Energy harvesting for jet engine monitoring.

Sensors that provide critical information about jet engine performance are widely installed on static components but are rarely found on rotors because of their inaccessibility and extremely high rotation speeds. We present a new monitoring method, integrating energy harvesting technology with wireless sensors to achieve real-time self-powered engine monitoring. Energy harvesters, used to generate power from ambient vibration, are sustainable alternatives to batteries for achieving self-sustained long-term operation of electronic devices. By utilising structural nonlinearity, force amplification mechanism, and the piezoelectric effect, we show a 22.52-g energy harvester capable of high power output (78.87 mW), broad working bandwidth (22.5 Hz), and strong reliability (2100 RPM). Our approach breaks limitations from wired connections that are weighty and vulnerable to failures. We theoretically and experimentally analyse the nonlinear responses and demonstrate the harvester by constantly lighting 112 LEDs and a self-powered wireless sensor system in a jet engine. This work paves a new way for developing future monitoring systems for advanced jet engines and other rotating machinery applications. The self-powered wireless sensor system consists of an energy harvester as the power supply and a wireless sensor node as the communication device. When the jet engine operates, the energy harvester that installs on the rotational component generates power for the wireless sensor node and then the real-time monitoring information of the engine components will be sent wirelessly to a local area network (LAN) in the aircraft for working condition analysis and failure prediction. The energy harvester of the monitoring system exhibits great compatibility in the rotational environment of jet engines and excellent power generation capability (max. to 78.87 mW) and working bandwidth (22.5 Hz in 0–2100 RPM). A combination of such characteristics guarantees the realization of the self-powered and wireless operation of sensor systems in jet engines. Image 1 • A brand-new sensor architecture for real-time and self-powered jet engine monitoring. • A maximum output power 78.87 mW and efficiency 36.43%, capable of powering 112 LEDs simultaneously. • A demonstration of a self-powered wireless sensor system in jet engine components for the first time. • A comprehensive study on the compressive-mode piezoelectric energy harvester used in the rotational environment. • A comparative study the compressive-mode and bending-mode PEHs under vibration and rotational excitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]