• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제6권5_6호
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• pp.675-687
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• 2010

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is the science and technology of monitoring and assessing the condition of aerospace, civil and mechanical infrastructures using a sensing system integrated into the structure. Impedance-based SHM measures impedance of a structure using a PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) patch. This paper presents a low-power wireless autonomous and active SHM node called Autonomous SHM Sensor 2 (ASN-2), which is based on the impedance method. In this study, we incorporated three methods to save power. First, entire data processing is performed on-board, which minimizes radio transmission time. Considering that the radio of a wireless sensor node consumes the highest power among all modules, reduction of the transmission time saves substantial power. Second, a rectangular pulse train is used to excite a PZT patch instead of a sinusoidal wave. This eliminates a digital-to-analog converter and reduces the memory space. Third, ASN-2 senses the phase of the response signal instead of the magnitude. Sensing the phase of the signal eliminates an analog-to-digital converter and Fast Fourier Transform operation, which not only saves power, but also enables us to use a low-end low-power processor. Our SHM sensor node ASN-2 is implemented using a TI MSP430 microcontroller evaluation board. A cluster of ASN-2 nodes forms a wireless network. Each node wakes up at a predetermined interval, such as once in four hours, performs an SHM operation, reports the result to the central node wirelessly, and returns to sleep. The power consumption of our ASN-2 is 0.15 mW during the inactive mode and 18 mW during the active mode. Each SHM operation takes about 13 seconds to consume 236 mJ. When our ASN-2 operates once in every four hours, it is estimated to run for about 2.5 years with two AAA-size batteries ignoring the internal battery leakage.

• 대한원격탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한원격탐사학회 2005년도 Proceedings of ISRS 2005
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• pp.766-769
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• 2005

In a ubiquitous environment made up of multiple sensors, most sensors participate in communications with limited battery, and the sensor node isn't able to participate in communications when all the battery is used up. When an existing authentication method is used for the sensor node which has to participate in a long term communication with limited battery, it creates a problem by making the length of network maintenance or sensor node's operation time relatively shorte. Therefore, a network structure where RM (Register Manager) node and AM (Authentication Manager) node are imported to solve the energy consumption problem during a communication process is presented in this thesis. This offers a low power protocol based on safety through a mutual authentication during communications. Through registration and authentication manager nodes, each sensor nodes are ensured of safety and the algorithm of key's generation, encryption/descramble and authentication is processed with faster operation speed. So the amount of electricity used up during the communications between sensor nodes has been evaluated. In case of the amount of electrical usage, an average of $34.783\%$ for the same subnet and 36.855 for communications with two different subnets, are reduced. The proposed method is a protocol which maintains the limited battery for a long time to increase the effectiveness of energy usage in sensor nodes and can also increase the participation rate of communication by sensor nodes.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.405-411
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• 2010

This paper proposes a novel tracking algorithm considering radiation to improve the power of a photovoltaic (PV) tracking system. The sensor method used in a conventional PV plant is unable to track the sun's exact position when the intensity of solar radiation is low. It also has the problem of malfunctions in the tracking system due to rapid changes in the climate. The program method generates power loss due to unnecessary operation of the tracking system because it is not adapted to various weather conditions. This tracking system does not increase the power above that of a power of tracking system fixed at a specific position due to these problems. To reduce the power loss, this paper proposes a novel control algorithm for a tracking system and proves the validity of the proposed control algorithm through a comparison with the conventional PV tracking method.

• 전기전자학회논문지
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.842-845
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• 2018

본 논문에서는 열전에너지 하베스팅에 의해 구동되는 센서 회로를 저전력으로 동작시킬 수 있는 방법을 제안하였다. 본 논문에서 사용되는 열전소자를 이용하면 에너지 하베스팅 회로에서 8uA의 전류를 얻을 수 있다. 그러나 구동하려고 하는 센서의 전류 소비는 이보다 훨씬 크기 때문에, 본 논문에서는 하드웨어 방법으로 power gating scheme을 이용한 저전력 구동과 소프트웨어적으로 active/sleep control scheme을 이용한 저전력 구동 방법을 센서 회로에 적용하여 센서 회로의 전류 소비를 감소시킬 수 있음을 보였다. 먼저 하드웨어 power gating scheme을 사용할 때에는 파워 게이트의 Toff/Ton의 비를 22보다 더 크게 하면, 센서 회로의 전류 소비가 8uA 이하로 줄어드는 것을 확인하였다. 또한 소프트웨어 기반의 active/sleep control scheme에 의한 저전력 구동에서는 Tslp/Tact의 비를 3 이상으로 설정해주면 전류 소비를 8uA 이하로 줄일 수 있음을 확인하였다. 본 논문에서의 결과는 열전에너지 하베스팅에 의해서 구동되는 다양한 센서 회로 설계 및 구현에 도움이 될 것으로 생각된다.

