Job description
The post-master Engineering Doctorate (EngD) program Design of Electrical Engineering Systems (DEES) is a two-year salaried program comprising a 15-month industry-funded project in parallel with a 9-month training programme. The program leads to an Engineering Doctorate degree.
EngD project
The Electromagnetics (EM) group within the Department of Electrical Engineering (EE) of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and the Netherlands Directorate General for Publics Work and Water management (Rijkswaterstaat) are seeking to hire an outstanding EngD candidate within the field of inductive and radiative (WPT) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
Project goal
Modern society highly depends on an uninterrupted functioning of the infrastructure that includes the assets of the built environment and the highways. For an efficient operation of these assets, we need predictive maintenance or – in other words – we need to repair before failure. For realizing predictive maintenance, it is desirable to make the infrastructure assets talk, i.e., make them report their health status. So, for highways we need wireless sensors, embedded in asphalt, for the purpose of remote identification of the type and the monitoring of the physical parameters of the asphalt. This data can then be used to determine the health condition.
For cost-efficiency, we want to use Commercially Off the Shelf (COTS) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags with sensing capacity. These tags are available for low frequency (13.56 MHz) or ultra high frequency (UHF, 868 MHz) operation. The latter are meant for being read at larger distances (meters), using radio wave propagation. These tags/sensors therefore seem to be the preferred ones for this project, but the operability can be severely deteriorated by a non-air environment, like asphalt.
The impact of asphalt on the functioning of UHF RFID tags needs to be determined in full. Expected is a detuning of the antenna resulting in a limited read range. A method to alleviate the detuning effect has already been devised and needs to be explored
But also, the read range of low-frequency, inductive, tags/sensors can be increased by using a so-called super lens. We have developed the analysis tools for such a super lens that can be used in the design of better ones.
The EngD project will consist of
A preparation phase, in which, through literature search, a selection of COTS RFID tags/sensors will be made. A definition and analysis phase, in which, for a standard UHF tag antenna, a means of retuning, when embedded in asphalt, will be explored and in which a magnetic lens for low frequency, inductive tags will be designed. A demonstrator implementation phase, in which a functional demonstrator for radiative an/or inductive RFID tags will be designed and tested in a laboratory environment as well as in a field test. An evaluation and conclusion phase, in which, in particular, the results of the field tests will be validated against the requirements and specifications.
Company sponsor
Netherlands Directorate General for Publics Work and Water management (Rijkswaterstaat).
Department of Electrical Engineering
The department of Electrical Engineering (EE) is one of the nine departments of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and has been a core part of the university since Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) was founded in 1956.
The mission of EE is to carry out long term, generic, world-class research within the mechanical engineering domain on carefully selected topics that fall within the research profile areas of the university, and that match the technological interests of high-tech, internationally oriented industry in the Netherlands and especially in Brainport Eindhoven. Furthermore, we want to realize an education and research program with a balanced combination of fundamental and application aspects, thereby aiming at providing industry with scientifically educated and application-driven engineers who are optimally equipped to address future challenges.
Electromagnetics group
The EM group consists of four full time full professors, six part time full professors, one associate professor, eight assistant professors, five postdocs, about 33 EngD and PhD candidates and support staff. In total the group has 100+ professionals with expertise in EM modelling, EM measurements and/or the design of (integrated) antennas and antenna systems for EM applications in medicine, communication and astronomy.