability in the application as a complete, robust, on-line condition monitoring technology.

Digital fabrication of textiles: an analysis of electrical networks in 3D knitted functional fabrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallett, Richard; Knittel, Chelsea; Christe, Daniel; Castaneda, Nestor; Kara, Christina D.; Mazur, Krzysztof; Liu, Dani; Kontsos, Antonios; Kim, Youngmoo; Dion, Genevieve

2017-05-01

Digital fabrication methods are reshaping design and manufacturing processes through the adoption of pre-production visualization and analysis tools, which help minimize waste of materials and time. Despite the increasingly widespread use of digital fabrication techniques, comparatively few of these advances have benefited the design and fabrication of textiles. The development of functional fabrics such as knitted touch sensors, antennas, capacitors, and other electronic textiles could benefit from the same advances in electrical network modeling that revolutionized the design of integrated circuits. In this paper, the efficacy of using current state-of-the-art digital fabrication tools over the more common trialand- error methods currently used in textile design is demonstrated. Gaps are then identified in the current state-of-the-art tools that must be resolved to further develop and streamline the rapidly growing field of smart textiles and devices, bringing textile production into the realm of 21st century manufacturing.

Design and Simulation Test of an Open D-Dot Voltage Sensor

PubMed Central

Bai, Yunjie; Wang, Jingang; Wei, Gang; Yang, Yongming

2015-01-01

Nowadays, sensor development focuses on miniaturization and non-contact measurement. According to the D-dot principle, a D-dot voltage sensor with a new structure was designed based on the differential D-dot sensor with a symmetrical structure, called an asymmetric open D-dot voltage sensor. It is easier to install. The electric field distribution of the sensor was analyzed through Ansoft Maxwell and an open D-dot voltage sensor was designed. This open D-voltage sensor is characteristic of accessible insulating strength and small electric field distortion. The steady and transient performance test under 10 kV-voltage reported satisfying performances of the designed open D-dot voltage sensor. It conforms to requirements for a smart grid measuring sensor in intelligence, miniaturization and facilitation. PMID:26393590

Micro-Ares, An electric field sensor for ExoMars 2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Déprez, G.; Montmessin, F.; Witasse, O.; Lapauw, L.; Vivat, F.; Abbaki, S.; Granier, P.; Moirin, D.; Trautner, R.; Hassen-Khodja, R.; d'Almeida, E.; Chardenal, L.; Berthelier, J.-J.; Espositi, F.; Debei, S.; Rafkin, S.; Barth, E.

2015-10-01

For the past few years, LATMOS has been involved in the development of Micro-ARES, an electric field sensor part of the science payload (DREAMS) of the ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing demonstratormodule (EDM). It is dedicated to the very first measurement and characterization of the Martian atmospheric electricity.

Microfabricated Electrical Connector for Atomic Force Microscopy Probes with Integrated Sensor/Actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akiyama, Terunobu; Staufer, Urs; Rooij, Nico F. de

2002-06-01

A microfabricated, electrical connector is proposed for facilitating the mounting of atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes, which have an integrated sensor and/or actuator. Only a base chip, which acts as a socket, is permanently fixed onto a printed circuit board and electronically connected by standard wire bonding. The AFM chip, the “plug”, is flipped onto the base chip and pressed from the backside by a spring. Electrical contact with the eventual stress sensors, capacitive or piezoelectric sensor/actuators, is provided by contact bumps. These bumps of about 8 μm height are placed onto the base chip. They touch the pads on the AFM chip that were originally foreseen to be for wire bonding and thus provide the electrical contact. This connector schema was successfully used to register AFM images with piezoresistive cantilevers.

Easily installable behavioral monitoring system with electric field sensor.

PubMed

Tsukamoto, Sosuke; Machida, Yuichiro; Kameda, Noriyuki; Hoshino, Hiroshi; Tamura, Toshiyo

2007-01-01

This paper describes a wireless behavioral monitoring system equipped with an electric field sensor. The sensor unit was designed to obtain information regarding the usage of home electric appliances such as the television, microwave oven, coffee maker, etc. by measuring the electric field surrounding them. It is assumed that these usage statistics could provide information regarding the indoor behavior of a subject. Since the sensor can be used by simply attaching it to an appliance and does not require any wiring for its installation, this system can be temporarily installed in any ordinary house. A simple interface for selecting the threshold value of appliances' power on/off states was introduced. The experimental results reveal that the proposed system can be installed by individuals in their residences in a short time and the usage statistics of home appliances can be gathered.

Single Protein Structural Analysis with a Solid-state Nanopore Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiali; Golovchenko, Jene; McNabb, David

2005-03-01

We report on the use of solid-state nanopore sensors to detect single polypeptides. These solid-state nanopores are fabricated in thin membranes of silicon nitride by ion beam sculpting...[1]. When an electrically biased nanopore is exposed to denatured proteins in ionic solution, discrete transient electronic signals: current blockages are observed. We demonstrate examples of such transient electronic signals for Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and human placental laminin M proteins in Guanidine hydrochloride solution, which suggest that these polypeptides are individually translocating through the nanopore during the detecting process. The amplitude of the current blockages is proportional to the bias voltage. No transient current blockages are observed when proteins are not present in the solution. To probe protein-folding state, pH and temperature dependence experiments are performed. The results demonstrate a solid-state nanopore sensor can be used to detect and analyze single polypeptide chains. Similarities and differences with signals obtained from double stranded DNA in a solid-state nanopore and single stranded DNA in a biological nanopore are discussed. [.1] Li, J., D. Stein, C. McMullan, D. Branton, M.J. Aziz, and J.A. Golovchenko, Ion-beam sculpting at nanometre length scales. Nature, 2001. 412(12 July): p. 166-169.

Aircraft Lightning Electromagnetic Environment Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ely, Jay J.; Nguyen, Truong X.; Szatkowski, George N.

2011-01-01

This paper outlines a NASA project plan for demonstrating a prototype lightning strike measurement system that is suitable for installation onto research aircraft that already operate in thunderstorms. This work builds upon past data from the NASA F106, FAA CV-580, and Transall C-180 flight projects, SAE ARP5412, and the European ILDAS Program. The primary focus is to capture airframe current waveforms during attachment, but may also consider pre and post-attachment current, electric field, and radiated field phenomena. New sensor technologies are being developed for this system, including a fiber-optic Faraday polarization sensor that measures lightning current waveforms from DC to over several Megahertz, and has dynamic range covering hundreds-of-volts to tens-of-thousands-of-volts. A study of the electromagnetic emission spectrum of lightning (including radio wave, microwave, optical, X-Rays and Gamma-Rays), and a compilation of aircraft transfer-function data (including composite aircraft) are included, to aid in the development of other new lightning environment sensors, their placement on-board research aircraft, and triggering of the onboard instrumentation system. The instrumentation system will leverage recent advances in high-speed, high dynamic range, deep memory data acquisition equipment, and fiber-optic interconnect.

A High-Sensitivity Current Sensor Utilizing CrNi Wire and Microfiber Coils

PubMed Central

Xie, Xiaodong; Li, Jie; Sun, Li-Peng; Shen, Xiang; Jin, Long; Guan, Bai-ou

2014-01-01

We obtain an extremely high current sensitivity by wrapping a section of microfiber on a thin-diameter chromium-nickel wire. Our detected current sensitivity is as high as 220.65 nm/A2 for a structure length of only 35 μm. Such sensitivity is two orders of magnitude higher than the counterparts reported in the literature. Analysis shows that a higher resistivity or/and a thinner diameter of the metal wire may produce higher sensitivity. The effects of varying the structure parameters on sensitivity are discussed. The presented structure has potential for low-current sensing or highly electrically-tunable filtering applications. PMID:24824372

A high-sensitivity current sensor utilizing CrNi wire and microfiber coils.

PubMed

Xie, Xiaodong; Li, Jie; Sun, Li-Peng; Shen, Xiang; Jin, Long; Guan, Bai-ou

2014-05-12

We obtain an extremely high current sensitivity by wrapping a section of microfiber on a thin-diameter chromium-nickel wire. Our detected current sensitivity is as high as 220.65 nm/A2 for a structure length of only 35 μm. Such sensitivity is two orders of magnitude higher than the counterparts reported in the literature. Analysis shows that a higher resistivity or/and a thinner diameter of the metal wire may produce higher sensitivity. The effects of varying the structure parameters on sensitivity are discussed. The presented structure has potential for low-current sensing or highly electrically-tunable filtering applications.

Modeling a Linear Generator for Energy Harvesting Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

sensors where electrical power is not available (e.g., wireless sensors on train cars). While piezoelectric harvesters are primarily utilized in...Ship and the Future of Electricity Generation ............3 2. Unmanned Sensor Energy Needs .......................................................4...18 Figure 8. Example two-pole, three-phase salient-pole synchronous machine showing the general layout of windings and major axis

Engineering carbon nanomaterials for future applications: energy and bio-sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Santanu; Lahiri, Indranil; Kang, Chiwon; Choi, Wonbong

2011-06-01

This paper presents our recent results on carbon nanomaterials for applications in energy storage and bio-sensor. More specifically: (i) A novel binder-free carbon nanotubes (CNTs) structure as anode in Li-ion batteries. The interfacecontrolled CNT structure, synthesized through a two-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and directly grown on copper current collector, showed very high specific capacity - almost three times as that of graphite, excellent rate capability. (ii) A large scale graphene film was grown on Cu foil by thermal chemical vapor deposition and transferred to various substrates including PET, glass and silicon by using hot press lamination and etching process. The graphene/PET film shows high quality, flexible transparent conductive structure with unique electrical-mechanical properties; ~88.80 % light transmittance and ~ 100 Ω/sq sheet resistance. We demonstrate application of graphene/PET film as flexible and transparent electrode for field emission displays. (iii) Application of individual carbon nanotube as nanoelectrode for high sensitivity electrochemical sensor and device miniaturization. An individual CNT is split into a pair of nanoelectrodes with a gap between them. Single molecular-level detection of DNA hybridization was studied. Hybridization of the probe with its complementary strand results in an appreciable change in the electrical output signal.

Wireless power transmission using ultrasonic guided waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kural, A.; Pullin, R.; Featherston, C.; Paget, C.; Holford, K.

2011-07-01

The unavailability of suitable power supply at desired locations is currently an important obstacle in the development of distributed, wireless sensor networks for applications such as structural health monitoring of aircraft. Proposed solutions range from improved batteries to energy harvesting from vibration, temperature gradients and other sources. A novel approach is being investigated at Cardiff University School of Engineering in cooperation with Airbus. It aims to utilise ultrasonic guided Lamb waves to transmit energy through the aircraft skin. A vibration generator is to be placed in a location where electricity supply is readily available. Ultrasonic waves generated by this device will travel through the aircraft structure to a receiver in a remote wireless sensor node. The receiver will convert the mechanical vibration of the ultrasonic waves back to electricity, which will be used to power the sensor node. This paper describes the measurement and modelling of the interference pattern which emerges when Lamb waves are transmitted continuously as in this power transmission application. The discovered features of the pattern, such as a large signal amplitude variation and a relatively high frequency, are presented and their importance for the development of a power transmission system is discussed.

Toward Adequate Operation of Amorphous Oxide Thin-Film Transistors for Low-Concentration Gas Detection.

PubMed

Kim, Kyung Su; Ahn, Cheol Hyoun; Jung, Sung Hyeon; Cho, Sung Woon; Cho, Hyung Koun

2018-03-28

We suggest the use of a thin-film transistor (TFT) composed of amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) as a channel and a sensing layer for low-concentration NO 2 gas detection. Although amorphous oxide layers have a restricted surface area when reacting with NO 2 gas, such TFT sensors have incomparable advantages in the aspects of electrical stability, large-scale uniformity, and the possibility of miniaturization. The a-IGZO thin films do not possess typical reactive sites and grain boundaries, so that the variation in drain current of the TFTs strictly originates from oxidation reaction between channel surface and NO 2 gas. Especially, the sensing data obtained from the variation rate of drain current makes it possible to monitor efficiently and quickly the variation of the NO 2 concentration. Interestingly, we found that enhancement-mode TFT (EM-TFT) allows discrimination of the drain current variation rate at NO 2 concentrations ≤10 ppm, whereas a depletion-mode TFT is adequate for discriminating NO 2 concentrations ≥10 ppm. This discrepancy is attributed to the ratio of charge carriers contributing to gas capture with respect to total carriers. This capacity for the excellent detection of low-concentration NO 2 gas can be realized through (i) three-terminal TFT gas sensors using amorphous oxide, (ii) measurement of the drain current variation rate for high selectivity, and (iii) an EM mode driven by tuning the electrical conductivity of channel layers.

