Approach To Power Harvesting With Piezoelectric Material

Revista Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Antioquia, 2020

The piezoelectricity allows the generation of electric power taking advantage of the movement of vehicles and pedestrians. Many prototypes have been made with piezoelectric generators, but at present, their commercialization and use have not been popularized due to their low power generation and energy losses. A design of an experimental prototype of an energy harvester with piezoelectric materials that reduces these losses and generates more energy thanks to the resonance with the beams is proposed in this article. An equilateral triangular tile is designed such it will not deform when a force acts on it. The tile has four-cantilever beams, and it is designed to resonate with the natural frequency of the piezoelectric material. This is coupled to the piezoelectric device. The vibration generated on the beam, by a mechanical load, is used to generate more energy when it resonates. The piezoelectric is a ceramic material and generates a nominal power of 75 mW before placing it on the beam, and 375 mW after being placed on the beam. However, the energy collection circuit has losses due to its own consumption, the transmission of energy to the storage system, and in the mechanical system.

Piezoelectric materials can be used as mechanisms to transfer ambient vibrations into electrical energy that can be stored and used to power other devices. With the recent surge of micro scale devices, Piezoelectric power generation can provide a conventional alternative to traditional power sources used to operate certain types of sensors/actuators, telemetry, and MEMS devices. In this paper, two types of piezoelectric materials were experimentally investigated for use as power harvesting devices. The two types being the commonly used monolithic piezoelectric (PZT) and Macro Fiber Composites (MFC), which were recently developed at the NASA Langley Center. Our experimental results estimate the efficiency of these devices and identify the feasibility of their use in real world applications. In general the power produced by the vibration of a piezoelectric device is on the order of a few milliwatts which is far too little to power for most applications. Therefore, each the transducer is used to charge nickel metal hydride batteries of varying sizes to compare their performance and ability of to store electrical power. The results presented in this paper show the potential of piezoelectric materials for use in power harvesting applications.

Journal of Electroceramics, 2009

The possibility of recycling ambient energies with miniature electrical generators instead of using batteries with limited lifespan has stimulated important research efforts over the past years. Integration of such miniature generators is mainly envisioned into low power autonomous systems, for various industrial or domestic applications. This paper focuses on the use of piezoelectric materials for generating electrical energy from ambient mechanical vibrations. A review of the piezoelectric materials and the electromechanical structures which have been proposed in this field is first presented. Electrical circuits with one-stage, two-stage and three-stage interfaces which have been developed for optimizing the electrical power flow from piezoelectric devices to energy storage elements are then compared to a novel technique for controlling the energy converted by piezoelectric materials. This novel approach is derived from Ericsson thermodynamic cycle. A solution for practical implementation is proposed, theoretical predictions and experimental results are compared and discussed.

This paper discusses the use of piezoelectric material to generate electricity. This includes the basic theoretical modelling of the electrical power generation mechanisms and optimization of the piezo-host system. It is shown that with proper configuration, a single piezo-film can generate enough electrical density that can be stored in a rechargeable battery for later usage. et al. Piezoelectric effects, Renewable energy, Vibration, Euler-Bernoulli, Power generator.

2015

This thesis, written by Khalid Hayder Abdalla Elkhider under the direction of his thesis advisor and approved by his thesis committee, has been presented and accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING.

Journal of Materials and Applications, 2021

The generation of electricity by renewable energies is an important need of today's society. Piezoelectric energy harvesting is one of these useful technologies which can generate electricity by applying external force on piezoelectric material. This study illustrates more power generation from piezoelectric tile by changing the situation of piezo discs and connect to proportional electrical circuit. Two different designs of piezoelectric tile are presented by performing experimental analyses. The experimental results showed that placing piezoelectric elements in a bending position leads to higher power generation in comparison with traditional flat positioning, which was approximately 78 times far superior. It is also revealed that by design of an electrical circuit, the tile can be advantageous for lighting in crowded sidewalks with required lighting time. The results of this paper can be beneficial in the design and fabrication of these tiles for different applications.

Mechanical Engineering Scientific Journal, 2023

Energy harvesting by using piezoelectric materials is one of the most widely used techniques for conversion of waste energy into useful. Using this technique, generated vibration energy from machines can be converted into useful electrical energy. In this paper, an energy harvesting system that supplies power for low-power consumption devices has been designed. The experimental model consists of a rotating machine that generates mechanical vibrations that actuate a cantilever beam and a piezoelectric transducer as a sensor for energy harvesting. The aim is to generate greater power as an output, which could be achieved by obtaining maximal strain for the given frequency range of the vibration source. The frequency range of the vibration machine is variable and multiple frequencies have been used. Using the Euler-Bernoulli method, the beam dimensions have been calculated so that its natural frequency matches the operating machine frequency. By reaching the resonant point of the cantilever beam, the maximal power from the designed energy harvesting system can be generated.

