Ultrasonic Power and Data Transfer through Multiple Curved Layers Applied to Pipe Instrumentation.

Ultrasonic power and data transfer through multilayered curved walls was investigated using numerical and experimental analysis. The acoustic channel used in this paper was formed by two concentric pipes filled with water, aiming for applications that involve powering and monitoring sensors installed behind the pipe walls. The analysis was carried out in the frequency and time domains using numerical and experimental models. Power and data were effectively simultaneously transferred through the channel. A remote temperature and pressure sensor was powered and interrogated throughout all the layers, and the power insertion loss was 10.72 dB with a data transmission rate of 1200 bps using an amplitude modulated scheme with Manchester coding. The efficiency of the channel was evaluated through an experimental analysis of the bit error rate (BER) with different values of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), showing a decrease in the number of errors compared with detection without Manchester coding.

Passive Downhole Pressure Sensor Based on Surface Acoustic Wave Technology.

A passive surface acoustic wave (SAW) pressure sensor was developed for real-time pressure monitoring in downhole application. The passive pressure sensor consists of a SAW resonator, which is attached to a circular metal diaphragm used as a pressure transducer. While the membrane deflects as a function of pressure applied, the frequency response changes due to the variation of the SAW propagation parameters. The sensitivity and linearity of the SAW pressure sensor were measured to be 8.3 kHz/bar and 0.999, respectively. The experimental results were validated with a hybrid analytical-numerical analysis. The good results combined with the robust design and packaging for harsh environment demonstrated it to be a promising sensor for industrial applications.