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12. Hot Bolt Powers Sensors

to harvest

збирати, отримувати

an issue

проблема

dc (direct current)

постійний струм

self-sustaining

самозабезпечуваний

a trickle

струмочок

intermittent

переривчастий

a node

вузол

conditioning

регулювання

to track

відстежувати

a heat sink

тепловідвід

a survey

огляд

ambient

навколишній

deployment

введення в дію

to evaluate

оцінювати

A German company, Micropelt GmbH, has developed a prototype bolt that screws into a hot machine and harvests the waste heat as electricity. Based on thermoelectric thin films, the TE-Power-Bolt generates 0.2 to 15 milliwatts of power and uses an integrated dc-dc converter to set voltage between 1.2 and 5 volts.

So what can you do with such a small trickle of power? Micropelt’s vice president, Burkhard Habbe, points to wireless sensor nodes. By connecting tiny autonomous sensors wirelessly, manufacturers create distributed networks to track material flow and monitor machinery. The network gives managers a precise picture of production status. A single plant could use dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of sensor nodes.

Today, batteries power those devices. Habbe points to a survey by San Diego-based market research firm ON World Inc. that sees global deployment of 128 million wireless sensor nodes within two years. The same survey found that 75 percent of industry experts named batteries as a critical issue because they require constant monitoring and replacement.

Micropelt’s solution is to replace batteries with TE-Power-Bolts. The bolts are self-sustaining power supplies that never need replacement. Their low power output is ideal for sensors that take and report intermittent measurements (as opposed to critical sensors that must operate all the time).

The sensors themselves consist of two different types of semiconductors that produce a current when there is a temperature gradient between them. The semiconductors and power conditioning devices sit on the head of an M24 steel screw.

The screw transmits heat from a hot machine or a pipe carrying fluids to the semiconductors. One of the semiconductors is connected to a 1.5-inch-diameter aluminum heat sink above the bolt head that draws away heat. As long as the hot surface is 10 to 20°C warmer than ambient temperature, the TE-Power-Bolt will generate power.

“We are supporting two basic scenarios,” Habbe said. “One is an external energy supply, as represented by TE-Power-Bolt, where a short wire connects to the sensor node, which may not sit on a warm surface but has one nearby. The second is an integrated thermal energy source, functioning like a built-in battery, which would never run out. It is good for sensors sitting on warm or hot surfaces of any type.”

The TE-Power-Bolt was designed to show how an energy harvester based on the company’s thin film thermoelectric technology might look. Micropelt would like to license the technology, and Habbe says some companies are already evaluating the prototype.

Speech patterns

It was such a nice day.

Це був такий чудовий день.

The day was so nice.

День був такий чудовий.

Exercise 1. Answer the questions.

1. What is the function of a hot bolt developed by the German company Micropelt GmbH? 2. What power generates TE-Power-Bolt? 3. What are sensor nodes used for? 4. How often do TE-Power-Bolts need replacement? 5. When do sensor’s semiconductors produce current? 6. Where are the semiconductors placed? 7. Under what conditions does TE-Power-Bolt generate power?

Exercise 2. Give synonyms to the following words from the text:

a prototype, to generate, integrated, to point, to connect, to create, to monitor, precise, research, an expert, constant, output, to transmit, to evaluate.

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