Wireless Water Turbine Monitoring
The Problem:
An underwater turbine required two separate torque measurements but only needed to be monitored periodically. As the turbines were underwater and were rotating, it was not possible to provide a wired solution.
The Solution:
The solution was to use two T24-SA battery-powered telemetry strain gauge acquisition modules which were waterproofed within the turbine shell and fitted with external antennas. The antennas were fitted to the turbine shell and waterproofed. One hundred readings per second were required on demand but otherwise were to remain in a deep sleep mode to conserve battery life. When data was required, an antenna fitted to a pole was lowered into the water and communications achieved with a range of 0.5 metres. The pole mounted antenna was connected to several metres of coaxial cable that ran back to a base station connected to a PC that was used to sleep, wake and acquire torque data from the T24-SAs.
Products used in this application:
Wireless Telemetry Acquisition Enclosure
Wireless Telemetry Handheld Display Multiple Inputs
