Evaluation of metal wall effect on inductive coupling using mathematical computer modeling

BACKGROUND: UUnder certain circumstances, the performance of marine robotic systems may be affected by dynamic marine conditions, requiring data inputs immediately before a robot operation. As electrical data input is not always possible, contactless data input by inductive technology is relevant. When entering data directly through the robot body, it is required to build a mathematical computer model to determine the inductive coupling feasibility and performance based on the effect of the metal wall. AIM: To build a signal transmission model with a metal wall between magnetic antennas and determine the effect of aluminum and steel walls on the operation of inductive coupling using the developed model. METHODS: The model was built based using the spectral method of locating the signal at the output of an electrical circuit. By multiplying the spectral signal density by the transfer characteristics of the magnetic antenna and the metal wall in the frequency domain followed by the inverse Fourier transform, we find the signal received by the magnetic antenna in the time domain. RESULTS: The metal wall is a layer of medium with high electrical conductivity leading to quick signal attenuation in the layer of material. With increasing electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability, the specific attenuation in the material increases. In addition, increased wall thickness leads to an increased total attenuation with its specific value remaining unchanged. Further, the wall limits the frequency bandwidth and distorts the signal spectrum. CONCLUSION: The developed computer model reliably reproduces the amplitude and phase distortions of the received signal and may be used to simulate the operation of inductive coupling. This computer model allows to evaluate the possibility of input and select the best system parameters to ensure signal transmission.