• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.523-530
• /
• 2015

Electricity generation through fossil fuels has caused environmental pollution. To solve this problem, research on new renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal heat, etc.) to replace fossil fuels is in progress. These devices are able to consistently generate power. However, they have many drawbacks, such as high installation costs and limitations in possible set-up environments. Thus, piezoelectric harvesting technology, which is able to overcome the limitations of existing energy technologies, is actively being studied. Piezoelectric harvesting technology uses the piezoelectric effect which occurs in crystals that generate voltage when stress is applied. Therefore, it has advantages such as a wider installation base and lower technological cost. In this study, a piezoelectric energy harvesting device based on constant wave motion was investigated. This device can regenerate electricity in a constant turbulent flow in the middle of the sea. The components of the device are circuitry, a steel bar, an bimorph piezoelectric element and buoyancy elements. In addition, a multiphysical analysis coupled with the structure and piezoelectric elements was conducted to estimate the performance of the device. With this piezoelectric energy harvesting device, the displacement and electric power were analyzed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
• /
• 2005.10a
• /
• pp.918-921
• /
• 2005

According to the mechanical-electrical coupling characteristics and the electrical Impedance property of resistor-inductor-capacitor(RLC) series resonant circuit, the mechanical impedance analysis of a bimorph piezoceramic patch shunted with a series RLC resonant circuit is conducted. The displacement transfer function of a cantilever beam bonded with a piezoelectric shunt damping module is deduced in the case of single mode vibration of the beam. By the use of vibration damping theory of tuned mass damper system, the parameter optimization of piezoelectric shunt damping system is performed. The optimal resonant state of the shunting circuit can be obtained when the resister and conductor are optimally adjusted. Test results show that the vibration control effect as well improved with optimized piezoelectric shunt system.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.289-302
• /
• 2011

In marine clay deposits, naturally formed or artificially reclaimed, the evaluation and monitoring of the consolidation process has been a critical issue in civil engineering practices due to the time frame required for completing the consolidation process, which range from several days to several years. While complementing the conventional iconographic method suggested by Casagrande and recently developed in-situ techniques that measure the shear wave, this study suggests an alternative experimental procedure that can be used to evaluate the consolidation state of marine clay deposits using the shear wave velocity. A laboratory consolidation testing apparatus was implemented with bimorph-type piezoelectric bender elements to determine the effective stress-shear wave velocity (${\sigma}^{\prime}-V_s$) relationship with the marine clays of interest. The in-situ consolidation state was then evaluated by comparing the in-situ shear wave velocity data with the effective stress-shear wave velocity relationships obtained from laboratory experiments. The suggested methodology was applied and verified at three different sites in South Korea, i.e., a foreshore site in Incheon, a submarine deposit in Busan, and an estuary delta deposit in Busan. It is found that the shear wave-based experimental procedure presented in this paper can be effectively and reliably used to evaluate the consolidation state of marine clay deposits.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.23-42
• /
• 2009

In order to reduce vibration or to control shape of structures made of metal or composites, piezoelectric materials have been extensively used since their discovery in 1880's. A recent trend is also seen to apply piezoelectric materials to flexible structures made of rubber-like materials. In this paper a non-linear finite element model using updated Lagrangian (UL) approach has been developed for static analysis of rubber-elastic material with surface-bonded piezoelectric patches. A compressible stain energy function has been used for modeling the rubber as hyperelastic material. For formulation of the nonlinear finite element model a twenty-node brick element is used. Four degrees of freedom u, v and w and electrical potential ${\varphi}$ per node are considered as the field variables. PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) patches are applied as sensors/actuators or sensors and actuators. The present model has been applied to bimorph PVDF cantilever beam to validate the formulation. It is then applied to study the smart rubber components under different boundary and loading conditions. The results predicted by the present formulation are compared with the analytical solutions as well as the available published results. Some results are given as new ones as no published solutions available in the literatures to the best of the authors' knowledge.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
• /
• 2006.06a
• /
• pp.477-482
• /
• 2006

In this study, a micro vapor compressor has been designed, fabricated and tested. The micro vapor compressor was made of silicon substrates and fabricated by micromachining process. The compressor is driven by a piezoelectric actuator which is widely used in microfluidic systems because of its strong force and rapid response. The actuator is a bimorph structure which consists of a silicon membrane and a piezoelectric ceramic film. A simulation work was conducted on the performance characteristics of the compressor. The simulation investigated the flow rate variation under various back pressure conditions. Experimental works were carried out on the operation of a compressor and the test results were compared with the simulation results.