Journal of Electroceramics, 2007

With the decrease in energy consumption of portable electronic devices, the concept of harvesting renewable energy in human surrounding arouses a renewed interest. This technical paper focusses on one such advanced method of energy harvesting using piezoelectric material.

2019

Piezoelectric materials have a unique property of gaining a potential across its surface when subjected to some sort of distortion. This generated power can be used to provide some useful power. The energy extracted from the piezoelectric transducer is not constant and has a lot of fluctuations in it. We aim to reduce these fluctuations by using the external circuits with the piezoelectric transducer. The focus of this paper is to get an enhanced and constant power from the piezoelectric material. A new technique of electric energy generation is presented in this paper using mechanical excited piezoelectric material. This technique called “DOUBLE SYNCHRONIZED SWITCH HARVESTING TECHNIQUE” treats the output voltage of the piezoelectric material non-linearly. It consists of an intermediate stage, which boosts the harvested power irrespective of the load connected. This technique significantly increases the electromechanical conversion capability of the piezoelectric material. For wide ...

Shock and Vibration Digest, 2004

The process of acquiring the energy surrounding a system and converting it into usable electrical energy is termed power harvesting. In the last few years, there has been a surge of research in the area of power harvesting. This increase in research has been brought on by the modern advances in wireless technology and low-power electronics such as microelectromechanical systems. The advances have allowed numerous doors to open for power harvesting systems in practical real-world applications. The use of piezoelectric materials to capitalize on the ambient vibrations surrounding a system is one method that has seen a dramatic rise in use for power harvesting. Piezoelectric materials have a crystalline structure that provides them with the ability to transform mechanical strain energy into electrical charge and, vice versa, to convert an applied electrical potential into mechanical strain. This property provides these materials with the ability to absorb mechanical energy from their surroundings, usually ambient vibration, and transform it into electrical energy that can be used to power other devices. While piezoelectric materials are the major method of harvesting energy, other methods do exist; for example, one of the conventional methods is the use of electromagnetic devices. In this paper we discuss the research that has been performed in the area of power harvesting and the future goals that must be achieved for power harvesting systems to find their way into everyday use.

Energy Harvesting Technologies

Piezoelectric materials can be used to convert oscillatory mechanical energy into electrical energy. This technology, together with innovative mechanical coupling designs, can form the basis for harvesting energy from mechanical motion. Piezoelectric energy can be harvested to convert walking motion from the human body into electrical power. Recently four proof-of-concept Heel Strike Units were developed where each unit is essentially a small electric generator that utilizes piezoelectric elements to convert mechanical motion into electrical power in the form factor of the heel of a boot. The results of the testing and evaluation and the performance of this small electric generator are presented. The generator's conversion of mechanical motion into electrical power, the processes it goes through to produce useable power and commercial applications of the Heel Strike electric generator are discussed.

Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 2008

Providing efficient and clean power is a challenge for devices that range from the micro to macro in scale. Although there has been significant progress in the development of micro-, meso-, and macro-scale power supplies and technologies, realization of many devices is limited by the inability of power supplies to scale with the diminishing sizes of CMOS-based technology. Here, the authors provide an overview of piezoelectric energy harvesting technology along with a discussion of proof of concept devices, relevant governing equations, and figures of merit. They present two case studies: (a) energy capture from the operation of a novel shear and elastic modulus indentation device subjected to applied voltage and (b) energy capture from vibrating commercial bimorph piezoelectric structures mounted on household appliances. Lastly, areas of development needed for realization of commercial energy harvesting devices are suggested.

This paper focuses on energy harvesting potential of piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) patches under various configurations. Results of detailed experimental studies covering built up configurations (such as secondary structure) and simple surface-bonded/ embedded configurations are presented. Both wind induced as well as general structural vibrations are considered. The results show that it is possible to generate energy in micro watt range which could possibly be used to power low power consuming A/D converters as well as related circuits for the purpose of structural health monitoring.

Comprehensive Energy Systems, 2018

The concept of piezoelectric energy production is based on energy harvesting devices using as generation materials single crystals, ceramics, polymers and composites. These production systems can harvest wasted environmental energy and convert it essentially into electrical energy. There are different nano-and micro-scale power harvesters which are increasingly useful for powering mobile electronics and low power devices, even in hardly accessible areas. Despite many efforts in the development of new materials, the most widely used materials in device applications remain the ceramics of the PZT family, since they still present the higher output performances in the range of mW of generated power.

Due to the development of ultra-low power portable electronics and wireless sensors, the use of ambient energy, such as vibration energy for harvesting energy using piezoelectric materials has aroused great interests. A number of techniques have been proposed by the researchers for harvesting energy from the vibration source. Mostly, the techniques are classified as narrowband or broadband depending on the range of frequencies in which they produce maximum power. Substantial research has been done by the researchers in both these areas and countless techniques are proposed in order to harvest maximum power. A study is needed to compare these techniques to suggest a proper technique for a typical application. This paper presents a detailed categorization of the various piezoelectric energy harvesting techniques and also covering each of them with suitable examples. The pros and cons of each technique are also presented.