Failure Analysis of CCD Image Sensors Using SQUID and GMR Magnetic Current Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Felt, Frederick S.

2005-01-01

During electrical testing of a Full Field CCD Image Senor, electrical shorts were detected on three of six devices. These failures occurred after the parts were soldered to the PCB. Failure analysis was performed to determine the cause and locations of these failures on the devices. After removing the fiber optic faceplate, optical inspection was performed on the CCDs to understand the design and package layout. Optical inspection revealed that the device had a light shield ringing the CCD array. This structure complicated the failure analysis. Alternate methods of analysis were considered, including liquid crystal, light and thermal emission, LT/A, TT/A SQUID, and MP. Of these, SQUID and MP techniques were pursued for further analysis. Also magnetoresistive current imaging technology is discussed and compared to SQUID.

Effects of Asymmetric Local Joule Heating on Silicon Nanowire-Based Devices Formed by Dielectrophoresis Alignment Across Pt Electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, Hsiang-Hsi; Lin, Chun-Lung; Tsai, Wei-Che; Hong, Liang-Zheng; Lyu, Cheng-Han; Hsu, Hsun-Feng

2018-01-01

We demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of silicon nanowire-based devices in metal-nanowire-metal configuration using direct current dielectrophoresis. The current-voltage characteristics of the devices were found rectifying, and their direction of rectification could be determined by voltage sweep direction due to the asymmetric Joule heating effect that occurred in the electrical measurement process. The photosensing properties of the rectifying devices were investigated. It reveals that when the rectifying device was in reverse-biased mode, the excellent photoresponse was achieved due to the strong built-in electric field at the junction interface. It is expected that rectifying silicon nanowire-based devices through this novel and facile method can be potentially applied to other applications such as logic gates and sensors.

A Smart Voltage and Current Monitoring System for Three Phase Inverters Using an Android Smartphone Application

PubMed Central

Mnati, Mohannad Jabbar; Van den Bossche, Alex; Chisab, Raad Farhood

2017-01-01

In this paper, a new smart voltage and current monitoring system (SVCMS) technique is proposed. It monitors a three phase electrical system using an Arduino platform as a microcontroller to read the voltage and current from sensors and then wirelessly send the measured data to monitor the results using a new Android application. The integrated SVCMS design uses an Arduino Nano V3.0 as the microcontroller to measure the results from three voltage and three current sensors and then send this data, after calculation, to the Android smartphone device of an end user using Bluetooth HC-05. The Arduino Nano V3.0 controller and Bluetooth HC-05 are a cheap microcontroller and wireless device, respectively. The new Android smartphone application that monitors the voltage and current measurements uses the open source MIT App Inventor 2 software. It allows for monitoring some elementary fundamental voltage power quality properties. An effort has been made to investigate what is possible using available off-the-shelf components and open source software. PMID:28420132

A Smart Voltage and Current Monitoring System for Three Phase Inverters Using an Android Smartphone Application.

PubMed

Mnati, Mohannad Jabbar; Van den Bossche, Alex; Chisab, Raad Farhood

2017-04-15

In this paper, a new smart voltage and current monitoring system (SVCMS) technique is proposed. It monitors a three phase electrical system using an Arduino platform as a microcontroller to read the voltage and current from sensors and then wirelessly send the measured data to monitor the results using a new Android application. The integrated SVCMS design uses an Arduino Nano V3.0 as the microcontroller to measure the results from three voltage and three current sensors and then send this data, after calculation, to the Android smartphone device of an end user using Bluetooth HC-05. The Arduino Nano V3.0 controller and Bluetooth HC-05 are a cheap microcontroller and wireless device, respectively. The new Android smartphone application that monitors the voltage and current measurements uses the open source MIT App Inventor 2 software. It allows for monitoring some elementary fundamental voltage power quality properties. An effort has been made to investigate what is possible using available off-the-shelf components and open source software.

Intelligent electrical outlet for collective load control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lentine, Anthony L.; Ford, Justin R.; Spires, Shannon V.

Various technologies described herein pertain to an electrical outlet that autonomously manages loads in a microgrid. The electrical outlet can provide autonomous load control in response to variations in electrical power generation supply in the microgrid. The electrical outlet includes a receptacle, a sensor operably coupled to the receptacle, and an actuator configured to selectively actuate the receptacle. The sensor measures electrical parameters at the receptacle. Further, a processor autonomously controls the actuator based at least in part on the electrical parameters measured at the receptacle, electrical parameters from one or more disparate electrical outlets in the microgrid, and amore » supply of generated electric power in the microgrid at a given time.« less

Towards the Development of Electrical Biosensors Based on Nanostructured Porous Silicon

PubMed Central

Recio-Sánchez, Gonzalo; Torres-Costa, Vicente; Manso, Miguel; Gallach, Darío; López-García, Juan; Martín-Palma, Raúl J.

2010-01-01

The typical large specific surface area and high reactivity of nanostructured porous silicon (nanoPS) make this material very suitable for the development of sensors. Moreover, its biocompatibility and biodegradability opens the way to the development of biosensors. As such, in this work the use of nanoPS in the field of electrical biosensing is explored. More specifically, nanoPS-based devices with Al/nanoPS/Al and Au-NiCr/nanoPS/Au-NiCr structures were fabricated for the electrical detection of glucose and Escherichia Coli bacteria at different concentrations. The experimental results show that the current-voltage characteristics of these symmetric metal/nanoPS/metal structures strongly depend on the presence/absence and concentration of species immobilized on the surface.

Design and Operation of an Electrochemical Methanol Concentration Sensor for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Narayanan, S. R.; Valdez, T. I.; Chun, W.

2000-01-01

The development of a 150-Watt packaged power source based on liquid feed direct methanol fuel cells is being pursued currently at the Jet propulsion Laboratory for defense applications. In our studies we find that the concentration of methanol in the fuel circulation loop affects the electrical performance and efficiency the direct methanol fuel cell systems significantly. The practical operation of direct methanol fuel cell systems, therefore, requires accurate monitoring and control of methanol concentration. The present paper reports on the principle and demonstration of an in-house developed electrochemical sensor suitable for direct methanol fuel cell systems.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening Using a Piezo-Electric Sensor.

PubMed

Erdenebayar, Urtnasan; Park, Jong Uk; Jeong, Pilsoo; Lee, Kyoung Joung

2017-06-01

In this study, we propose a novel method for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) detection using a piezo-electric sensor. OSA is a relatively common sleep disorder. However, more than 80% of OSA patients remain undiagnosed. We investigated the feasibility of OSA assessment using a single-channel physiological signal to simplify the OSA screening. We detected both snoring and heartbeat information by using a piezo-electric sensor, and snoring index (SI) and features based on pulse rate variability (PRV) analysis were extracted from the filtered piezo-electric sensor signal. A support vector machine (SVM) was used as a classifier to detect OSA events. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated on 45 patients from mild, moderate, and severe OSA groups. The method achieved a mean sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 72.5%, 74.2%, and 71.5%; 85.8%, 80.5%, and 80.0%; and 70.3%, 77.1%, and 71.9% for the mild, moderate, and severe groups, respectively. Finally, these results not only show the feasibility of OSA detection using a piezo-electric sensor, but also illustrate its usefulness for monitoring sleep and diagnosing OSA. © 2017 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

Multi-Directional Environmental Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manohara, Harish (Inventor); Del Castillo, Linda Y. (Inventor); Mojarradi, Mohammed M. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

Systems and methods in accordance with embodiments of the invention implement multi-directional environmental sensors. In one embodiment, a multi-directional environmental sensor includes: an inner conductive element that is substantially symmetrical about three orthogonal planes; an outer conductive element that is substantially symmetrical about three orthogonal planes; and a device that measures the electrical characteristics of the multi-directional environmental sensor, the device having a first terminal and a second terminal; where the inner conductive element is substantially enclosed within the outer conductive element; where the inner conductive element is electrically coupled to the first terminal of the device; and where the outer conductive element is electrically coupled to the second terminal of the device.

Harvesting electrostatic energy using super-hydrophobic surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pociecha, Dominik; Zylka, Pawel

2016-11-01

Almost all environments are now being extensively populated by miniaturized, nano-powered electronic sensor devices communicated together through wireless sensor networks building Internet of Things (IoT). Various energy harvesting techniques are being more and more frequently proposed for battery-less powering of such remote, unattended, implantable or wearable sensors or other low-power electronic gadgets. Energy harvesting relays on extracting energy from the ambient sources readily accessible at the sensor location and converting it into electrical power. The paper exploits possibility of generating electric energy safely accessible for nano-power electronics using tribo-electric and electrostatic induction phenomena displayed at super-hydrophobic surfaces impinged by water droplets. Mechanism of such interaction is discussed and illustrated by experimental results.

Report of a Workshop on the Geoelectric and Geomagnetic Environment of Continental Margins Held in Arlington, Virginia on November 1989

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-04-01

tiltmeters and a few electric field sensors would be useful. Ancillary environmental measurements will also be needed. These should include sensors to...Applied research issues such as sensor development, technological improvements, and signal processing needs are not specifically addressed. This is... sensors of increased sensitivity. A submarine may have static magnetic and electric dipole moments caused by residual mag- netization of the machinery and

Fiber optic and laser sensors IV; Proceedings of the Meeting, Cambridge, MA, Sept. 22-24, 1986

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De Paula, Ramon P. (Editor); Udd, Eric (Editor)

1987-01-01

The conference presents papers on industrial uses of fiber optic sensors, point and distributed polarimetric optical fiber sensors, fiber optic electric field sensor technology, micromachined resonant structures, single-mode fibers for sensing applications, and measurement techniques for magnetic field gradient detection. Consideration is also given to electric field meter and temperature measurement techniques for the power industry, the calibration of high-temperature fiber-optic microbend pressure transducers, and interferometric sensors for dc measurands. Other topics include the recognition of colors and collision avoidance in robotics using optical fiber sensors, the loss compensation of intensity-modulating fiber-optic sensors, and an embedded optical fiber strain tensor for composite structure applications.

Improved Battery State Estimation Using Novel Sensing Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdul Samad, Nassim

Lithium-ion batteries have been considered a great complement or substitute for gasoline engines due to their high energy and power density capabilities among other advantages. However, these types of energy storage devices are still yet not widespread, mainly because of their relatively high cost and safety issues, especially at elevated temperatures. This thesis extends existing methods of estimating critical battery states using model-based techniques augmented by real-time measurements from novel temperature and force sensors. Typically, temperature sensors are located near the edge of the battery, and away from the hottest core cell regions, which leads to slower response times and increased errors in the prediction of core temperatures. New sensor technology allows for flexible sensor placement at the cell surface between cells in a pack. This raises questions about the optimal locations of these sensors for best observability and temperature estimation. Using a validated model, which is developed and verified using experiments in laboratory fixtures that replicate vehicle pack conditions, it is shown that optimal sensor placement can lead to better and faster temperature estimation. Another equally important state is the state of health or the capacity fading of the cell. This thesis introduces a novel method of using force measurements for capacity fade estimation. Monitoring capacity is important for defining the range of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Current capacity estimation techniques require a full discharge to monitor capacity. The proposed method can complement or replace current methods because it only requires a shallow discharge, which is especially useful in EVs and PHEVs. Using the accurate state estimation accomplished earlier, a method for downsizing a battery pack is shown to effectively reduce the number of cells in a pack without compromising safety. The influence on the battery performance (e.g. temperature, utilization, capacity fade, and cost) while downsizing and shifting the nominal operating SOC is demonstrated via simulations. The contributions in this thesis aim to make EVs, HEVs and PHEVs less costly while maintaining safety and reliability as more people are transitioning towards more environmentally friendly means of transportation.

