Ultrasonic Energy and Data Transfer through a Metal-Liquid Multi-Layer Channel Enhanced by Automatic Gain and Carrier...

Area of Science:

• Acoustics
• Signal Processing
• Materials Science

Background:

• Ultrasonic communication and power transfer offer alternatives to conventional methods when wired or electromagnetic links are impractical.
• Existing ultrasonic systems typically operate through single solid barriers, limiting applications in multi-medium environments.
• Multi-layered fluid-solid media introduce significant insertion loss, reducing system efficiency for communication and power transfer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an ultrasonic system for simultaneous data and power transfer through two steel plates separated by a fluid layer.
• To investigate the effectiveness of frequency modulation with automatic gain control (AGC) and automatic carrier control (ACC) in multi-medium ultrasonic systems.
• To assess the system's performance in terms of data rate, power transfer capability, and efficiency for potential monitoring applications.

Main Methods:

• A system utilizing co-axially aligned piezoelectric transducers was designed for transmission across two 5 mm steel plates with a 100 mm fluid gap.
• Frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation was employed for data transmission, alongside a custom-developed modem.
• Novel automatic gain control (AGC) and automatic carrier control (ACC) techniques were integrated to optimize performance.

Main Results:

• The system achieved a data transfer rate of 19,200 bps and simultaneously transferred 66 mW of power.
• The ultrasonic system successfully powered a pressure and temperature sensor.
• AGC reduced transmission errors from 12% to 5%, and ACC decreased global power consumption from 2.6 W to 1.2 W.

Conclusions:

• The developed ultrasonic system effectively enables simultaneous data and power transfer through challenging fluid-solid multi-layered barriers.
• The integration of AGC and ACC significantly improves data transmission reliability and reduces power consumption.
• The system shows strong potential for structural health monitoring in demanding environments, such as oil wellbores.