Ekambir Sidhu

Urine Powered Battery (UPB) for low power sensors

In this paper, the Urine Powered Battery (UPB) has been designed and proposed for driving low power sensor applications. In UPB, human liquid waste-urine has been utilised as a source of energy extraction. The natural neat human urine has been used as an electrolyte in the design. The proposed UPB consists of hybrid (series and parallel) combination of small single chamber Urine Powered Cells (UPCs). In Urine Powered Cell, the electrodes have been dipped in urine and potential across the electrodes has been measured. The single UPC is a membrane less single chamber cell. The selection of materials for electrodes, amount of urine per cell, number of urine powered cells in each row and number of rows to be connected in parallel are some of the important aspects of UPB design. It has been observed that the best combination of electrode materials (cathode-anode) is Cu-Zn, respectively. The single chamber UPC, having Cu-Zn electrode combination is capable of generating voltage of 0.75V. The hybrid combination of UPCs has been employed to obtain the sufficient output voltage and current required to drive low power applications. However, the load regulation of UPB is poor. A step down DC/DC convertor LTC3388-3 has been employed which provides well regulated constant output voltage of 5.0V and sufficient current of 3mA to 4mA to drive the system. In the proposed design, the LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) has been used as low power sensor, driven by UPB which is further capable of driving automated lighting system.

Rectangular TeraHertz microstrip patch antenna design for riboflavin detection applications

This paper proposes rectangular shaped terahertz microstrip patch antenna employing FR4 substrate for biomedical applications. The antenna has been devised using FR4 (Flame Retardent-4) substrate having dielectric constant ∊r=4.4 and loss tangent tan δ=0.02 whereas copper of conductivity 5.96 × 107 Siemens/m has been employed as patch as well as ground. Microstrip feeding technique has been used to feed power to the antenna. The proposed design has been formulated and simulated using CST Microwave Studio 2016. The simulated design has been observed to be resonant at 3.356 THz with minimal return loss of −45.09 dB and impedance bandwidth of 306.9 GHz (3.2163 THz–3.5232 THz). The proposed antenna has gain of 5.124 dB and directivity of 4.603 dBi at resonant frequency. The input impedance of anticipated design is matched with the impedance of co-axial cable (50 Ω) to ensure maximum power transfer. The proposed antenna can be suitably employed for detection of riboflavin(Vitamin B2).

Efficient autonomous solar panel and thermo-electric generator (TEG) integrated hybrid energy harvesting system

Solar energy is one of the most covenant renewable energy resources. Imminent technologies within the renewable energy sector have significant potential for more efficiently harnessing the light energy. In this paper, a novel hybrid energy harvesting (EH) system consisting of dynamic offset feed mirrored parabolic dish integrated solar panel with thermoelectric generator (TEG) placed on the lower side of solar panel has been proposed. The proposed energy harvesting system is concurrently harvesting both solar and thermal energy which makes the system suitably named as hybrid energy harvesting system. The mirrored parabolic dish is proficient enough to focus all the light radiations at its focal point where solar panel is placed in order to efficiently harvest the light energy, however, the panel also gets warmed up with these radiations. This heat is transmitted to the TEGs hot side, which is installed at the back of the solar panel and is able to generate voltage if temperature gradient is applied across TEG. The proposed energy harvesting system tracks the motion of the sun throughout the day by clocking/tracking method in order to receive maximum radiations by employing DC geared motor which rotates the dish at the step angle of 6.25 degrees is controlled by Arduino UNO. The proposed system employs the solar panel capable of generating of +12V and capable of harvesting the average power of 6watts. The thermoelectric generator installed at the rear side of solar panel is capable of generating the voltage of 7-12 volts and current of 300-500 mA. The harvested energy by means of solar panel and TEG is sufficient enough to autonomously drive the system as well as to store the harvested energy in +12V lead acid rechargeable batteries. It has been observed that the dynamic offset feed mirrored parabolic dish solar panel energy harvesting system is 81% efficient in comparison to static solar panel whereas the proposed hybrid system is 152.02% more efficient in comparison to static parabolic dish integrated solar panel energy harvesting system. The proposed hybrid energy harvesting system is 38.65% more efficient in comparison to dynamic offset feed mirrored parabolic dish solar panel energy harvesting system. The proposed system can be adeptly employed for various applications such as water heating, street lightning, traffic lights etc.