Synthesis, characterization and application of functional carbon nano materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Jin

The synthesis, characterizations and applications of carbon nanomaterials, including carbon nanorods, carbon nanosheets, carbon nanohoneycombs and carbon nanotubes were demonstrated. Different growth techniques such as pulsed laser deposition, DC/RF sputtering, hot filament physical vapour deposition, evaporative casting and vacuum filtration methods were introduced or applied for synthesizing carbon nanomaterials. The morphology, chemical compositions, bond structures, electronic, mechanical and sensing properties of the obtained samples were investigated. Tilted well-aligned carbon micro- and nano- hybrid rods were fabricated on Si at different substrate temperatures and incident angles of carbon source beam using the hot filament physical vapour deposition technique. The morphologic surfaces and bond structures of the oblique carbon rod-like structures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron diffraction and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The field emission behaviour of the fabricated samples was also tested. Carbon nanosheets and nanohoneycombs were also synthesized on Si substrates using a hot filament physical vapor deposition technique under methane ambient and vacuum, respectively. The four-point Au electrodes are then sputtered on the surface of the nanostructured carbon films to form prototypical humidity sensors. The sensing properties of prototypical sensors at different temperature, humidity, direct current, and alternative current voltage were characterized. Linear sensing response of sensors to relative humidity ranging from 11% to 95% is observed at room temperature. Experimental data indicate that the carbon nanosheets based sensors exhibit an excellent reversible behavior and long-term stability. It also has higher response than that of the humidity sensor with carbon nanohoneycombs materials. Conducting composite films containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared in two different ways of evaporative casting and vacuum filtration methods using the biopolymer kappa-carrageenan (KC) as a dispersant. Evaporative casting and vacuum filtration film-formation processes were compared by testing electrical properties. Results showed that films produced using vacuum filtration had higher electrical properties than those prepared using the evaporative casting method. The evaporative casted multi walled carbon nanotubes composite films also performed as the best humidity sensor over all other films measured.

Current characteristics of λ-DNA molecules/polystyrene nanoparticles in TBE buffer solution through micro/nanofluidic capillaries under DC electric field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Yifei; Zhao, Wei; Xue, Jing; Sun, Dan; Wang, Kaige; Wang, Guiren; Li, Junjie; Bai, Jintao; Gu, Changzhi

2017-03-01

In practical applications of biochips and bio-sensors, electrokinetic mechanisms are commonly employed to manipulate single bio-molecules and analyze their characteristics. To accurately and flexibly control the movement of single-molecule within micro/nanofluidic channels which are the basic components of Lab-chips, the current signals in micro/nanocapillaries filled with solutions of DNA molecules or polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles are systematically studied. Experimental results indicate that the current response along the micro/nanocapillaries can be significantly influenced by the diameter of the capillaries and the pH value of the solutions. Specifically, when there is only a pure (TBE) solution, the electric conductance does not monotonically decrease with decreasing the diameter of the capillaries, but slightly increases with decreasing the capillary diameter. When λ-DNA molecules or PS nanoparticles are added into the TBE buffer, the size effect on the electric conductance of the solutions are quite different. Although in the former, the electric conductance behaves differently from that in the pure TBE solution and decreases with the decreasing diameter, in the latter, the change is similar to that in the pure TBE solution. Besides, an abnormal ‘falling’ of the electric conductance is observed in a capillary with diameter of 200 nm. The investigation will significantly enhance the understanding on the electric properties of the solutions of biomolecules and particles in micro/nanofluidics. This is especially helpful for designing functional Lab-chip devices.

Finite element modelling of fibre Bragg grating strain sensors and experimental validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malik, Shoaib A.; Mahendran, Ramani S.; Harris, Dee; Paget, Mark; Pandita, Surya D.; Machavaram, Venkata R.; Collins, David; Burns, Jonathan M.; Wang, Liwei; Fernando, Gerard F.

2009-03-01

Fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensors continue to be used extensively for monitoring strain and temperature in and on engineering materials and structures. Previous researchers have also developed analytical models to predict the loadtransfer characteristics of FBG sensors as a function of applied strain. The general properties of the coating or adhesive that is used to surface-bond the FBG sensor to the substrate has also been modelled using finite element analysis. In this current paper, a technique was developed to surface-mount FBG sensors with a known volume and thickness of adhesive. The substrates used were aluminium dog-bone tensile test specimens. The FBG sensors were tensile tested in a series of ramp-hold sequences until failure. The reflected FBG spectra were recorded using a commercial instrument. Finite element analysis was performed to model the response of the surface-mounted FBG sensors. In the first instance, the effect of the mechanical properties of the adhesive and substrate were modelled. This was followed by modelling the volume of adhesive used to bond the FBG sensor to the substrate. Finally, the predicted values obtained via finite element modelling were correlated to the experimental results. In addition to the FBG sensors, the tensile test specimens were instrumented with surface-mounted electrical resistance strain gauges.

The CSSL (combined sporadic structures and layers) payload: In situ observations of mesospheric sodium and related parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Machuga, David W.; Kane, Timothy J.; Wheeler, Timothy F.; Croskey, Charles L.; Mathews, John D.; Mitchell, John D.

1997-01-01

The objectives, design and results of the sensor systems for the combined sporadic structures and layers (CSSL) payload are analyzed. The CSSL main objectives were to: validate current models of mesospheric sodium chemistry; explore the relationship between turbulence and Na fluctuations; and to explore the relationship between high latitude electric fields and the formation of Na anomalies.

Multiple Integrated Navigation Sensors for Improved Occupancy Grid FastSLAM

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

to the Faculty Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate School of Engineering and Management Air Force Institute of Technology Air...autonomous vehicle exploration with applications to search and rescue. To current knowledge , this research presents the first SLAM solution to...solution is a key component of an autonomous vehicle, especially one whose mission involves gaining knowledge of unknown areas. It provides the ability

Silicon carbide novel optical sensor for combustion systems and nuclear reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Geunsik; Kar, Aravinda

2014-09-01

Crystalline silicon carbide is a wide bandgap semiconductor material with excellent optical properties, chemical inertness, radiation hardness and high mechanical strength at high temperatures. It is an excellent material platform for sensor applications in harsh environments such as combustion systems and nuclear reactors. A laser doping technique is used to fabricate SiC sensors for different combustion gases such as CO2, CO, NO and NO2. The sensor operates based on the principle of semiconductor optics, producing optical signal in contrast to conventional electrical sensors that produces electrical signal. The sensor response is measured with a low power He-Ne or diode laser.

Use of plant woody species electrical potential for irrigation scheduling

PubMed Central

Ríos-Rojas, Liliana; Morales-Moraga, David; Alcalde, José A; Gurovich, Luis A

2015-01-01

The electrical response of plants to environmental stimuli can be measured and quantitatively related to the intensity of several stimulating sources, like temperature, solar radiation, soil water content, evapotranspiration rates, sap flow and dendrometric cycles. These relations can be used to assess the influence of different environmental situations on soil water availability to plants, defined as a steady state condition between leaf transpirative flow and soil water flow to plant roots. A restricted soil water flow due to soil dryness can trigger water stress in plants, if the atmospheric evaporative demand is high, causing partial stomata closure as a physiological response to avoid plant dehydration; water stressed and unstressed plants manifest a differential electrical response. Real time plant electrical response measurements can anticipate actions that prevent the plant reaching actual stress conditions, optimizing stomata gas exchange and photosynthetic rates. An electrophysiological sensor developed in this work, allows remote real-time recording information on plant electrical potential (EP) in the field, which is highly related to EP measurements obtained with a laboratory Keithley voltmeter sensor used in an highly controlled experimental setup. Our electrophysiological sensor is a wireless, autonomous devise, which transmits EP information via Internet to a data server. Using both types of sensors (EP electrodes with a Keithley voltmeter and the electrophysiological sensor), we measured in real time the electrical responses of Persea americana and Prunus domestica plants, to induced water deficits. The differential response for 2 scenarios: irrigation and water restriction is identified by a progressive change in slope on the daily maximal and minimal electric signal values in stressed plants, and a zero-slope for similar signals for well-watered plants. Results show a correspondence between measured signals obtained by our electrophysiological sensor and the EP electrodes connected to the Keithley voltmeter in each irrigation stage. Also, both sensors show a daily cyclical signal (circadian cycle). PMID:25826257

Use of plant woody species electrical potential for irrigation scheduling.

PubMed

Ríos-Rojas, Liliana; Morales-Moraga, David; Alcalde, José A; Gurovich, Luis A

2015-01-01

The electrical response of plants to environmental stimuli can be measured and quantitatively related to the intensity of several stimulating sources, like temperature, solar radiation, soil water content, evapotranspiration rates, sap flow and dendrometric cycles. These relations can be used to assess the influence of different environmental situations on soil water availability to plants, defined as a steady state condition between leaf transpirative flow and soil water flow to plant roots. A restricted soil water flow due to soil dryness can trigger water stress in plants, if the atmospheric evaporative demand is high, causing partial stomata closure as a physiological response to avoid plant dehydration; water stressed and unstressed plants manifest a differential electrical response. Real time plant electrical response measurements can anticipate actions that prevent the plant reaching actual stress conditions, optimizing stomata gas exchange and photosynthetic rates. An electrophysiological sensor developed in this work, allows remote real-time recording information on plant electrical potential (EP) in the field, which is highly related to EP measurements obtained with a laboratory Keithley voltmeter sensor used in an highly controlled experimental setup. Our electrophysiological sensor is a wireless, autonomous devise, which transmits EP information via Internet to a data server. Using both types of sensors (EP electrodes with a Keithley voltmeter and the electrophysiological sensor), we measured in real time the electrical responses of Persea americana and Prunus domestica plants, to induced water deficits. The differential response for 2 scenarios: irrigation and water restriction is identified by a progressive change in slope on the daily maximal and minimal electric signal values in stressed plants, and a zero-slope for similar signals for well-watered plants. Results show a correspondence between measured signals obtained by our electrophysiological sensor and the EP electrodes connected to the Keithley voltmeter in each irrigation stage. Also, both sensors show a daily cyclical signal (circadian cycle).

Review on water quality sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruse, Peter

2018-05-01

Terrestrial life may be carbon-based, but most of its mass is made up of water. Access to clean water is essential to all aspects of maintaining life. Mainly due to human activity, the strain on the water resources of our planet has increased substantially, requiring action in water management and purification. Water quality sensors are needed in order to quantify the problem and verify the success of remedial actions. This review summarizes the most common chemical water quality parameters, and current developments in sensor technology available to monitor them. Particular emphasis is on technologies that lend themselves to reagent-free, low-maintenance, autonomous and continuous monitoring. Chemiresistors and other electrical sensors are discussed in particular detail, while mechanical, optical and electrochemical sensors also find mentioning. The focus here is on the physics of chemical signal transduction in sensor elements that are in direct contact with the analyte. All other sensing methods, and all other elements of sampling, sample pre-treatment as well as the collection, transmission and analysis of the data are not discussed here. Instead, the goal is to highlight the progress and remaining challenges in the development of sensor materials and designs for an audience of physicists and materials scientists.

Remotely operable sample-taking appliance, especially for ascertaining radioactivity profiles in contaminated material surfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanulik, J.

1983-09-20

A sample-taking appliance comprises several sensors arranged on a turntable like sensor carrier in such a manner that the application areas of the small sensor sponges decrease stepwise from the first to the last sensor. By simple rotation of the turntable the sensors can be brought successively into a working position. The sensor carrier is preferably accommodated in a housing which is open at the bottom and which is raisable and lowerable in the frame of the appliance by, for example, a threaded spindle. The threaded spindle is driven by an electric motor. For each sampling the sensor carrier ismore » lowered until the cell voltage corresponds to a predetermined desired value. This produces sufficiently precise and reproductible measured values of the electrolytic current for ascertaining the removed layer thickness. The appliance makes it possible to take material samples even from locations of high radiation loading. The material layers removed as samples lie concentrically above each other so that the graduation of the application areas comes into full effect and the material samples taken by the small sponges and the radioactivity contained therein are not falsified.« less

Noninvasive electrical impedance sensor for in vivo tissue discrimination at radio frequencies.