• 한국정보통신학회논문지
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.586-594
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• 2014

수중 통신 상에서 가장 중요한 요소는 한정된 전원을 보다 효율적으로 소모하여 운영 가능 시간을 최대화하는데 있다. 보다 효율적인 전압 소모를 위해 적용 가능한 기법으로는 동적 전압 스케일 기법이 있다. 해당 기법은 평상시에는 낮은 주파수로 동작하여 대기 전력을 최소화하며 복잡한 연산을 수행하는 경우에는 빠른 주파수로 계산함으로써 전체 소모되는 전력량을 줄인다. 복잡한 암호화 연산의 경우 빠른 주파수로 연산을 하는 것이 보다 효율적이다. 본 논문에서는 다양한 센서 상에서의 암호화 기법에 동적 전압 스케일 기법을 적용한 결과를 보여 줌으로써 수중 통신 상에서 적합한 저전력 암호화 방안에 대해 살펴본다.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.49-57
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• 2012

This paper presents performance evaluation of an Integrated Starter-Alternator (ISA) prototype with an Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) synchronous machine under sensor-less operation. To attain a high starting torque at zero speed and in subsequent extremely low speed range, a hybrid signal injection method is proposed. At higher speed, an improved stator flux observer is used for the stator flux estimation. This observer is able to produce accurately-estimated stator flux linkage for high performance Direct Torque and Flux Control (DTFC) implementation. The sensor-less DTFC IPM synchronous machine drive takes full advantage of the capacity of the power converter and fulfills the control specifications for the ISA. The trajectory control algorithm responds rapidly and in a well behaved manner over a wide range of operating conditions. The experimental results verify the feasibility and advantages of the system.

• 대한전자공학회논문지TC
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• 제41권6호
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• pp.59-68
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• 2004

반도체기술과 무선통신기술 그리고 센서기술의 비약적인 발전에 힘입어 검출기능, 프로세싱 기능, 무선통신기능, 배터리 등을 탑재한 초소형 저가의 정보취득 노드를 양산하는 것이 가능해지면서 센서 네트워크가 보편화되기 시작하였다. 센서 네트워크는 노드를 배치하는 것만으로 자체 라우팅 경로를 설정하고 의미 있는 데이터를 목적지 노드로 전송할 수 있는 자발적인 망이다. 센서 노드들은 대부분 배터리를 구동 전원으로 사용하기 때문에 저전력 동작이 중요하다. 센서 노드는 검출한 데이터를 목적지로 전송하는 역할과 다른 센서 노드들의 라우터 역할을 겸하고 있다. 많은 경우 센서 노드가 검출한 데이터를 전송하는 경우보다 라우터로서의 역할에 더 많은 에너지를 소비하기 때문에 저전력 라우팅은 무엇보다 중요하다. 센서 네트워크에서는 일반 무선 Ad-Hoc 네트워크와 같은 표준이 없기 때문에 본 논문에서는 센서 네트워크에 적용할 수 있는 전력 잔량에 따른 확률적 RREQ 폐기 방법을 적용한 저전력 라우팅 기법을 제안하고 모의실험을 통하여 결과를 전력 잔량에 따른 지연결과와 비교하여 살펴보았다. 실험 결과 제안 방법은 $10-20\%$ 정도 에너지 소모를 줄일 수 있었고 노드들 간에 에너지를 균등하게 소모하는 효과를 확인하였다.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제36권5호
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• pp.71-78
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• 2021

There are regularly planned overhaul periods in thermal power plants, which involve the maintenance of the boiler of the power plants. However, thermal power plants workers are always exposed to risk during overhaul periods owing to the narrow space and significant dust inside the boiler. Therefore, it is essential to develop a safety monitoring system that is suitable for operating in this type of environment. In this study, we developed not only a worker three-dimensional (3D)-location monitoring system that can monitor and record the entry/exit of workers, their 3D-location, and fall accidents but also a method to secure the working environment and operation efficiency. This system comprises of a worker tag, which was equipped with an inertial measurement unit, a barometric pressure sensor, and a Bluetooth low energy (BLE), and the tags were given to each worker. In addition, the location of workers inside the boiler was measured using a pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) method and BLE beacons. The location data of the workers tag were transmitted to the integrated database (DB) server through a gateway, and to the administrator monitoring system. The performance of the system was demonstrated inside an actual thermal power plant boiler, and the accuracy and reliability of the system were verified through a number of repeated tests. These results provide insights on designing a new system for monitoring enclosed spaces.

• ETRI Journal
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.77-84
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• 2001

The detection of open defects in CMOS SRAM has been a time consuming process. This paper proposes a new dynamic power supply current testing method to detect open defects in CMOS SRAM cells. By monitoring a dynamic current pulse during a transition write operation or a read operation, open defects can be detected. In order to measure the dynamic power supply current pulse, a current monitoring circuit with low hardware overhead is developed. Using the sensor, the new testing method does not require any additional test sequence. The results show that the new test method is very efficient compared with other testing methods. Therefore, the new testing method is very attractive.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제16권6호
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• pp.2173-2181
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• 2016

Permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) have higher torque and superior output power per volume than other types of AC motors. They are commonly used for applications that require a large output power and a wide range of speed. For precise control of PMSMs, knowing the accurate position of the rotor is essential, and normally position sensors such as a resolver or an encoder are employed. On the other hand, the position sensors make the driving system expensive and unstable if the attached sensor malfunctions. Therefore, sensorless algorithms are widely researched nowadays, to reduce the cost and cope with sensor failure. This paper proposes a sensorless algorithm that can be applied to a wide range of speed. The proposed method features a robust operation at low-speed as well as high-speed ranges by employing a gain adjustment scheme and intermittent voltage pulse injection method. In the proposed scheme the position estimation gain is tuned by a closed loop manner to have stable operation in tough driving environment. The proposed algorithm is fully verified by various experiments done with a 1 kW outer rotor-type PMSM.