Novel UWB slotted I-shaped flexible microstrip patch antenna design for satellite reconnaissance, amateur radio, future soil moisture and sea surface salinity missions

In this paper, a flexible I shaped stacked novel ultra wideband (UWB) antenna with defected and reduced ground resonant at 1.26 GHz with an impedance bandwidth of 1.278 GHz (1.0596 GHz to 2.3374 GHz) has been proposed which can be suitably employed for satellite reconnaissance, amateur radio, future soil moisture and sea surface salinity mission applications. The material employed for substrate is flexible FR4 having dielectric constant of 4.4 and copper has been used for radiating patch, ground and feed line. The antenna is resonant at 1.26 GHz with return loss of -43.72 dB. The proposed antenna has a gain of 3.00 dB and directivity of 2.815 dBi at resonant frequency of 1.26 GHz. The antenna has been designed and simulated using CST Microwave Studio 2014. The performance of the antenna has been analyzed in terms of return loss (dB), directivity (dBi), gain (dB), smith chart and VSWR. The antenna has impedance of 50 ohms which makes it suitable to be fed by SMA connector of 50 ohms for maximum power transfer from SMA connector to the patch for radiations. The quarter wave transformer has been employed in order to match the antenna impedance with the port impedance. The antenna has been stacked by placing the flexible FR4 substrate of thickness 8mm over the feed line to enhance the impedance bandwidth of antenna by 2 percent. The proposed antenna has been practically fabricated and tested using E5071C Network analyzer and anechoic chamber. It has been observed that the practical antenna performance results closely match with the CST simulated antenna results. The proposed antenna can be suitably employed for Global Positioning System (GPS) applications (L1|1.57 GHz, L2|1.22 GHz, L3|1.38 GHz, L4|1.37 GHz, L5|1.17 GHz), life detection radar systems (1.26 GHz), soil moisture content missions, (1.26 GHz and 1.41 GHz), sea surface salinity missions (1.26 GHz and 1.41 GHz) and amateur radio (1.24 GHz-1.3 GHz, 1.26 GHz-1.27 GHz) applications.

Novel microstrip patch antenna design employing flexible PVC substrate suitable for defence and radio-determination applications

This paper propounds a new flexible material, which has been designed by employing flexible Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) having dielectric constant εr= 2.7 as substrate. The projected antenna design states that a circular shaped copper patch with flag shaped slot on it has been deployed over the hexagonal PVC substrate of thickness 1 mm. Then ground plane is partially minimized and slotted to revamp the antenna performance. The proposed antenna operates within frequency range of 7.2032GHz to 7.9035GHz while resonating at 7.55GHz. The proposed antenna design has minimal return loss of −55.226dB with the impedance bandwidth of 700 MHz, gain of 4.379dB and directivity of 4.111dBi. The antenna has VSWR less than maximum acceptable value of 2. The projected antenna design can be suitably employed for UWB, radio-determination applications (7.235GHz to 7.25GHz), naval, defence systems (7.25GHz – 7.3GHz) and weather satellite applications (7.75GHz to 7.90GHz). The antenna has been designed in CST Microwave Studio 2014. The proposed antenna has been fabricated and tested using E5071C Network Analyser and anechoic chamber. It has been observed that the stimulated results closely match with the experimental results.

Novel microstrip patch antenna design employing Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) substrate for GSM, IMT, WLAN, Bluetooth, WiMAX and X-band applications

The paper represents, a novel wideband rectangular shaped MPA with microstrip feed and a reduced ground. The substrate employed in the presented antenna design is extruded polystyrene (XPS) having low electric permittivity of 1.02 and thickness of 2 mm. The presented microstrip patch antenna has an impedance bandwidth of 1.69 GHz with resonant frequencies of 2.07 GHz and 2.77 GHz and impedance bandwidth of 2.88 GHz with resonant frequencies of 5.58 GHz and 6.78 GHz respectively, thus making it suitable to be termed as wideband antenna. The proposed antenna covers GSM (1.8 GHz –1.99 GHz), IMT (2.3GHz – 2.4 GHz and 2.7 GHz – 2.9 GHz), WLAN (2.4 GHz – 2.48 GHz, 5.15 GHz – 5.35 GHz and 5.72 GHz – 5.82 GHz), Bluetooth (2.4 GHz – 2.5 GHz), Mobile WiMAX (2.5 GHz – 2.69 GHz and 5.25 GHz – 5.85 GHz) and X-Band Satellite downlink applications having operating frequency range of 7.25 GHz to 7.75 GHz. The antenna has been designed and simulated through CST Microwave Studio 2014. The antenna performance has been examined in terms of gain (dB), directivity (dBi), return loss(S11), impedance bandwidth (GHz) and HPBW (degrees). The presented antenna design has been fabricated practically and tested experimentally through E5017C Network analyzer and anechoic chamber. It has been observed that the simulated antenna results intently relate with the practical results, thus implying the suitability of low dielectric constant extruded polystyrene (XPS) to be employed in the microstrip antenna design for wideband applications.