PubMed

Dai, Yu; Du, Jun; Yang, Qing; Zhang, Jianxun

2014-09-01

Compared to traditional open surgery, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) allows for a more rapid and less painful recovery. However, the lack of significant haptic feedback in MIS can make tissue discrimination difficult. This paper tests a noninvasive electrical impedance sensor for in vivo discrimination of tissue types in MIS. The sensor consists of two stainless steel spherical electrodes used to measure the impedance spectra over the frequency range of 200 kHz to 5 MHz. The sensor helps ensure free movement on an organ surface and prevents soft tissues from being injured during impedance measurement. Since the recorded electrical impedance is correlated with the force pressed on the electrode and the mechanical property of the tissue, the electrode-tissue contact impedance is calculated theoretically. We show that the standard deviation of the impedance ratio at each frequency point is sufficient to distinguish different tissue types. Both in vitro experiment in a pig kidney and in vivo experiment in rabbit organs were performed to demonstrate the feasibility of the electrical impedance sensor. The experimental results indicated that the sensor, used with the proposed data-processing method, provides accurate and reliable biological tissue discrimination. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

"Bionic Man" Showcases Medical Research | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

MedlinePlus

... Wisconsin Implantable Sensors for Prosthesis Control Implantable myoelectric (electrical properties of muscle) sensors detect nerve signals above ... treatments reach the brain. Spinal Stimulation for Paralysis Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is being used ...

Sensor/amplifier for weak light sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Desmet, D. J.; Jason, A. J.; Parr, A. C.

1980-01-01

Light sensor/amplifier circuit detects weak light converts it into strong electrical signal in electrically noisy environment. Circuit is relatively simple and uses inexpensive, readily available components. Device is useful in such applications as fire detection and photographic processing.

High-sensitivity acoustic sensors from nanofibre webs.

PubMed

Lang, Chenhong; Fang, Jian; Shao, Hao; Ding, Xin; Lin, Tong

2016-03-23

Considerable interest has been devoted to converting mechanical energy into electricity using polymer nanofibres. In particular, piezoelectric nanofibres produced by electrospinning have shown remarkable mechanical energy-to-electricity conversion ability. However, there is little data for the acoustic-to-electric conversion of electrospun nanofibres. Here we show that electrospun piezoelectric nanofibre webs have a strong acoustic-to-electric conversion ability. Using poly(vinylidene fluoride) as a model polymer and a sensor device that transfers sound directly to the nanofibre layer, we show that the sensor devices can detect low-frequency sound with a sensitivity as high as 266 mV Pa(-1). They can precisely distinguish sound waves in low to middle frequency region. These features make them especially suitable for noise detection. Our nanofibre device has more than five times higher sensitivity than a commercial piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) film device. Electrospun piezoelectric nanofibres may be useful for developing high-performance acoustic sensors.

High-sensitivity acoustic sensors from nanofibre webs

PubMed Central

Lang, Chenhong; Fang, Jian; Shao, Hao; Ding, Xin; Lin, Tong

2016-01-01

Considerable interest has been devoted to converting mechanical energy into electricity using polymer nanofibres. In particular, piezoelectric nanofibres produced by electrospinning have shown remarkable mechanical energy-to-electricity conversion ability. However, there is little data for the acoustic-to-electric conversion of electrospun nanofibres. Here we show that electrospun piezoelectric nanofibre webs have a strong acoustic-to-electric conversion ability. Using poly(vinylidene fluoride) as a model polymer and a sensor device that transfers sound directly to the nanofibre layer, we show that the sensor devices can detect low-frequency sound with a sensitivity as high as 266 mV Pa−1. They can precisely distinguish sound waves in low to middle frequency region. These features make them especially suitable for noise detection. Our nanofibre device has more than five times higher sensitivity than a commercial piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) film device. Electrospun piezoelectric nanofibres may be useful for developing high-performance acoustic sensors. PMID:27005010

Microfabricated Nickel Based Sensors for Hostile and High Pressure Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holt, Christopher Michael Bjustrom

This thesis outlines the development of two platforms for integrating microfabricated sensors with high pressure feedthroughs for application in hostile high temperature high pressure environments. An application in oil well production logging is explored and two sensors were implemented with these platforms for application in an oil well. The first platform developed involved microfabrication directly onto a cut and polished high pressure feedthrough. This technique enables a system that is more robust than the wire bonded silicon die technique used for MEMS integration in pressure sensors. Removing wire bonds from the traditional MEMS package allows for direct interface of a microfabricated sensor with a hostile high pressure fluid environment which is not currently possible. During the development of this platform key performance metrics included pressure testing to 70MPa and temperature cycling from 20°C to 200°C. This platform enables electronics integration with a variety of microfabricated electrical and thermal based sensors which can be immersed within the oil well environment. The second platform enabled free space fabrication of nickel microfabricated devices onto an array of pins using a thick tin sacrificial layer. This technique allowed microfabrication of metal MEMS that are released by distances of 1cm from their substrate. This method is quite flexible and allows for fabrication to be done on any pin array substrate regardless of surface quality. Being able to place released MEMS sensors directly onto traditional style circuit boards, ceramic circuit boards, electrical connectors, ribbon cables, pin headers, or high pressure feedthroughs greatly improves the variety of possible applications and reduces fabrication costs. These two platforms were then used to fabricate thermal conductivity sensors that showed excellent performance for distinguishing between oil, water, and gas phases. Testing was conducted at various flow rates and performance of the released platform was shown to be better than the performance seen in the anchored sensors while both platforms were significantly better than a simply fabricated wrapped wire sensor. The anchored platform was also used to demonstrate a traditional capacitance based fluid dielectric sensor which was found to work similarly to conventional commercial capacitance probes while being significantly smaller in size.

Flexure-FET biosensor to break the fundamental sensitivity limits of nanobiosensors using nonlinear electromechanical coupling

PubMed Central

Jain, Ankit; Nair, Pradeep R.; Alam, Muhammad A.

2012-01-01

In this article, we propose a Flexure-FET (flexure sensitive field effect transistor) ultrasensitive biosensor that utilizes the nonlinear electromechanical coupling to overcome the fundamental sensitivity limits of classical electrical or mechanical nanoscale biosensors. The stiffness of the suspended gate of Flexure-FET changes with the capture of the target biomolecules, and the corresponding change in the gate shape or deflection is reflected in the drain current of FET. The Flexure-FET is configured to operate such that the gate is biased near pull-in instability, and the FET-channel is biased in the subthreshold regime. In this coupled nonlinear operating mode, the sensitivity (S) of Flexure-FET with respect to the captured molecule density (Ns) is shown to be exponentially higher than that of any other electrical or mechanical biosensor. In other words, while , classical electrical or mechanical biosensors are limited to Sclassical ∼ γ3NS or γ4 ln(NS), where γi are sensor-specific constants. In addition, the proposed sensor can detect both charged and charge-neutral biomolecules, without requiring a reference electrode or any sophisticated instrumentation, making it a potential candidate for various low-cost, point-of-care applications. PMID:22623527

Design, fabrication, and testing of energy-harvesting thermoelectric generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jovanovic, Velimir; Ghamaty, Saeid

2006-03-01

An energy-harvesting thermoelectric generator (TEG) is being developed to provide power for wireless sensors used in health monitoring of Navy machinery. TEGs are solid-state devices that convert heat directly into electricity without any moving parts. In this application, the TEGs utilize the heat transfer between shipboard waste heat sources and the ambient air to generate electricity. In order to satisfy the required small design volume of less than one cubic inch, Hi-Z is using its innovative thin-film Quantum Well (QW) thermoelectric technology that will provide a factor of four increase in efficiency and a large reduction in the device volume over the currently used bulk Bi IITe 3 based thermoelectics. QWs are nanostructured multi-layer films. These wireless sensors can be used to detect cracks, corrosion, impact damage, and temperature and vibration excursions as part of the Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) of the Navy ship machinery. The CBM of the ship machinery can be significantly improved by automating the process with the use of self-powered wireless sensors. These power-harvesting TEGs can be used to replace batteries as electrical power sources and to eliminate power cables and data lines. The first QW TEG module was fabricated and initial tests were successful. It is planned to conduct performance tests the entire prototype QW TEG device (consisting of the TEG module, housing, thermal insulation and the heat sink) in a simulated thermal environment of a Navy ship.

High Sensitivity Stress Sensor Based on Hybrid Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cao, Xian-An (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A sensing device is used to detect the spatial distributions of stresses applied by physical contact with the surface of the sensor or induced by pressure, temperature gradients, and surface absorption. The sensor comprises a hybrid active layer that includes luminophores doped in a polymeric or organic host, altogether embedded in a matrix. Under an electrical bias, the sensor simultaneously converts stresses into electrical and optical signals. Among many applications, the device may be used for tactile sensing and biometric imaging.

A Spherical Electro Optic High Voltage Sensor

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-01

electro - optic (EO) crystal is introduced for photonic measurement of pulsed high-voltage fields. A spherical shape is used in order to reduce electric field gradients in the vicinity of the sensor. The sensor is pure dielectric and is interrogated remotely using a laser. The sensor does not require the connection of any conducting components, which results in the highest electrical isolation. The spherical nature of the crystal coupled with the incident laser beam, and crossed polarizers (intensity modulation scheme). automatically produces interference figures. The

Inductive Non-Contact Position Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert; Garcia, Alyssa; Simmons, Stephen

2010-01-01

Optical hardware has been developed to measure the depth of defects in the Space Shuttle Orbiter's windows. In this hardware, a mirror is translated such that its position corresponds to the defect's depth, so the depth measurement problem is transferred to a mirror-position measurement problem. This is preferable because the mirror is internal to the optical system and thus accessible. Based on requirements supplied by the window inspectors, the depth of the defects needs to be measured over a range of 200 microns with a resolution of about 100 nm and an accuracy of about 400 nm. These same requirements then apply to measuring the position of the mirror, and in addition, since this is a scanning system, a response time of about 10 ms is needed. A market search was conducted and no sensor that met these requirements that also fit into the available housing volume (less than one cubic inch) was found, so a novel sensor configuration was constructed to meet the requirements. This new sensor generates a nearly linearly varying magnetic field over a small region of space, which can easily be sampled, resulting in a voltage proportional to position. Experiments were done with a range of inductor values, drive voltages, drive frequencies, and inductor shapes. A rough mathematical model was developed for the device that, in most aspects, describes how it operates and what electrical parameters should be chosen for best performance. The final configuration met all the requirements, yielding a small rugged sensor that was easy to use and had nanometer resolution over more than the 200-micron range required. The inductive position sensor is a compact device (potentially as small as 2 cubic centimeters), which offers nanometer-position resolution over a demonstrated range of nearly 1 mm. One of its advantages is the simplicity of its electrical design. Also, the sensor resolution is nearly uniform across its operational range, which is in contrast to eddy current and capacitive sensors whose sensitivity is dependent upon position.

Equivalent circuit consideration of frequency-shift-type acceleration sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasaki, Yoshifumi; Sugawara, Sumio; Kudo, Subaru

2018-07-01

In this paper, an electrical equivalent circuit for the piezoelectrically driven frequency-shift-type acceleration sensor model is represented, and the equivalent circuit constants including the effect of the axial force are clarified for the first time. The results calculated by the finite element method are compared with the experimentally measured ones of the one-axis sensor of trial production. The result shows that the analyzed values almost agree with the measured ones, and that the equivalent circuit representation of the sensor is useful for electrical engineers in order to easily analyze the characteristics of the sensors.

Control and materials characterization System for 6T Superconducting Cryogen Free Magnet Facility at IUAC, New Delhi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutt, R. N.; Meena, D. K.; Kar, S.; Soni, V.; Nadaf, A.; Das, A.; Singh, F.; Datta, T. S.

2017-02-01

A system for carrying out automatic experimental measurements of various electrical transport characteristics and their relation to magnetic fields for samples mounted on the sample holder on a Variable Temperature Insert (VTI) of the Cryogen Free Superconducting Magnet System (CFMS) has been developed. The control and characterization system is capable of monitoring, online plotting and history logging in real-time of cryogenic temperatures with the Silicon (Si) Diode and Zirconium Oxy-Nitride sensors installed inside the magnet facility. Electrical transport property measurements have been automated with implementation of current reversal resistance measurements and automatic temperature set-point ramping with the parameters of interest available in real-time as well as for later analysis. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) based system is user friendly to facilitate operations. An ingenious electronics for reading Zirconium Oxy-Nitride temperature sensors has been used. Price to performance ratio has been optimized by using in house developed measurement techniques mixed with specialized commercial cryogenic measurement / control equipment.

