Energy-Autonomous Wireless Architectures for Predictive Maintenance in Harsh Closed Applications

This chapter addresses the design and the realization of a fully custom wireless power transfer system in a harsh electromagnetic environment for predictive maintenance of crucial parts of a car engine compartment. The set-up performance is predicted by means of electromagnetic theory and numerical simulations adopting a method based on the reciprocity theorem to estimate the received power at the nodes position. Built on this theorem, the current response of a rectifying antenna can be estimated for a specific propagation scenario, if the locations of the transmitters and receivers are known. Moreover, specific measurement campaigns verified that these sensors are able to be correctly powered without the need of a battery, and to simultaneously communicate with a gateway to register various parameters, such as acceleration and temperature. In this way, it is possible to prevent or register possible malfunctioning, failures, or unwanted warming of the tagged items.