Gap distance sensing for non-magnetic medium based on magnetoelectric effect under spatial separation condition

This paper presents a novel non-contact spatial gap distance sensing (GDS) method that can provide distance information in spatial separation conditions. In many applications, such as enclosed environments, it could not provide the desired measurement of gap distance of internal non-magnetic medium due to the constraints of physical barriers and poor accessibility. Therefore, a non-invasive sensing system is designed to measure spatial gap distance for non-magnetic medium. The developed sensor system consists of a pair of heteropolar permanent magnets (PMs), a non-magnetic medium, a magnetostrictive-piezoelectric composite unit and an external space, which has the function of spatial separation measurement. By exploiting the magnetoelectric effect, the magneto-machine-electric conversion is achieved by sensing the spatial magnetic field generated by the heteropolar PMs. The coupling modeling, analysis and calibration of sensing system are conducted, and the system prototype is designed and manufactured. Additionally, the performances of the GDS are experimentally validated. Static gap distance (plate thickness) measurements of the plate and variable gap distance (instant water height) measurements of water are performed, and resolution, vibration, and drift tests are carried out. The results show the accuracy and stability of non-contact spatial gap distance detection for non-magnetic medium, highlighting its potential in various applications.