Sensoring Fusion Data from the Optic and Acoustic Emissions of Electric Arcs in the GMAW-S Process for Welding Quality Assessment

PubMed Central

Alfaro, Sadek Crisóstomo Absi; Cayo, Eber Huanca

2012-01-01

The present study shows the relationship between welding quality and optical-acoustic emissions from electric arcs, during welding runs, in the GMAW-S process. Bead on plate welding tests was carried out with pre-set parameters chosen from manufacturing standards. During the welding runs interferences were induced on the welding path using paint, grease or gas faults. In each welding run arc voltage, welding current, infrared and acoustic emission values were acquired and parameters such as arc power, acoustic peaks rate and infrared radiation rate computed. Data fusion algorithms were developed by assessing known welding quality parameters from arc emissions. These algorithms have showed better responses when they are based on more than just one sensor. Finally, it was concluded that there is a close relation between arc emissions and quality in welding and it can be measured from arc emissions sensing and data fusion algorithms. PMID:22969330

Improvements to a Flow Sensor for Liquid Bismuth-Fed Hall Thrusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonds, Kevin; Polzin, Kurt A.

2010-01-01

Recently, there has been significant interest in using bismuth metal as a propellant in Hall Thrusters [1, 2]. Bismuth offers some considerable cost, weight, and space savings over the traditional propellant--xenon. Quantifying the performance of liquid metal-fed Hall thrusters requires a very precise measure of the low propellant flow rates [1, 2]. The low flow rates (10 mg/sec) and the temperature at which free flowing liquid bismuth exists (above 300 C) preclude the use of off-the-shelf flow sensing equipment [3]. Therefore a new type of sensor is required. The hotspot bismuth flow sensor, described in Refs. [1-5] is designed to perform a flow rate measurement by measuring the velocity at which a thermal feature moves through a flow chamber. The mass flow rate can be determined from the time of flight of the thermal peak, [4, 5]. Previous research and testing has been concerned mainly with the generation of the thermal peak and it's subsequent detection. In this paper, we present design improvements to the sensor concept; and the results of testing conducted to verify the functionality of these improvements. A ceramic material is required for the sensor body (see Fig. 1), which must allow for active heating of the bismuth flow channel to keep the propellant in a liquid state. The material must be compatible with bismuth and must be bonded to conductive elements to allow for conduction of current into the liquid metal and measurement of the temperature in the flow. The new sensor requires fabrication techniques that will allow for a very small diameter flow chamber, which is required to produce useful measurements. Testing of various materials has revealed several that are potentially compatible with liquid bismuth. Of primary concern in the fabrication and testing of a robust, working prototype, is the compatibility of the selected materials with one another. Specifically, the thermal expansion rates of the materials relative to the ceramic body cannot expand so much as to cause cracks in the body or cause the bond between parts to delaminate. Those parts that will carry the current pulse must be electrically conductive while the sensor body must be an electrical insulator. Generally, the material choices as well as the sensor design must aid to preserve the integrity of the thermal feature to obtain accurate measurements. The present aim is to also incorporate, into the sensor body, an active heating arrangement based on ceramic heater technology similar to that used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Ultra-low power sensor for autonomous non-invasive voltage measurement in IoT solutions for energy efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villani, Clemente; Balsamo, Domenico; Brunelli, Davide; Benini, Luca

2015-05-01

Monitoring current and voltage waveforms is fundamental to assess the power consumption of a system and to improve its energy efficiency. In this paper we present a smart meter for power consumption which does not need any electrical contact with the load or its conductors, and which can measure both current and voltage. Power metering becomes easier and safer and it is also self-sustainable because an energy harvesting module based on inductive coupling powers the entire device from the output of the current sensor. A low cost 32-bit wireless CPU architecture is used for data filtering and processing, while a wireless transceiver sends data via the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. We describe in detail the innovative contact-less voltage measurement system, which is based on capacitive coupling and on an algorithm that exploits two pre-processing channels. The system self-calibrates to perform precise measurements regardless the cable type. Experimental results demonstrate accuracy in comparison with commercial high-cost instruments, showing negligible deviations.

Linear strain sensor made of multi-walled carbon nanotube/epoxy composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Shuying; Yuan, Weifeng; Liu, Haidong; Alamusi; Hu, Ning; Zhao, Chaoyang; Zhao, Yangzhou

2017-11-01

In this study, a fabrication process was developed to make the multi-walled carbon nanotubes/epoxy (MWCNT/EP) composite films. The electrical-strain behaviour of the films in direct and alternating current circuits were both tested. It is found that the direct current resistance and the dielectric loss tangent of the MWCNT/EP composite films are dependent on the strain and the weight fraction of the carbon nanotubes. In an alternating current circuit, the test frequency affects the impedance and the phase angle of the composite film, but it has nothing to do with the change ratio of the dielectric loss tangent of the film in tension. This phenomenon can be interpreted by a proposed equivalent circuit model. Experiment results show that the change rate of the dielectric loss tangent of the MWCNT/EP sensor is linearly proportional to the strain. The findings obtained in the present study provide a promising method to develop ultrasensitive linear strain gauges.

Effects of media stray field on electromigration characteristics in current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance spin-valve read sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gui Zeng, Ding; Lee, Kyoung-il; Chung, Kyung-Won; Bae, Seongtae

2012-05-01

Effects of magnetic stray field retrieved from both longitudinal and perpendicular magnetic recording media (denoted by "media stray field") on electromigration (EM) characteristics of current-perpendicular-to-plane (CPP) giant magnetoresistance spin-valve (GMR SV) read sensors have been numerically studied to explore the electrical and magnetic stability of the read sensor under real operation. The mean-time-to-failure (MTTF) of the CPP GMR SV read sensors was found to have a strong dependence on the physical parameters of the recording media and recorded information status, such as the pulse width of media stray field, the bit length, and the head moving velocity. According to the numerical calculation results, it was confirmed that in the longitudinal media, the shorter the stray field pulse width (i.e., the sharper the media transition) allows for the longer MTTF of the CPP GMR SV read sensors; while in the perpendicular media, the sharper the media transition gives rise to a shorter MTTF. Interestingly, it was also revealed that the MTTF could be improved by reducing the bit length as well as increasing the head velocity in both longitudinal and perpendicular media. Furthermore, the bit distribution patterns, especially the number of consecutive `0' bits strongly affected the MTTF of GMR SV read sensors. The strong dependences of MTTF on the media stray field during CPP GMR SV sensor operation are thought to be mainly attributed to the thermal cycling (temperature rise and fall) caused by the resistance change due to GMR effects.

Electrochemical detection of single molecules using abiotic nanopores having electrically tunable dimensions

DOEpatents

Sansinena, Jose-Maria [Los Alamos, NM; Redondo, Antonio [Los Alamos, NM; Olazabal, Virginia [Los Alamos, NM; Hoffbauer, Mark A [Los Alamos, NM; Akhadov, Elshan A [Los Alamos, NM

2009-12-29

A barrier structure for use in an electrochemical stochastic membrane sensor for single molecule detection. The sensor is based upon inorganic nanopores having electrically tunable dimensions. The inorganic nanopores are formed from inorganic materials and an electrically conductive polymer. Methods of making the barrier structure and sensing single molecules using the barrier structure are also described.

Electrochemical detection of single molecules using abiotic nanopores having electrically tunable dimensions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sansinena, Jose-Maria; Redondo, Antonio; Olazabal, Virginia

2017-09-12

A barrier structure for use in an electrochemical stochastic membrane sensor for single molecule detection. The sensor is based upon inorganic nanopores having electrically tunable dimensions. The inorganic nanopores are formed from inorganic materials and an electrically conductive polymer. Methods of making the barrier structure and sensing single molecules using the barrier structure are also described.

Electrochemical detection of single molecules using abiotic nanopores having electrically tunable dimensions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sansinena, Jose-Maria; Redondo, Antonio; Olazabal, Virginia

2017-07-18

A barrier structure for use in an electrochemical stochastic membrane sensor for single molecule detection. The sensor is based upon inorganic nanopores having electrically tunable dimensions. The inorganic nanopores are formed from inorganic materials and an electrically conductive polymer. Methods of making the barrier structure and sensing single molecules using the barrier structure are also described.

Electrochemical detection of single molecules using abiotic nanopores having electrically tunable dimensions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sansinena, Jose-Maria; Redondo, Antonio; Olazabal, Virginia

A barrier structure for use in an electrochemical stochastic membrane sensor for single molecule detection. The sensor is based upon inorganic nanopores having electrically tunable dimensions. The inorganic nanopores are formed from inorganic materials and an electrically conductive polymer. Methods of making the barrier structure and sensing single molecules using the barrier structure are also described.

Power system applications of fiber optic sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, A. R.; Jackson, S. P.; Kirkham, H.; Yeh, C.

1986-01-01

This document is a progress report of work done in 1985 on the Communications and Control for Electric Power Systems Project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These topics are covered: Electric Field Measurement, Fiber Optic Temperature Sensing, and Optical Power transfer. Work was done on the measurement of ac and dc electric fields. A prototype sensor for measuring alternating fields was made using a very simple electroscope approach. An electronic field mill sensor for dc fields was made using a fiber optic readout, so that the entire probe could be operated isolated from ground. There are several instances in which more precise knowledge of the temperature of electrical power apparatus would be useful. This report describes a number of methods whereby the distributed temperature profile can be obtained using a fiber optic sensor. The ability to energize electronics by means of an optical fiber has the advantage that electrical isolation is maintained at low cost. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to convert the light energy into electrical form by means of photovoltaic cells. JPL has developed an array of PV cells in gallium arsenide specifically for this purpose. This work is described.

Differentiation of nonferrous metal particles in lubrication oil using an electrical conductivity measurement-based inductive sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yu; Zhang, Hongpeng; Wang, Man; Chen, Haiquan

2018-02-01

A method that measures the electrical conductivity of metal based on monitoring the inductance changes of coils via an inductive sensor is introduced in this work to differentiate metal particles in lubrication oil. Theoretical analysis coupled with experimentation is employed to differentiate varieties of nonferrous metal particles, including copper and aluminum particles, ranging from 860 μm to 880 μm in diameter. The results show that the inductive sensor is capable of the identification and differentiation of nonferrous metal particles in lubrication oil based on the electrical conductivity measurement. The concept demonstrated in this paper can be extended to inductive sensors in metal particle detection and other scientific and industrial applications.

Carbon nanostructure-based field-effect transistors for label-free chemical/biological sensors.

PubMed

Hu, PingAn; Zhang, Jia; Li, Le; Wang, Zhenlong; O'Neill, William; Estrela, Pedro

2010-01-01

Over the past decade, electrical detection of chemical and biological species using novel nanostructure-based devices has attracted significant attention for chemical, genomics, biomedical diagnostics, and drug discovery applications. The use of nanostructured devices in chemical/biological sensors in place of conventional sensing technologies has advantages of high sensitivity, low decreased energy consumption and potentially highly miniaturized integration. Owing to their particular structure, excellent electrical properties and high chemical stability, carbon nanotube and graphene based electrical devices have been widely developed for high performance label-free chemical/biological sensors. Here, we review the latest developments of carbon nanostructure-based transistor sensors in ultrasensitive detection of chemical/biological entities, such as poisonous gases, nucleic acids, proteins and cells.

Enhancing the accuracy of subcutaneous glucose sensors: a real-time deconvolution-based approach.

PubMed

Guerra, Stefania; Facchinetti, Andrea; Sparacino, Giovanni; Nicolao, Giuseppe De; Cobelli, Claudio

2012-06-01

Minimally invasive continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors can greatly help diabetes management. Most of these sensors consist of a needle electrode, placed in the subcutaneous tissue, which measures an electrical current exploiting the glucose-oxidase principle. This current is then transformed to glucose levels after calibrating the sensor on the basis of one, or more, self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) samples. In this study, we design and test a real-time signal-enhancement module that, cascaded to the CGM device, improves the quality of its output by a proper postprocessing of the CGM signal. In fact, CGM sensors measure glucose in the interstitium rather than in the blood compartment. We show that this distortion can be compensated by means of a regularized deconvolution procedure relying on a linear regression model that can be updated whenever a pair of suitably sampled SMBG references is collected. Tests performed both on simulated and real data demonstrate a significant accuracy improvement of the CGM signal. Simulation studies also demonstrate the robustness of the method against departures from nominal conditions, such as temporal misplacement of the SMBG samples and uncertainty in the blood-to-interstitium glucose kinetic model. Thanks to its online capabilities, the proposed signal-enhancement algorithm can be used to improve the performance of CGM-based real-time systems such as the hypo/hyper glycemic alert generators or the artificial pancreas.

