Tracking Pitch Link Dynamic Loads

w/
Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensors
S.W. Arms, C.P. Townsend, D.L. Churchill,
MicroStrain, Inc.
Williston, Vermont
www.microstrain.com swarms@microstrain.com

Michael Augustin, David Yeary, Paul Darden

Bell Helicopter Textron, Fort Worth, TX

Nam Phan
Rotary Wing/Patrol Aircraft, NAVAIR Structures
Presented at AHS 63nd Annual Forum, Virginia Beach, VA, May 1-
1-3, 2007. © microstrain, inc. 2007
Sensing
the Future

Wireless sensors, in the billions, will become

deeply embedded within structures &
machines.

Sensed information will be automatically

compressed & forwarded for condition
based maintenance. © microstrain, inc. 2007
Problem:
Who will replace billions of
dead batteries?

© microstrain, inc. 2007

 Solution:
• Harvest & store energy from strain,
vibration, light, and motion
• Use power management to balance
the energy “checkbook”
• Use embedded processors to
compress data, compute fatigue life

© microstrain, inc. 2007

MicroStrain’s proposed helicopter structural
monitoring system (patent pending)

© microstrain, inc. 2007

 Introduction
• Direct load monitoring of helicopter rotating
structural components could provide enhanced
condition based maintenance & improved flight
regime recognition.

• Our goal was to design, develop, bench & flight

test a system capable of harvesting the energy
of operation to power a wireless pitch link loads
monitor.

Patents pending © microstrain, inc. 2007

 Pitch Link w/ Energy Harvesting, Sensing, Data
Storage, & Wireless Communications
MicroStrain, Inc. patents pending

RF antenna

Circuit board module,

microprocessor, and
electrochemical battery

Piezoresistive strain gauge

Electrical insulation, EMI

shielding,
& protective covering
(shown transparent for
illustration purposes)

Piezoelectric energy
harvesting elements

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Sikorsky H-60 Blackhawk
Bell
M412

• MicroStrain piggy-backed on Bell’s planned flight tests

• Wired (via slip rings) data could be collected
simultaneously with wireless data
© microstrain, inc. 2007
 Design Challenges
• Bell M412 pitch links are small
• Bell M412 strain levels are low (+/- 35 ue)

© microstrain, inc. 2007

 Detailed Objectives
• Demonstrate reliable operation of energy harvesting,
wireless load sensor on Bell M412 pitch link, which
operates at typical strain levels of +/- 35 microstrain @
5Hz.

• Enable timed load sampling w/ precision micro-power

timekeeper

• Bench test energy harvesting wireless load sensors

under dynamic loads to replicate Bell M412 straight &
level flight

• Conduct proof of concept flight testing on std. Bell M412

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Patents pending
Methods
Wireless Pitch Link Strain
& Load Sensing Node
(patent pending)

Fractal antenna

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Wireless Strain System Diagram
(patents pending)

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Time Initialization & Synchronization
(patents pending)

• Pitch link has independent precision nano-power real

time clock (RTC) with +/-10 ppm time reference

• RTC time is synchronized at beginning of flight test to

hardwired instrumentation GPS time reference

• Accumulated time error over 1.5 hour flight test is a

total of 54 mS, this is compensated for with an end of
flight RTC synchronization to GPS time

© microstrain, inc. 2007

MicroStrain’s Scaleable Wireless Networks
(patents pending)

Carrier Sense Frequency Division

Multiple Access (CSMA) Multiple Access (FDMA)

© microstrain, inc. 2007

 How many wireless sensor nodes
can be supported?
Number nodes * update rate = 500 (per RF channel)

With a 5 Hz update, one RF channel can support 100 nodes

There 16 distinct RF channels in 2.4 GHz band (IEEE

802.15.4) 16 RF channels * 100 nodes = 1600 nodes

With 4 sensors (strain gauges) per node, system can support

6400 gauges, all updating at 5Hz

Patents pending © microstrain, inc. 2007

 MicroStrain’s embedded firmware
optimized for strain gauges

• Wireless offset adjust

• Wireless gain adjust
• Wireless control of sample rates
• Wireless shunt cal – bits to microstrain
• Low tempco’s:
offset: -.007%/C , span: .004%/C
• Mux’d, pulsed & regulated bridge excitation
Patents pending © microstrain, inc. 2007
 Lockheed Martin Aerospace
Accuracy Tests:
Hard Wired vs. Wireless Strain
(Baldwin Precision Calibrator used for strain input)

• HBM MGCplus ®
Wireless vs. Hard-Wired Correlation y = 1.0002x + 1.1267
R2 = 1
vs. MicroStrain 8000

V-Link ® W ire le s s V-Link (m ic ros tra in)

7000

• Each system
6000

provided bridge
5000

excitation
4000

3000

• R^2=1 2000

• Max wireless 1000

error: 2.5 0

ustrain
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
Hard-wired HBM MGCplus (microstrain)

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Harvesting Strain Energy
• Macro Fiber Composite, P2 type
(Smart Material Corp., Sarasota,
FL)

• Ongoing PZT fatigue testing: OK

after 10 billion cycles
(>9 years at 30 Hz)

• 4 point bending fixture delivers

uniform strain field to PZT

• PZT patch area: 3” x 1”

