WindNode: A long-lasting and long-range bluetooth wireless sensor node for pressure and acoustic monitoring on wind turbines

This paper presents a low power, flexible and energy-efficient wireless sensor node for aerodynamic and acoustic measurements on wind turbine blades and other industrial structures. It comprises 40 high-accuracy absolute MEMS pressure sensors, ten MEMS microphones, a data processing system, a wireless transmitter based on Bluetooth Low Energy 5 tuned for long-range and high throughput while maintaining energy efficiency. The sensor node has been designed and implemented to test the range of communication, the impact on energy efficiency, the functionality, and the estimated lifetime. Experimental tests outdoor in realistic conditions revealed that the system can sustain a data rate of 850kbps over 438m. The node power consumption while streaming all measured data from a multi-MW wind turbine is only 46mW, enabling lifetimes of a full month even in the worst-case scenario of streaming all sensor data using an 8.7Ah Li-Ion battery.