Correlation of eddy current responses between fatigue cracks and electrical-discharge-machining notches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Sukho; Choi, Gyudong; Eom, Tae Jhoun; Lee, Bokwon; Lee, Soo Yeol

2017-07-01

The eddy current responses of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) notches and fatigue cracks are directly compared to verify the reliability of eddy current inspection. The fatigue crack growth tests using a constant load range control mode were conducted to obtain a variety of edge crack sizes, ranging from 0.9 to 6.6 mm for Al alloy and from 0.1 to 3 mm for Ti alloy. EDM notch specimens of Al and Ti alloys were accordingly prepared in lengths similar to that of the fatigued specimen. The crack length was determined by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. The eddy current responses between the EDM and fatigued specimens with varying notch/crack length were examined using probe sensors at (100-500) kHz and (1-2) MHz for Al and Ti alloys, respectively. The results show a significant difference in the eddy current signal between the two specimens, based on the correlation between the eddy current response and notch/crack length. This suggests that eddy current inspection using the EDM reference specimen is inaccurate in determining the precise crack size, unless the eddy current response data base is obtained from a fatigue-cracked specimen.

Integrated 3D printing and corona poling process of PVDF piezoelectric films for pressure sensor application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hoejin; Torres, Fernando; Wu, Yanyu; Villagran, Dino; Lin, Yirong; Tseng, Tzu-Liang(Bill

2017-08-01

This paper presents a novel process to fabricate piezoelectric films from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer using integrated fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing and corona poling technique. Corona poling is one of many effective poling processes that has received attention to activate PVDF as a piezoelectric responsive material. The corona poling process occurs when a PVDF polymer is exposed to a high electric field created and controlled through an electrically charged needle and a grid electrode under heating environment. FDM 3D printing has seen extensive progress in fabricating thermoplastic materials and structures, including PVDF. However, post processing techniques such as poling is needed to align the dipoles in order to gain piezoelectric properties. To further simplify the piezoelectric sensors and structures fabrication process, this paper proposes an integrated 3D printing process with corona poling to fabricate piezoelectric PVDF sensors without post poling process. This proposed process, named ‘Integrated 3D Printing and Corona poling process’ (IPC), uses the 3D printer’s nozzle and heating bed as anode and cathode, respectively, to create poling electric fields in a controlled heating environment. The nozzle travels along the programmed path with fixed distance between nozzle tip and sample’s top surface. Simultaneously, the electric field between the nozzle and bottom heating pad promotes the alignment of dipole moment of PVDF molecular chains. The crystalline phase transformation and output current generated by printed samples under different electric fields in this process were characterized by a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and through fatigue load frame. It is demonstrated that piezoelectric PVDF films with enhanced β-phase percentage can be fabricated using the IPC process. In addition, mechanical properties of printed PVDF was investigated by tensile testing. It is expected to expand the use of additive manufacturing to fabricate piezoelectric PVDF-based devices for applications such as sensing and energy harvesting.

An approach to improving the signal-to-optical-noise ratio of pulsed magnetic field photonic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jiang-ping; Li, Yu-quan

2008-12-01

During last years, interest in pulsed magnetic field sensors has widely increased. In fact, magnetic field measurement has a critical part in various scientific and technical areas. In order to research on pulsed magnetic field characteristic and corresponding measuring and defending means, a sensor with high immunity to electrical noise, high sensitivity, high accuracy and wide dynamic range is needed. The conventional magnetic field measurement system currently use active metallic probes which can disturb the measuring magnetic field and make sensor very sensitive to electromagnetic noise. Photonic magnetic field sensor exhibit great advantages with respect to the electronic ones: a very good galvanic insulation, high sensitivity and very wide bandwidth. Photonic sensing technology is fit for demand of a measure pulsed magnetic field. A type of pulsed magnetic field photonic sensor has been designed, analyzed, and tested. The cross polarization angle in photonic sensor effect on the signal-to-optical-noise ratio is theoretically analyzed in this paper. A novel approach for improving the signal-to-optical-noise ratio of pulsed magnetic field sensors was proposed. The experiments have proved that this approach is practical. The theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the signal-to-optical-noise ratio can potentially be considerably improved by setup suitable for the cross polarization angle.

Concurrent recordings of Electrical Current Emissions and Acoustic Emissions detected from marble specimens subjected to mechanical stress up to fracture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stavrakas, I.; Hloupis, G.; Triantis, D.; Vallianatos, F.

2012-04-01

The emission of electrical signals during the application of mechanical stress on brittle geo-materials (the so called Pressure Stimulated Current - PSC[1,2]), provides significant information regarding the mechanical status of the studied rock sample, since PSCs are originated as a result of the opening of cracks and microfractures[3]. The latter mechanism for the creation of PSCs it is straightforward to associated with the recording of acoustic emissions (AE). To justify the common origin of PSCs and AE due to opening of cracks, a combined study was performed implicating the concurrent recording of electric current emissions and AE on marble samples when they are subjected to linearly increasing mechanical load up to the fracture. The electric signal detected is recorded by an ultra sensitive electrometer (Keithley 6514). The sensor used for detecting the electric current is a pair of gold plated electrodes adapted bilaterally on the sample found under axial mechanical stress[4]. The AE were recorded through the Physical Acoustics PCI-2 Acquisition System. The experimental results prove the strong association of the recorded electrical signals and the corresponding acoustic emissions justifying their common origin due to opening of microfractures. Furthermore, when the applied mechanical load exceeds the yield stress then an increasing of PSCs amplitude along with that of AE rate is observed. Acknowledgments. This work was partly supported by the THALES Program of the Ministry of Education of Greece and the European Union in the framework of the project entitled "Integrated understanding of Seismicity, using innovative Methodologies of Fracture mechanics along with Earthquake and non extensive statistical physics - Application to the geodynamic system of the Hellenic Arc. SEISMO FEAR HELLARC".

Thin-film fiber optic hydrogen and temperature sensor system

DOEpatents

Nave, Stanley E.

1998-01-01

The invention discloses a sensor probe device for monitoring of hydrogen gas concentrations and temperatures by the same sensor probe. The sensor probe is constructed using thin-film deposition methods for the placement of a multitude of layers of materials sensitive to hydrogen concentrations and temperature on the end of a light transparent lens located within the sensor probe. The end of the lens within the sensor probe contains a lens containing a layer of hydrogen permeable material which excludes other reactive gases, a layer of reflective metal material that forms a metal hydride upon absorbing hydrogen, and a layer of semi-conducting solid that is transparent above a temperature dependent minimum wavelength for temperature detection. The three layers of materials are located at the distal end of the lens located within the sensor probe. The lens focuses light generated by broad-band light generator and connected by fiber-optics to the sensor probe, onto a reflective metal material layer, which passes through the semi-conducting solid layer, onto two optical fibers located at the base of the sensor probe. The reflected light is transmitted over fiberoptic cables to a spectrometer and system controller. The absence of electrical signals and electrical wires in the sensor probe provides for an elimination of the potential for spark sources when monitoring in hydrogen rich environments, and provides a sensor free from electrical interferences.

Thin-film fiber optic hydrogen and temperature sensor system

DOEpatents

Nave, S.E.

1998-07-21

The invention discloses a sensor probe device for monitoring of hydrogen gas concentrations and temperatures by the same sensor probe. The sensor probe is constructed using thin-film deposition methods for the placement of a multitude of layers of materials sensitive to hydrogen concentrations and temperature on the end of a light transparent lens located within the sensor probe. The end of the lens within the sensor probe contains a lens containing a layer of hydrogen permeable material which excludes other reactive gases, a layer of reflective metal material that forms a metal hydride upon absorbing hydrogen, and a layer of semi-conducting solid that is transparent above a temperature dependent minimum wavelength for temperature detection. The three layers of materials are located at the distal end of the lens located within the sensor probe. The lens focuses light generated by broad-band light generator and connected by fiber-optics to the sensor probe, onto a reflective metal material layer, which passes through the semi-conducting solid layer, onto two optical fibers located at the base of the sensor probe. The reflected light is transmitted over fiber optic cables to a spectrometer and system controller. The absence of electrical signals and electrical wires in the sensor probe provides for an elimination of the potential for spark sources when monitoring in hydrogen rich environments, and provides a sensor free from electrical interferences. 3 figs.

Micro-machined thin film hydrogen gas sensor, and method of making and using the same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DiMeo, Jr., Frank (Inventor); Bhandari, Gautam (Inventor)

2001-01-01

A hydrogen sensor including a thin film sensor element formed, e.g., by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD), on a microhotplate structure. The thin film sensor element includes a film of a hydrogen-interactive metal film that reversibly interacts with hydrogen to provide a correspondingly altered response characteristic, such as optical transmissivity, electrical conductance, electrical resistance, electrical capacitance, magnetoresistance, photoconductivity, etc., relative to the response characteristic of the film in the absence of hydrogen. The hydrogen-interactive metal film may be overcoated with a thin film hydrogen-permeable barrier layer to protect the hydrogen-interactive film from deleterious interaction with non-hydrogen species. The hydrogen sensor of the invention may be usefully employed for the detection of hydrogen in an environment susceptible to the incursion or generation of hydrogen and may be conveniently configured as a hand-held apparatus.

Non-perturbing voltage measurement in a coaxial cable with slab-coupled optical sensors.

PubMed

Stan, Nikola; Seng, Frederick; Shumway, LeGrand; King, Rex; Schultz, Stephen

2017-08-20

Voltage in a coaxial cable is measured by an electric-field optical fiber sensor exploiting the proportionality of voltage and electric field in a fixed structure. The sensor is inserted in a hole drilled through the dielectric of the RG-218 coaxial cable and sealed with epoxy to displace all air and prevent the adverse effects of charge buildup during high-voltage measurements. It is shown that the presence of the sensor in the coaxial cable does not significantly increase electrical reflections in the cable. A slab-coupled optical fiber sensor (SCOS) is used for its compact size and dielectric make. The dynamic range of 50 dB is shown experimentally with detection of signals as low as 1 V and up to 157 kV. A low corner of 0.3 Hz is demonstrated and the SCOS is shown to be able to measure 90 ns rise time.

Carbon monoxide sensor and method of use

DOEpatents

Dutta, Prabir K.; Swartz, Scott L.; Holt, Christopher T.; Revur, Ramachandra Rao

2006-01-10

A sensor and method of use for detection of low levels of carbon monoxide in gas mixtures. The approach is based on the change in an electrical property (for example: resistance) that occurs when carbon monoxide is selectively absorbed by a film of copper chloride (or other metal halides). The electrical property change occurs rapidly with both increasing and decreasing CO contents, varies with the amount of CO from the gas stream, and is insensitive to the presence of hydrogen. To make a sensor using this approach, the metal halide film will deposited onto an alumina substrate with electrodes. The sensor may be maintained at the optimum temperature with a thick film platinum heater deposited onto the opposite face of the substrate. When the sensor is operating at an appropriate (and constant) temperature, the magnitude of the electrical property measured between the interdigital electrodes will provide a measure of the carbon monoxide content of the gas.

Electrical condition monitoring method for polymers

DOEpatents

Watkins, Jr. Kenneth S.; Morris, Shelby J.; Masakowski, Daniel D.; Wong, Ching Ping; Luo, Shijian

2010-02-16

An electrical condition monitoring method utilizes measurement of electrical resistivity of a conductive composite degradation sensor to monitor environmentally induced degradation of a polymeric product such as insulated wire and cable. The degradation sensor comprises a polymeric matrix and conductive filler. The polymeric matrix may be a polymer used in the product, or it may be a polymer with degradation properties similar to that of a polymer used in the product. The method comprises a means for communicating the resistivity to a measuring instrument and a means to correlate resistivity of the degradation sensor with environmentally induced degradation of the product.

