Design and Implementation of Wireless Sensor Network for Freeze Dryer

Abstract

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is designed and implemented for a freeze dryer. Freeze-drying technology is widely used in the fields of pharmacy and biotechnology as well as the food and agriculture industries. Taking into account the demand for high-resolution pressure and temperature measurements in a freeze dryer, the proposed WSN has a significant advantage of creating a monitoring environment in a freeze dryer. The proposed WSN uses a ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 network with an altimeter module that contains a high-resolution pressure and temperature sensor with a serial digital data interface. The ZigBee network is suitable for low-energy and low-data-rate applications in the field of wireless communication. The altimeter module is capable of sensing pressure in the range of 7.5–975 Torr (10–1300 mbar) and temperature in the range of -40C to 125C with a DC power consumption of 3 W. The implemented WSN is installed in a commercial laboratory freeze dryer in order to demonstrate its functionality and efficiency. A comparison with the temperature profile measured by a thermocouple installed in the freeze dryer reveals that the resolution of the temperature profile measured by WSN is superior to that measured by the thermocouple.