A novel power harvesting scheme for sensor networks in advanced Avionic applications

In this paper, we propose a novel power recovery approach to procure power required for sensor networks and reduce the mass of the cables installed in aircrafts. The power scheme harvests energy from data field bus which is recently presented to modify classical Avionics Full Duplex Ethernet (AFDX) networks, to power up the position sensors entirely. A top-down modeling approach in Verilog-A is used to build complex modules in the power conversion chain which makes power transfer and distribution possible. The effects of frequency and the size of the charge reservoir on settling time and output voltage ripple are studied. Simulation results in system level prove that the proposed power recovery scheme could procure and deliver significant amount of power to the position sensors and/or the intefacing circuits to the network. This makes the structure self-powered and may lead to significant saving in the mass of power distribution wiring throughout the plane.