Position Sensing for Rotor in Hybrid Stepper Motor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, David E. (Inventor); Alhorn, Dean C. (Inventor); Smith, Dennis A. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A method and system are provided for sensing the position of a rotor in a hybrid stepper motor. First and second Hall sensors are positioned in a spaced-apart relationship with the first and second armatures of the rotor such that the first and second Hall sensors generate electrical outputs that are 90.degree. out of phase with one another as the rotor rotates. The electrical outputs are adjusted relative to a reference, and the amplitude of the electrical outputs is further adjusted to account for spacing differences between the rotor and each of the first and second Hall sensors.

Double-driven shield capacitive type proximity sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vranish, John M. (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A capacity type proximity sensor comprised of a capacitance type sensor, a capacitance type reference, and two independent and mutually opposing driven shields respectively adjacent to the sensor and reference and which are coupled in an electrical bridge circuit configuration and driven by a single frequency crystal controlled oscillator is presented. The bridge circuit additionally includes a pair of fixed electrical impedance elements which form adjacent arms of the bridge and which comprise either a pair of precision resistances or capacitors. Detection of bridge unbalance provides an indication of the mutual proximity between an object and the sensor. Drift compensation is also utilized to improve performance and thus increase sensor range and sensitivity.

Fuel dissipater for pressurized fuel cell generators

DOEpatents

Basel, Richard A.; King, John E.

2003-11-04

An apparatus and method are disclosed for eliminating the chemical energy of fuel remaining in a pressurized fuel cell generator (10) when the electrical power output of the fuel cell generator is terminated during transient operation, such as a shutdown; where, two electrically resistive elements (two of 28, 53, 54, 55) at least one of which is connected in parallel, in association with contactors (26, 57, 58, 59), a multi-point settable sensor relay (23) and a circuit breaker (24), are automatically connected across the fuel cell generator terminals (21, 22) at two or more contact points, in order to draw current, thereby depleting the fuel inventory in the generator.

Sensorless Modeling of Varying Pulse Width Modulator Resolutions in Three-Phase Induction Motors

PubMed Central

Marko, Matthew David; Shevach, Glenn

2017-01-01

A sensorless algorithm was developed to predict rotor speeds in an electric three-phase induction motor. This sensorless model requires a measurement of the stator currents and voltages, and the rotor speed is predicted accurately without any mechanical measurement of the rotor speed. A model of an electric vehicle undergoing acceleration was built, and the sensorless prediction of the simulation rotor speed was determined to be robust even in the presence of fluctuating motor parameters and significant sensor errors. Studies were conducted for varying pulse width modulator resolutions, and the sensorless model was accurate for all resolutions of sinusoidal voltage functions. PMID:28076418

Sensorless Modeling of Varying Pulse Width Modulator Resolutions in Three-Phase Induction Motors.

PubMed

Marko, Matthew David; Shevach, Glenn

2017-01-01

A sensorless algorithm was developed to predict rotor speeds in an electric three-phase induction motor. This sensorless model requires a measurement of the stator currents and voltages, and the rotor speed is predicted accurately without any mechanical measurement of the rotor speed. A model of an electric vehicle undergoing acceleration was built, and the sensorless prediction of the simulation rotor speed was determined to be robust even in the presence of fluctuating motor parameters and significant sensor errors. Studies were conducted for varying pulse width modulator resolutions, and the sensorless model was accurate for all resolutions of sinusoidal voltage functions.

Research on Control System of Three - phase Brushless DC Motor for Electric Vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhiwei; Jin, Hai; Guo, Jie; Su, Jie; Wang, Miao

2017-12-01

In order to study the three-phase brushless motor control system of electric vehicle, Freescale9S12XS128 chip is used as the control core, and the power MOSFET is used as the inverter device. The software is compiled by Codewarrior software. The speed control link adopts open-loop control, and the control chip collects the external sensor signal voltage Change control PWM signal output control three-phase brushless DC motor speed. The whole system consists of Hall position detection module, current detection module, power drive module and voltage detection module. The basic functions of three-phase brushless DC motor drive control are realized.

Modeling of electrical capacitance tomography with the use of complete electrode model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Weifu

2016-10-01

We introduce the complete electrode model in the modeling of electrical capacitance tomography (ECT), which extends the model with the commonly used model for electrodes. We show that the solution of the complete electrode model approaches the solution of the corresponding common electrode model as the impedance effect on the electrodes vanishes. We also derive the nonlinear relation between capacitance and permitivity and the sensitivity maps with respect to both the permittivity and the impedance constants, and present a finite difference scheme in polar coordinates for the case of circular ECT sensors that retains the continuity of displacement current with piecewise-constant permitivities.

Development of a contactless DC current sensor with high linearity and sensitivity based on the magnetoelectric effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castro, N.; Reis, S.; Silva, M. P.; Correia, V.; Lanceros-Mendez, S.; Martins, P.

2018-06-01

The magnetoelectric (ME) effect is increasingly being considered an attractive alternative for magnetic field and smart current sensing, being able to sense static and dynamic magnetic fields. This work reports on a contactless DC current sensor device based on a ME PVDF/Metglas composite, a solenoid and the corresponding electronic instrumentation. The ME sample shows a maximum resonant ME coefficient (α 33) of 34.48 V cm‑1 Oe‑1, a linear response (R 2 = 0.998) and a sensitivity of 6.7 mV A‑1. With the incorporation of a charge amplifier, an AC-RMS converter and a microcontroller the linearity is maintained (R 2 = 0.997), the ME output voltage increases to a maximum of 2320 mV and the sensitivity rises to 476.5 mV A‑1. Such features allied to the highest sensitivity reported in the literature on polymer-based ME composites provide to the reported ME sensing device suitable characteristics to be used in non-contact electric current measurement, motor operational status checking, and condition monitoring of rechargeable batteries, among others.

Noise analysis in air-coupled PVDF ultrasonic sensors.

PubMed

Fiorillo, A S

2000-01-01

In this paper we analyze the noise generated in a piezo-polymer based sensor for low frequency ultrasound in air. The sensor includes two curved PVDF transducers for medium and short range applications. A lumped RLC equivalent circuit was derived from the measurement of the transducer's electrical admittance, in air, by taking into account both mechanical and dielectric losses, which we suppose are the major sources of noise in similar devices. The electrical model was used to study and optimize the noise performance of a 61 kHz transducer and to simulate the electrical behavior of the complete transmitter-receiver system. The validity of the overall electrical model with low noise was confirmed after verifying, with Pspice, agreement of the practical and theoretical results.

Piezo-phototronic sensor

DOEpatents

Wang, Zhong L.; Hu, Youfan; Zhang, Yan

2013-10-15

A device includes a substrate having a first surface. A piezoelectric nanowire is disposed on the first surface of the substrate. The piezoelectric nanowire has a first end and an opposite second end. The piezoelectric nanowire is subjected to an amount of strain. A first Schottky contact is in electrical communication with the first end of the piezoelectric nanowire. A second Schottky contact is in electrical communication with the second end of the piezoelectric nanowire. A bias voltage source is configured to impart a bias voltage between the first Schottky contact and the second Schottky contact. A mechanism is configured to measure current flowing through the piezoelectric nanowire. The amount of strain is selected so that a predetermined current will flow through the piezoelectric nanowire when light of a selected intensity is applied to a first location on the piezoelectric nanowire.

Steady-state analytical model of suspended p-type 3C-SiC bridges under consideration of Joule heating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balakrishnan, Vivekananthan; Dinh, Toan; Phan, Hoang-Phuong; Kozeki, Takahiro; Namazu, Takahiro; Viet Dao, Dzung; Nguyen, Nam-Trung

2017-07-01

This paper reports an analytical model and its validation for a released microscale heater made of 3C-SiC thin films. A model for the equivalent electrical and thermal parameters was developed for the two-layer multi-segment heat and electric conduction. The model is based on a 1D energy equation, which considers the temperature-dependent resistivity and allows for the prediction of voltage-current and power-current characteristics of the microheater. The steady-state analytical model was validated by experimental characterization. The results, in particular the nonlinearity caused by temperature dependency, are in good agreement. The low power consumption of the order of 0.18 mW at approximately 310 K indicates the potential use of the structure as thermal sensors in portable applications.

NOTE: Impedance magnetocardiogram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kandori, Akihiko; Miyashita, Tsuyoshi; Suzuki, Daisuke; Yokosawa, Koichi; Tsukada, Keiji

2001-02-01

We have developed an impedance magnetocardiogram (IMCG) system to detect the change of magnetic field corresponding to changes in blood volume in the heart. A low magnetic field from the electrical activity of the human heart - the so-called magnetocardiogram (MCG) - can be simultaneously detected by using this system. Because the mechanical and electrical functions in the heart can be monitored by non-invasive and non-contact measurements, it is easy to observe the cardiovascular functions from an accurate sensor position. This system uses a technique to demodulate induced current in a subject. A flux-locked circuit of a superconducting quantum interference device has a wide frequency range (above 1 MHz) because a constant current (40 kHz) is fed through the subject. It is shown for the first time that the system could measure IMCG signals at the same time as MCG signals.

Replacement Condition Detection of Railway Point Machines Using an Electric Current Sensor.

PubMed

Sa, Jaewon; Choi, Younchang; Chung, Yongwha; Kim, Hee-Young; Park, Daihee; Yoon, Sukhan

2017-01-29

Detecting replacement conditions of railway point machines is important to simultaneously satisfy the budget-limit and train-safety requirements. In this study, we consider classification of the subtle differences in the aging effect-using electric current shape analysis-for the purpose of replacement condition detection of railway point machines. After analyzing the shapes of after-replacement data and then labeling the shapes of each before-replacement data, we can derive the criteria that can handle the subtle differences between "does-not-need-to-be-replaced" and "needs-to-be-replaced" shapes. On the basis of the experimental results with in-field replacement data, we confirmed that the proposed method could detect the replacement conditions with acceptable accuracy, as well as provide visual interpretability of the criteria used for the time-series classification.

Replacement Condition Detection of Railway Point Machines Using an Electric Current Sensor

PubMed Central

Sa, Jaewon; Choi, Younchang; Chung, Yongwha; Kim, Hee-Young; Park, Daihee; Yoon, Sukhan

2017-01-01

Detecting replacement conditions of railway point machines is important to simultaneously satisfy the budget-limit and train-safety requirements. In this study, we consider classification of the subtle differences in the aging effect—using electric current shape analysis—for the purpose of replacement condition detection of railway point machines. After analyzing the shapes of after-replacement data and then labeling the shapes of each before-replacement data, we can derive the criteria that can handle the subtle differences between “does-not-need-to-be-replaced” and “needs-to-be-replaced” shapes. On the basis of the experimental results with in-field replacement data, we confirmed that the proposed method could detect the replacement conditions with acceptable accuracy, as well as provide visual interpretability of the criteria used for the time-series classification. PMID:28146057

An oil fraction neural sensor developed using electrical capacitance tomography sensor data.

PubMed

Zainal-Mokhtar, Khursiah; Mohamad-Saleh, Junita

2013-08-26

This paper presents novel research on the development of a generic intelligent oil fraction sensor based on Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) data. An artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been employed as the intelligent system to sense and estimate oil fractions from the cross-sections of two-component flows comprising oil and gas in a pipeline. Previous works only focused on estimating the oil fraction in the pipeline based on fixed ECT sensor parameters. With fixed ECT design sensors, an oil fraction neural sensor can be trained to deal with ECT data based on the particular sensor parameters, hence the neural sensor is not generic. This work focuses on development of a generic neural oil fraction sensor based on training a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) ANN with various ECT sensor parameters. On average, the proposed oil fraction neural sensor has shown to be able to give a mean absolute error of 3.05% for various ECT sensor sizes.