© microstrain, inc. 2007
 MicroStrain’s wireless pitch link
for Bell M412 (patent pending)

Electronics Module: 8.2 gr

PZT total weight: 4.3 gr/patch x

12 patches = 52 gr

Cold shrink weight:

7 gr/inch x 8 inches = 56 gr
(Bell chose clamps w/ counter-
balance)
© microstrain, inc. 2007
Dynamic Load Frame

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Bench Test
Results

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Energy generation
from
Bell 412 pitch link

© microstrain, inc. 2007

M412 Pitch Link, 5 Hz sine input
PZT power output vs. load
(measured at output storage cap)

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Energy consumption:

work to balance the

“energy checkbook”

© microstrain, inc. 2007

 Powering down between
samples greatly reduces
power consumption

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Patents pending
 Power Consumption
• Average power consumption: 34 uamp @ 3 VDC
excitation (102 microwatts), w/ 4500 ohm strain
gauge bridge logged at 32 samples per second.

• Power consumption “figure of merit”:

~3.2 microwatt/sample/sec
(sample/sec is programmable sampling rate)

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Patents pending
 Embedded routines allow
microelectronics to
adapt to
the amount of available
energy

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Patents pending
 Pitch Link Operating Modes:
• Mode 1: Real Time Transmission: Data logged at
specified rate, after 100 samples are acquired,
system transmits data. Consumption @ 32
samples/sec: ~250 uwatts.

• Mode 2: Real Time Transmission with Energy

Aware Option: Data logged at specified rate, after
100 samples are acquired, system checks stored
energy levels, transmits data if possible.
Consumption @ 32 samples/sec: ~250 uW, drops
as conditions dictate.
© microstrain, inc. 2007
Patents pending
 Pitch Link Operating Modes (con’t):
• Mode 3: Real Time Data Logging: Data logged to
memory for download at the end of test.
Consumption @ 32 samples/sec: ~100 uwatts

• Mode 4: Data Transmission When Stored Energy

Sufficient: When output capacitor voltage crosses
threshold, nano-amp comparator turns circuit on &
predetermined amount of data are transmitted.
This differs from Mode 2 as system consumes no
power until sufficient energy has been stored.
Consumption varies with available energy,
timekeeper draws 9 microwatts.
© microstrain, inc. 2007
Patents pending
Flight Test
Results
 Bell M412 Flight Test

Patents pending © microstrain, inc. 2007

 Flight Test Results
• Energy harvesting wireless pitch link was
installed on a Bell Model 412 experimental
rotorcraft & flight tested at Bell’s XworX facilities
(Fort Worth, Texas) in Feb 2007.

• Tests included ground and in-flight EMI

evaluations, rotor track and balance verification,
& data collection during scripted flight.

Patents pending © microstrain, inc. 2007

 Flight Test Results (con’t):

• Data collected external to the aircraft

during ground operations at various
locations around the aircraft (50 ft)

• No data were received at distances of

100 feet from the aircraft

© microstrain, inc. 2007

 Wired vs. Wireless Flight Data
Wireless PitchLink Loads
VNE dive test Flight Record #36
64 Hz wireless sensor sample rate - 500 Hz slip ring sample rate

1.5

0.5
Output (Normalized)

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

-0.5

-1

500 Hz Slip Ring

64 Hz Wireless
-1.5
Time

© microstrain, inc. 2007

 Energy generation with
replicated dynamic loads
• Max load (VNE dive test):
34 uW/patch * 12 patches = 408 uW
can log data at 128 Hz

• Low load (Straight & level flight):

25 uW/patch * 12 patches = 300 uW
can log data at 90 Hz

• Replicated dynamic input generated ~40% more power

than sine input

• Aircraft was not fully loaded due to budget constraints

Patents pending © microstrain, inc. 2007

 Conclusions
• An energy harvesting wireless pitch link load
sensor Bell 412 has been developed, bench
tested, & flight tested

• Under extremely low usage levels, the amount

of energy generated exceeds the amount of
energy consumed

• This enables an on-board wireless load sensor

to operate perpetually without battery
maintenance.
Patents pending © microstrain, inc. 2007
 Ongoing Work:

Improved energy harvesters

Embedded data compression

 Embedded Fatigue Estimation
Peak Rain flow SN Curve
valley- filter
filter
Damage

Measured Extract Remove

Strain Data peaks & small cycles
valleys

Accumulated damage is calculated using

Miner’s rule based on a wirelessly
uploaded strain-cycle (SN) curve.

Patents pending © microstrain, inc. 2007

 References:
• M.J. Hamel et al., Energy Harvesting for Wireless
Sensor Operation and Data Transmission, US Patent
Appl. Publ. US 2004/0078662A1, filed March 2003

• S.W. Arms et al., Shaft Mounted Energy Harvesting

System for Wireless Sensor Operation and Data
Transmission, US Patent Appl. Publ. US
2005/0017602A1, filed Jan 2004

• Arms et al., Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensors for

Helicopter Damage Tracking, 62nd Annual AHS Forum,
Phoenix, AZ, May 11th, 2006

© microstrain, inc. 2007

Acknowledgements:

NAVAIR SBIR PH II