Near-Field Passive Wireless Sensor for High-Temperature Metal Corrosion Monitoring

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Sensor Technology
• High-Temperature Materials

Background:

• Monitoring metal material condition at high temperatures is crucial for industrial safety and efficiency.
• Existing methods for high-temperature monitoring often lack real-time, in situ capabilities.
• Passive wireless sensors offer a promising solution for remote and continuous diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and evaluate a passive wireless sensor for simultaneous monitoring of temperature and corrosion.
• To assess the sensor's performance in real-time at temperatures up to 800 °C.
• To correlate sensor signals with metal corrosion kinetics and detect failure events.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an inductor-capacitor (LC) resonator sensor using screen printing on Al2O3 substrates.
• Modeling of the LC sensor design using ANSYS HFSS.
• Real-time interrogation of the wireless sensor response using a radio frequency signal generator and spectrum analyzer from 50 to 800 °C.
• Characterization of copper (Cu 110) corrosion kinetics via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and microscopy.
• Correlation of oxide thickness growth with the wireless sensor signal at 800 °C.

Main Results:

• The passive wireless sensor operated effectively in the 70-100 MHz frequency range.
• Sensor signals showed strong correlation with temperature and copper corrosion kinetics at 800 °C.
• The sensor detected crack/spallation events in the oxide layer, indicating potential failure.
• Results suggest the potential to deconvolute temperature and corrosion information from the sensor signal.

Conclusions:

• A passive wireless LC resonator sensor is a viable tool for high-temperature monitoring.
• The sensor enables in situ, real-time tracking of metal corrosion and temperature.
• The technology can detect critical failure events, offering enhanced safety and predictive maintenance capabilities.