Design of Surface Acoustic Wave Parafoil Riser Tension Sensor

An increasing demand for the online tension measurement in developing parafoil has arisen. In this paper, a new design for surface acoustic wave (SAW) tension sensor, which can be used to test the parafoil riser tension wirelessly and passively, is discussed. An SAW resonator is used for sensing tension by determining the frequency of the resonant reflection device. In accordance with the test requirements, a nondestructive side-loading tension testing structure is created by which stress analysis and optimization can be operated in ANSYS. To understand the relationship between size and frequency of the antenna in the sensor, a new antenna design called microstrip antenna is proposed following the high frequency structure simulator analysis. The proposed design shows good linearity and sensitivity between the SAW frequency and the riser tension through the actual experiment, which meets the stringent requirement for the shape of the sensor. Thus, the sensor can obtain tension measurement during the operation of the parafoil riser.