| Title |
Vibrational Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensors for Monitoring Bridges in Real-time |
| Authors |
임토우(Towoo Lim) ; 김영민(Youngmin Kimark) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5370/KIEE.2025.74.9.1561 |
| Keywords |
Self-powered wireless sensor; Vibration energy harvesting; Bridge monitoring; Piezoelectric harvester |
| Abstract |
This paper presents a wireless sensor system that utilizes vibrational energy harvesting to monitor the structural integrity of bridges. Piezoelectric materials, combined with an optimized energy harvesting circuit, convert bridge vibrations into electrical energy, generating voltages of up to 7 V under low vibration conditions (< 0.2 g). Given the high internal resistance of piezoelectric materials, the harvesting circuit was optimized for the maximum voltage output. The system integrates a low-power three-axis accelerometer, a micro-controller and a 2.4 GHz RF transceiver, enabling autonomous energy harvesting and active operations. Under low vibration conditions, the system harvested 7 mJ energy over a 3-minute period that is sufficient to support multiple sensor measurements and wireless data transmissions. During an active mode of 200 ms, 100 bytes of sensed data were successfully transmitted, demonstrating the feasibility of a self-powered wireless sensor for monitoring a bridge structure. |