An Oil Fraction Neural Sensor Developed Using Electrical capacitance Tomography Sensor Data

PubMed Central

Zainal-Mokhtar, Khursiah; Mohamad-Saleh, Junita

2013-01-01

This paper presents novel research on the development of a generic intelligent oil fraction sensor based on Electrical capacitance Tomography (ECT) data. An artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been employed as the intelligent system to sense and estimate oil fractions from the cross-sections of two-component flows comprising oil and gas in a pipeline. Previous works only focused on estimating the oil fraction in the pipeline based on fixed ECT sensor parameters. With fixed ECT design sensors, an oil fraction neural sensor can be trained to deal with ECT data based on the particular sensor parameters, hence the neural sensor is not generic. This work focuses on development of a generic neural oil fraction sensor based on training a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) ANN with various ECT sensor parameters. On average, the proposed oil fraction neural sensor has shown to be able to give a mean absolute error of 3.05% for various ECT sensor sizes. PMID:24064598

An Extensive Unified Thermo-Electric Module Characterization Method

PubMed Central

Attivissimo, Filippo; Guarnieri Calò Carducci, Carlo; Lanzolla, Anna Maria Lucia; Spadavecchia, Maurizio

2016-01-01

Thermo-Electric Modules (TEMs) are being increasingly used in power generation as a valid alternative to batteries, providing autonomy to sensor nodes or entire Wireless Sensor Networks, especially for energy harvesting applications. Often, manufacturers provide some essential parameters under determined conditions, like for example, maximum temperature difference between the surfaces of the TEM or for maximum heat absorption, but in many cases, a TEM-based system is operated under the best conditions only for a fraction of the time, thus, when dynamic working conditions occur, the performance estimation of TEMs is crucial to determine their actual efficiency. The focus of this work is on using a novel procedure to estimate the parameters of both the electrical and thermal equivalent model and investigate their relationship with the operating temperature and the temperature gradient. The novelty of the method consists in the use of a simple test configuration to stimulate the modules and simultaneously acquire electrical and thermal data to obtain all parameters in a single test. Two different current profiles are proposed as possible stimuli, which use depends on the available test instrumentation, and relative performance are compared both quantitatively and qualitatively, in terms of standard deviation and estimation uncertainty. Obtained results, besides agreeing with both technical literature and a further estimation method based on module specifications, also provides the designer a detailed description of the module behavior, useful to simulate its performance in different scenarios. PMID:27983575

An Extensive Unified Thermo-Electric Module Characterization Method.

PubMed

Attivissimo, Filippo; Guarnieri Calò Carducci, Carlo; Lanzolla, Anna Maria Lucia; Spadavecchia, Maurizio

2016-12-13

Thermo-Electric Modules (TEMs) are being increasingly used in power generation as a valid alternative to batteries, providing autonomy to sensor nodes or entire Wireless Sensor Networks, especially for energy harvesting applications. Often, manufacturers provide some essential parameters under determined conditions, like for example, maximum temperature difference between the surfaces of the TEM or for maximum heat absorption, but in many cases, a TEM-based system is operated under the best conditions only for a fraction of the time, thus, when dynamic working conditions occur, the performance estimation of TEMs is crucial to determine their actual efficiency. The focus of this work is on using a novel procedure to estimate the parameters of both the electrical and thermal equivalent model and investigate their relationship with the operating temperature and the temperature gradient. The novelty of the method consists in the use of a simple test configuration to stimulate the modules and simultaneously acquire electrical and thermal data to obtain all parameters in a single test. Two different current profiles are proposed as possible stimuli, which use depends on the available test instrumentation, and relative performance are compared both quantitatively and qualitatively, in terms of standard deviation and estimation uncertainty. Obtained results, besides agreeing with both technical literature and a further estimation method based on module specifications, also provides the designer a detailed description of the module behavior, useful to simulate its performance in different scenarios.

Force sensor characterization under sinusoidal excitations.

PubMed

Medina, Nieves; de Vicente, Jesús

2014-10-06

The aim in the current work is the development of a method to characterize force sensors under sinusoidal excitations using a primary standard as the source of traceability. During this work the influence factors have been studied and a method to minimise their contributions, as well as the corrections to be performed under dynamic conditions have been established. These results will allow the realization of an adequate characterization of force sensors under sinusoidal excitations, which will be essential for its further proper use under dynamic conditions. The traceability of the sensor characterization is based in the direct definition of force as mass multiplied by acceleration. To do so, the sensor is loaded with different calibrated loads and is maintained under different sinusoidal accelerations by means of a vibration shaker system that is able to generate accelerations up to 100 m/s2 with frequencies from 5 Hz up to 2400 Hz. The acceleration is measured by means of a laser vibrometer with traceability to the units of time and length. A multiple channel data acquisition system is also required to simultaneously acquire the electrical output signals of the involved instrument in real time.

Wireless SAW passive tag temperature measurement in the collision case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorokin, A.; Shepeta, A.; Wattimena, M.

2018-04-01

This paper describes temperature measurement in the multisensor systems based on the radio-frequency identification SAW passive tags which are currently applied in the electric power systems and the switchgears. Different approaches of temperature measurement in the collision case are shown here. The study is based on the tag model with specific topology, which allows us to determine temperature through the response signal with time-frequency information. This research considers the collision case for several passive tags as the temperature sensors which are placed in the switchgear. This research proposal is to analyze the possibility of using several SAW passive sensors in the collision case. We consider the using of the different typical elements for passive surface acoustic wave tag which applies as an anticollision passive sensor. These wireless sensors based on the surface acoustic waves tags contain specifically coded structures. This topology makes possible the reliability of increasing tag identification and the temperature measurement in the collision case. As the results for this case we illustrate simultaneous measurement of at least six sensors.

Uncooled Split-off Quantum Infrared Sensors for 3-5 Micron Imaging Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-20

nonuniformity and needs to be optimized. Figure 5 (a) shows plots of Figure 3: (a) The responsivity and (b) detectivity variation with emitter...devices with larger mesa sizes than that with smaller sizes. The current nonuniformity originally results from the electric potential gradient in the...respectively. x = 0 represents the device center. The nonuniformity becomes remarkable when the temperature is increased. 5 2.3 Design of resonant

Characterization of Electrically Active Defects in Si Using CCD Image Sensors

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-02-01

63 35 Dislocation Segments in CCD Imager . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 36 422 Reflection Topograph of Dislocation Loop ir... Loops . . . . . 3 39 422 Reflection Topograph of Scratch on CCD Imager, . . . 69 40 Dark Current Display of a CCD Imager with 32 ms integration Time...made of each slice using the elon -asoorbio aold developer described in Appendix D. The inagers were then thinned using the procedure at Appendix taor

Self-Sensing TDR with Micro-Strip Line

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-11

detect impact damage of a CFRP plate in the second year (Todoroki A, et al., Impact damage detection of a carbon- fibre -reinforced-polymer plate...inspection methods is self-sensing technology that uses carbon fibres as sensors [1]-[11]. The self-sensing technology applies electric current to the...Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) for damage detection [15]-[17]. Authors have developed a self-sensing TDR for detection of fibre breakages using a

Inductive sensor performance in partial discharges and noise separation by means of spectral power ratios.

PubMed

Ardila-Rey, Jorge Alfredo; Rojas-Moreno, Mónica Victoria; Martínez-Tarifa, Juan Manuel; Robles, Guillermo

2014-02-19

Partial discharge (PD) detection is a standardized technique to qualify electrical insulation in machines and power cables. Several techniques that analyze the waveform of the pulses have been proposed to discriminate noise from PD activity. Among them, spectral power ratio representation shows great flexibility in the separation of the sources of PD. Mapping spectral power ratios in two-dimensional plots leads to clusters of points which group pulses with similar characteristics. The position in the map depends on the nature of the partial discharge, the setup and the frequency response of the sensors. If these clusters are clearly separated, the subsequent task of identifying the source of the discharge is straightforward so the distance between clusters can be a figure of merit to suggest the best option for PD recognition. In this paper, two inductive sensors with different frequency responses to pulsed signals, a high frequency current transformer and an inductive loop sensor, are analyzed to test their performance in detecting and separating the sources of partial discharges.

Purely wavelength- and amplitude-modulated quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy.

PubMed

Patimisco, Pietro; Sampaolo, Angelo; Bidaux, Yves; Bismuto, Alfredo; Scott, Marshall; Jiang, James; Muller, Antoine; Faist, Jerome; Tittel, Frank K; Spagnolo, Vincenzo

2016-11-14

We report here on a quartz-enhanced photoacoustic (QEPAS) sensor employing a quantum cascade laser (QCL) structure capable of operating in a pure amplitude or wavelength modulation configuration. The QCL structure is composed of three electrically independent sections: Gain, Phase (PS) and Master Oscillator (MO). Selective current pumping of these three sections allows obtaining laser wavelength tuning without changes in the optical power, and power modulation without emission wavelength shifts. A pure QEPAS amplitude modulation condition is obtained by modulating the PS current, while pure wavelength modulation is achieved by modulating simultaneously the MO and PS QCL sections and slowly scanning the DC current level injected in the PS section.

Selected examples of intelligent (micro) sensor systems: state-of-the-art and tendencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hauptmann, Peter R.

2006-03-01

The capability of intelligent sensors to have more intelligence built into them continues to drive their application in areas including automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial, intelligent house and wear, medical and homeland security. In principle it is difficult to overestimate the importance of intelligent (micro) sensors or sensor systems within advanced societies but one characteristic feature is the global market for sensors, which is now about 20 billion annually. Therefore sensors or sensor systems play a dominant role in many fields from the macro sensor in manufacturing industry down to the miniaturized sensor for medical applications. The diversity of sensors precludes a complete description of the state-of-the-art; selected examples will illustrate the current situation. MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) devices are of special interest in the context of micro sensor systems. In past the main requirements of a sensor were in terms of metrological performance. The electrical (or optical) signal produced by the sensor needed to match the measure relatively accurately. Such basic functionality is no longer sufficient. Data processing near the sensor, the extraction of more information than just the direct sensor information by signal analysis, system aspects and multi-sensor information are the new demands. A shifting can be observed away from aiming to design perfect single-function transducers and towards the utilization of system-based sensors as system components. In the ideal case such systems contain sensors, actuators and electronics. They can be realized in monolithic, hybrid or discrete form—which kind is used depends on the application. In this article the state-of-the-art of intelligent sensors or sensor systems is reviewed using selected examples. Future trends are deduced.

Ability of Impedance-Based Health Monitoring To Detect Structural Damage of Propulsion System Components Assessed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, Richard E.; Gyekenyesi, Andrew L.; Sawicki, Jerzy T.; Baaklini, George Y.

2005-01-01

Impedance-based structural-health-monitoring uses piezoelectric (PZT) patches that are bonded onto or embedded in a structure. Each individual patch behaves as both an actuator of the surrounding structural area as well as a sensor of the structural response. The size of the excited area varies with the geometry and material composition of the structure, and an active patch is driven by a sinusoidal voltage sweep. When a PZT patch is subjected to an electric field, it produces a mechanical strain; and when it is stressed, it produces an electric charge. Since the patch is bonded to the structure, driving a patch deforms and vibrates the structure. The structure then produces a localized dynamic response. This structural system response is transferred back to the PZT patch, which in turn produces an electrical response. The electromechanical impedance method is based on the principle of electromechanical coupling between the active sensor and the structure, which allows researchers to assess local structural dynamics directly by interrogating a distributed sensor array. Because of mechanical coupling between the sensor and the host structure, this mechanical effect is picked up by the sensor and, through electromechanical coupling inside the active element, is reflected in electrical impedance measured at the sensor s terminals.

A new technique to control brushless motor for blood pump application.

PubMed

Fonseca, Jeison; Andrade, Aron; Nicolosi, Denys E C; Biscegli, José F; Legendre, Daniel; Bock, Eduardo; Lucchi, Júlio César

2008-04-01

This article presents a back-electromotive force (BEMF)-based technique of detection for sensorless brushless direct current motor (BLDCM) drivers. The BLDCM has been chosen as the energy converter in rotary or pulsatile blood pumps that use electrical motors for pumping. However, in order to operate properly, the BLDCM driver needs to know the shaft position. Usually, that information is obtained through a set of Hall sensors assembled close to the rotor and connected to the electronic controller by wires. Sometimes, a large distance between the motor and controller makes the system susceptible to interference on the sensor signal because of winding current switching. Thus, the goal of the sensorless technique presented in this study is to avoid this problem. First, the operation of BLDCM was evaluated on the electronic simulator PSpice. Then, a BEMF detector circuitry was assembled in our laboratories. For the tests, a sensor-dependent system was assembled where the direct comparison between the Hall sensors signals and the detected signals was performed. The obtained results showed that the output sensorless detector signals are very similar to the Hall signals at speeds of more than 2500 rpm. Therefore, the sensorless technique is recommended as a responsible or redundant system to be used in rotary blood pumps.