• Transactions of The Korea Fluid Power Systems Society
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2006

The pressure regulator which is used for controlling the reducing pressure in the piezoelectrically driven pneumatic valve has been studied. The pneumatic valve of this study object is 2-stage type and consists of a piezoelectric actuator, a controller, a poppet valve and a pressure regulator. Nominal flow of 50 lpm, maximum operating pressure of 0.9MPa and frequency characteristic of 10Hz and over are required in this pneumatic valve, but the pressure regulator is needed because piezoelectric actuator has no ability to control the pressure of 0.9MPa directly. In this study, bimorph type PZT actuator of $25.2mm(L){\times}7.2mm(W){\times}0.5mm(H)$ with constant of $-220{\times}10-12$ CN-1 was proposed and investigated. Maximum operating force of 0.052 N and maximum displacement of $63{\mu}m$ were gotten from the fabricated PZT actuator. From the analysis results, the orifice diameter of 0.6mm for a piezoelectric actuator was derived and then the pressure regulator which can be operated under 0.15 MPa easily was designed and manufactured. Performance and effects of design parameters were simulated by the Simulink of Matlab software, and it was confirmed that the performance characteristics of manufactured pressure regulator are superior in the common use pressure range of 0.5 MPa to 0.7 MPa. The results show that the proposed pressure regulator is suitable for the pneumatic valve with a PZT actuator.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.17-37
• /
• 2011

The microcantilever (MCL) sensor is one of the most promising platforms for next-generation label-free biosensing applications. It outperforms conventional label-free detection methods in terms of portability and parallelization. In this paper, an overview of recent advances in our understanding of the coupling between biomolecular interactions and MCL responses is given. A dual compact optical MCL sensing platform was built to enable biosensing experiments both in gas-phase environments and in solutions. The thermal bimorph effect was found to be an effective nanomanipulator for the MCL platform calibration. The study of the alkanethiol self-assembly monolayer (SAM) chain length effect revealed that 1-octanethiol ($C_8H_{17}SH$) induced a larger deflection than that from 1-dodecanethiol ($C_{12}H_{25}SH$) in solutions. Using the clinically relevant biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP), we revealed that the analytical sensitivity of the MCL reached a diagnostic level of $1{\sim}500{\mu}g/ml$ within a 7% coefficient of variation. Using grazing incident x-ray diffractometer (GIXRD) analysis, we found that the gold surface was dominated by the (111) crystalline plane. Moreover, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, we confirmed that the Au-S covalent bonds occurred in SAM adsorption whereas CRP molecular bindings occurred in protein analysis. First principles density functional theory (DFT) simulations were also used to examine biomolecular adsorption mechanisms. Multiscale modeling was then developed to connect the interactions at the molecular level with the MCL mechanical response. The alkanethiol SAM chain length effect in air was successfully predicted using the multiscale scheme.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.90-100
• /
• 1993

A finite element formulation of vibration control of a laminated plate with piezoelectric sensor/ actuators is presented. Classical lamination theory with the induced strain actuation and Hamilton's principle are used to formulate the equations of motion of the system. The total charge developed on the sensor layer is calculated from the direct piezoelectric equation. The equations of motion and the total charge are discretized with 4 node, 12 degrees of freedom quadrilateral plate bending elements with one electrical degree of freedom. The mass and stiffness of the piezoelectric layer are introduced by treating them as another layer in laminated plate. Piezoelectric sensor/actuators are distributed, but discrete due to the geometry of electrodes. By defining an i.d. number of electrode for each element, modelling of electrodes with variable geometry can be achieved. The static response of a piezoelectric bimorph beam to electrical loading and sensor voltage to given displacement are calculated. For a laminated plate under the negative velocity feedback control, the direct time response by the Newmark-.betha. method and damped frequencies and modal damping ratios by modal state space analysis are derived.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.63-70
• /
• 2010

Research and development of Assistive Technology (AT) for blind people is primarily focused on assisting mobility and improving access to information. Some particularly useful devices for aiding access to information and communication are DAISY players used with talking books, screen readers for reading screens, video magnifiers to aid low vision, Braille displays, and Braille PDAs. These essential devices have been successfully commercialized and have assisted many visually impaired people. Assistive technology devices for visually impaired people are called sensory substitution devices, because these devices substitute tactile or auditory functions for visual functions. The tactile interfaces of sensory substitution devices such as Braille displays and Braille PDAs have a bimorph type of piezoelectric actuator that forms a Braille (pin) of the Braille cells by moving up and down. KGS Corporation of Japan has more than 80% share of the worldwide market for these Braille cell actuators. Commercializing it for the first time in the world. This paper reviews the various endeavors in Japan in the research and development of tactile displays, such as Braille displays and Braille PDAs. Furthermore, it discusses sensory substitution devices that use tactile displays, focusing especially on the rotating Braille display we have developed.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.766-772
• /
• 2012

Spring supported piezoelectric cantilever structures (SPCS) were fabricated for vibration-based energy harvester application. We selected four elastic springs (A, B, C, and D type) as cantilever's supporter, each elastic spring has a different spring constant (S). The C type of SPCS ($S_C$: 4,649 N/m) showed a extremely low resonance frequency of 81 Hz along with the highest power output of 38.5 mW while the A type of SPCS ($S_A$: 40,629 N/m) didn't show a resonance frequency while. Therefore, it is considered that the lower spring constant lead to a lower resonance frequency of the SPCS. In addition, a tip mass (18 g) at one end of the SPCS could further reduce the resonance frequency without heavy degradation of power output.