Continuous Machine Health Monitoring Enabled Through Self-Powered Embedded Intelligence and Communication

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Abstract
This paper presents a fully self-powered machine health monitoring wireless node. A bismuth telluride thin film thermoelectric generator (TEG) is used to convert the temperature difference between the hot machine and the cooler ambient into electrical energy. By providing an autonomous power supply to the wireless condition-based monitoring (CBM) system, the cost of ownership is significantly reduced and this technology can become readily accessible to a much wider variety of applications. The paper discusses the system operation, component choices, and thermal transport issues that must be addressed to make an autonomous system viable. The system power consumption can range from 12 – 200 µW depending on the refresh rate which spans the range of 30 s to 30 min. A temperature difference of 2.4 – 10 °C is sufficient to cover this operating span, considering the performance of typical thin-film thermoelectric harvesters.