Circular slotted THz Microstrip Patch Antenna for detection of constitutes of peptides in human body

This paper presents a novel ultra wideband circular slotted terahertz antenna design for detection of peptides in human body. In the proposed antenna design, the FR4 material has been used as a substrate having dielectric constant (εr) 4.4 and thickness of 1.5 μm. The ground, patch and feed line are made up of Copper material with thickness of 0.02 μm. The performance of terahertz antenna has been analysed in terms of bandwidth (THz), return loss (dB), directivity (dBi), gain (dB), VSWR and impedance (ohms). The designed antenna resonates at 6 THz with the bandwidth of 2375 GHz (5.423 THz 7.798 THz). The return loss of the proposed antenna is -43.58 dB at the resonating frequency of 6 THz. The VSWR of the proposed antenna design is 1. For feeding the antenna, the microstrip feed line technique has been employed for proper impedance matching and the proposed antenna has an input impedance of 48.23Ω. The proposed terahertz antenna design has a gain and directivity of 7.547 dB and 7.247 dBi, respectively at the resonating frequency of 6 THz. The antenna has been designed and simulated using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio 2014. The proposed antenna can be suitably employed for the detection of constituents of peptides in human body. Keywords— CST Microwave Studio, dB, dBi, FR4, High gain, High directivity, Optical antenna, Peptides, Wide band, THz, VSWR

Novel Terahertz Microstrip Patch Antenna for detection of L-ascorbic acid and Thiamine hydrochloride

Owing to the revolutionary development in the field of terahertz technology numerous advancement has taken place. In order to make a contribution to this field the proposed work focuses on the design and analysis of terahertz microstrip patch antenna that can be suitably deployed for determination of vitamins L-ascorbic acid and Thiamine hydrochloride. Flame Retardant (Fr4) material with thickness of 1.6 μm has been deployed as dielectric substrate with electrical permittivity of 4.4. The patch and ground plane are made up of copper of thickness 17 microns. A rectangular slot has been introduced in middle of the ground plane in order to improve the return loss of the antenna. The design and simulation of proposed antenna has been done using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio 2016. Analysis of the proposed antenna has been done on various antenna parameters like return loss (S11), directivity(dBi), gain (dB), Half Power Beamwidth (HPBW) and impedance. It has been observed that the designed antenna is resonant at 3.12 THz with an impedance of 50.77 Ω. The designed antenna has return loss (S11) of -36.40 dB at resonant frequency of 3.12 THz with a gain of 4.56 dB and directivity of 5.69 dBi which makes it suitable for detection of vitamins L-ascorbic acid and Thiamine hydrochloride.

Popsicle shaped Microstrip Patch Antenna design for Space Research applications

In this paper, a popsicle shaped gigahertz (GHz) microstrip patch antenna with a reduced ground has been proposed. The Flame Retardant (FR-4) material having a dielectric constant (εr) of 4.4 has been employed as substrate in proposed antenna design having thickness of 1.44 mm. The copper material has been employed as patch and ground due to its low resistivity and high mechanical strength having thickness of 0.10 mm. The reduction in the dimensions of ground has been made to improve the various antenna return loss and bandwidth. The proposed antenna design is resonant at frequency of 5.434 GHz having corresponding return loss of -43.75 dB. The impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna design is 211.9 MHz (5.325 GHz to 5.537 GHz). The performance of proposed antenna has been analysed in terms of gain (dB), directivity (dBi), return loss (dB), impedance bandwidth (MHz), VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio), impedance (ohms) and Half Power beam width (θ). It has been observed that the proposed popsicle shaped gigahertz antenna has a directivity and gain of 4.845 dBi and 4.84 dB, respectively at the corresponding resonant frequency. The CST Microwave Studio 2016 has been used for designing and simulating of proposed antenna design. The proposed antenna can be used for the Space Research applications.

Design and Performance analysis of Microstrip Patch antenna for C band applications

A microstrip feed compact rectangular microstrip antenna designed in CST 2016 has been proposed and presented in this paper. The proposed microstrip patch antenna design has been devised using woven fiberglass cloth substrate (FR4) having depth of 0.157 cm with a dielectric constant of (Ɛr= 4.4) and loss angle of 3.18 degree. The ground, patch and feedline are of copper material having conductivity and resistivity of 5.67 × 10 S/m and 1.69 × 10 Ω-m, respectively. A rectangular slot has been cut in the upper rim of the patch to stint the resonant frequency. A small rectangular slot has been added within the patch to increase the bandwidth performance of the antenna. The antenna patch size after slotting has been abridged by 10.12% when compared to a conventional rectangular shaped microstrip patch antenna with a maximum bandwidth of 2.65 GHz and return loss of -60.29 dB. A broad scrutiny of the return loss pattern (dB), directive gain (dB), performance efficiency and directivity (dBi) of the insinuated antenna design has been tendered in this paper. The simple structure and low profile characteristics of the proposed antenna design make it easy to fabricate and employable in the field of wireless communication system. The proposed antenna is capable of operating in the C band having frequency range of 4 GHz – 8 GHz. The input impedance of antenna is 49.96 ohms which meticulously matches with the input impedance of SMA cable having impedance of 50 ohms. This leads reduction in reflection coefficient. The proffered antenna has the capability of being suitably deployed for ISM band, maritime military systems, maritime communications, SAR communications, aeronautical military systems, land military systems and aeronautical communications.