An Investigation on Wireless Communication and Power Supply Through Metal Tank Walls

Passive wireless sensors, i.e. sensors that do neither require wires nor external power supply/batteries, are attractive for many measurement problems. Standard approaches based on radio frequency identification technology usually have difficulties when fairly conductive matter such as steel or large amount of water is in the vicinity of the devices. This paper investigates methods for power and data transmission even through metal walls, e.g. of a tank or a pipe using super low frequency carrier signals. The feasibility is demonstrated by means of finite element analysis and laboratory experiments and validated with a prototype setup for both a steel pipe and a tin container.