UHF RFID system for wirelessly detection of corrosion based on resonance frequency shift in forward interrogation power

A radio frequency identification (RFID) based system is developed in this paper as a novel passive wireless sensor to detect corrosion for structural health monitoring (SHM) of metallic surface through simulation, design, fabrication and experiment. Firstly, a 2D label-type antenna in a new configuration – circular three arm (CTA) element – is designed as an ultrahigh frequency (UHF) RFID sensor tag working on surface of steel samples. To improve gain and power transmission coefficient, a parasitic element has been added into the centre of CTA. The CTA antenna attached with the parasitic element – so called (CTAP) sensor – has a quality factor notably higher than similar metal mountable UHF RFID antennas that has been resulted to revelation of resonance frequency in measured forward interrogation power. A demonstration and validation system are introduced then to detect corrosion based on the shift of revealed resonance frequency in the forward interrogation power to activate the CTAP tag when placed on surface of corroded and non-corroded steel samples. Results show that the presented system could communicate with sensor tag to detect corrosion up to 2 m of read monitoring range at the UHF RFID standard bandwidth with a sensitivity around of 13 MHz.

[1]  G. Marrocco,et al.  Constrained-Design of Passive UHF RFID Sensor Antennas , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[2]  Milan Polivka,et al.  Matching Technique for an On-Body Low-Profile Coupled-Patches UHF RFID Tag and for Sensor Antennas , 2015, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[3]  Xianming Qing,et al.  Impedance Characterization of RFID Tag Antennas and Application in Tag Co-Design , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[4]  Sung Kim,et al.  Electromagnetic Metrology on Concrete and Corrosion* , 2011, Journal of research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

[5]  S Genovesi,et al.  Low-Profile Three-Arm Folded Dipole Antenna for UHF Band RFID Tags Mountable on Metallic Objects , 2010, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.

[6]  Keat Ghee Ong,et al.  Magnetoelastic-Harmonic Stress Sensors With Tunable Sensitivity , 2012, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[7]  Dixiang Chen,et al.  An investigation into eddy current pulsed thermography for detection of corrosion blister , 2014 .

[8]  Hae-Moon Seo,et al.  Design of a Label-Typed UHF RFID Tag Antenna for Metallic Objects , 2011, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.

[9]  Horng-Dean Chen,et al.  Compact Broadband Dual Coupling-Feed Circularly Polarized RFID Microstrip Tag Antenna Mountable on Metallic Surface , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[10]  Lukas Jelinek,et al.  On the Functional Relation Between Quality Factor and Fractional Bandwidth , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[11]  Gui Yun Tian,et al.  UHF RFID Tag Antenna-Based Sensing for Corrosion Detection & Characterization Using Principal Component Analysis , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[12]  Raj Mittra,et al.  A Looped-Bowtie RFID Tag Antenna Design for Metallic Objects , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[13]  Jaehwan Kim,et al.  Frequency selective surface based passive wireless sensor for structural health monitoring , 2013 .

[14]  Kamal Sarabandi,et al.  Design and Modeling of Patch Antenna Printed on Magneto-Dielectric Embedded-Circuit Metasubstrate , 2007 .

[15]  Andrés Bustillo,et al.  Nueva estrategia para el diseño y fabricación de cabezales de fresadora de altas prestaciones , 2011 .

[16]  Hosung Choo,et al.  Design of planar RFID tag antenna for metallic objects , 2008 .

[17]  Timothy A. Thomas,et al.  LTE-advanced: next-generation wireless broadband technology [Invited Paper] , 2010, IEEE Wireless Communications.

[18]  Hua-Ming Chen,et al.  High chip reactance matching for ultra-high-frequency radio frequency identification tag antenna design , 2012 .

[19]  P.R. Bannister.  Summary of image theory expressions for the quasi-static fields of antennas at or above the earth's surface , 1979, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[20]  Best.  Improving the performance properties of a dipole element closely spaced to a PEC ground plane , 2004, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.

[21]  P. Nikitin,et al.  Antenna design for UHF RFID tags: a review and a practical application , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[22]  G.E. Bridges,et al.  RF Cavity Passive Wireless Sensors With Time-Domain Gating-Based Interrogation for SHM of Civil Structures , 2009, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[23]  Lingfei Mo,et al.  Planar UHF RFID Tag Antenna With Open Stub Feed for Metallic Objects , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[24]  Jun Zhang,et al.  A Dual-Layer Broadband Compact UHF RFID Tag Antenna for Platform Tolerant Application , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[25]  S. A. Tretyakov,et al.  Comments on “Design and Modeling of Patch Antenna Printed on Magnetodielectric Embedded-Circuit Metasubstrate” , 2007 .

[26]  S. Best,et al.  Impedance, bandwidth, and Q of antennas , 2005 .

[27]  Gaetano Marrocco,et al.  Pervasive electromagnetics: sensing paradigms by passive RFID technology , 2010, IEEE Wireless Communications.

[28]  Horng-Dean Chen,et al.  Coupling-Feed Circularly Polarized RFID Tag Antenna Mountable on Metallic Surface , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[29]  D. Staiculescu,et al.  Effect of Permittivity and Permeability of a Flexible Magnetic Composite Material on the Performance and Miniaturization Capability of Planar Antennas for RFID and Wearable Wireless Applications , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies.

[30]  Lauri Sydanheimo,et al.  Design and Implementation of Electro-Textile Ground Planes for Wearable UHF RFID Patch Tag Antennas , 2013, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.

[31]  Milan Svanda,et al.  Horizontal five‐arm folded dipole over metal screening plane for UHF RFID of dielectric objects , 2010 .

[32]  Gaetano Marrocco,et al.  Modeling, Design and Experimentation of Wearable RFID Sensor Tag , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[33]  Yi Jia,et al.  Design and characterization of a passive wireless strain sensor , 2006 .

[34]  Iván Díaz,et al.  Corrosión atmosférica del acero suave , 2011 .

[35]  N. Takahashi,et al.  Electromagnetic non-destructive testing of rust region in steel , 2005, INTERMAG Asia 2005. Digests of the IEEE International Magnetics Conference, 2005..