• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.776-780
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• 2016

Recently, energy harvesting technology is increasing due to the fossil fuel shortages. To compensate problem of low generating power than other energy harvesters, many researchers have studied about piezoelectric harvester for obtaining high output. In this paper, four kinds of unimorph based piezoelectric harvesters were proposed and its generating characteristics were studied. Each of the piezoelectric harvesters has three, four, and six unimorph arms, respectively, and the arms are symmetrically arranged from one central point. The centrosymmetric structure of the harvesters guarantees more stable and multiplied generation than a cantilever-type harvester since the arms of the harvester resonate at same frequency. Resonance frequency, output voltage, displacement, and stress characteristics of the generator were analyzed by using a FEM (finite element method) program. Harvesters were fabricated on the basis of analysis results. Experimental results were compared with simulated results.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2019

This paper deals with the operation of a hybrid power generation system made with photovoltaic cells and piezoelectric materials. The system can produce power from the wind as well as from the sun subject to their availability. Irrespective of the largeness of their power production, the power developed by both generators (i.e., phtovoltaic cells and piezoelectric cells) were combined and stored before it was applied to a load. Especially, the AC power (current) developed from each piezoelectric generator was converted by a full wave bridge rectifier and then combined prior to its storage in a capacitor. It was observed that the system can produce a maximum output power of 6.49 mW at loading resistance of $100{\Omega}$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.169-174
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• 2006

The outstanding mechanical property of optical fiber and the merits of acoustic emission sensing technique are unified for novel sensor system. The generated ultrasonic wave from piezoelectric generator are propagated along the optical fiber and also sensed. The propagated wave can be influence by external pressure on the optical fiber or environmental circumstance. The optical fiber sensor using ultrasonic wave has advantages compare with existing sensor system. In this study, the sensitivity of the optical fiber sensor is experimentally investigated. As the applications of the optical fiber sensor system using piezoelectric ultrasonic waves, the point load on the optical fiber is measured and the monitoring system for the void fraction of two phase flows is developed. The experimental results show the linear relationship between sensed voltage and void fraction.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1059-1066
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• 2003

A power generation system are proposed to convert ambient mechanical vibration into electrical energy using cantilever-type piezoelectric materials. The vibration-based power device can be used for self-powered systems without batteries. This paper presents the theoretical analysis for the coupled equations of piezoelectric and structural motions and investigates the dynamic characteristics of the self-power system using transfer function method. The theoretical model is verified by the finite element analysis of the resonance frequency, the dynamic response of the structure and the sensor sensibility. Experimental results measured using a prototype system agrees with the theoretical predictions. The system is shown to produce 2.53㎼ in average. Finally, we perform the optimal design for system variables to maximize output power.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.7-7
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• 2010

Energy harvesting from the environment has been of great interest as a standalone power source of wireless sensor nodes for Ubiquitous Sensor Networks(USN). In particular, the piezoelectric energy harvesting from ambient vibration sources has intensively researched because it has a relatively high power density comparing with other energy scavenging methods. Through recent advances in low power consumption RF transmitters and sensors, it is possible to adopt a micro-power energy harvesting system realized by MEMS technology for the system-on-chip. However, the MEMS energy harvesting system has some drawbacks such as a high natural frequency over 300 Hz and a small power generation due to a small dimension. To overcome these limitations, we devised a novel power generator with a spiral spring structure as shown in the figure. The natural frequency of a cantilever could be decreased to the usable frequency region (under 300 Hz) because the natural frequency depends on the length of a cantilever. In this study, the natural frequency of the energy harvester was a lower than a normal cantilever structure and sufficiently controllable in 50 - 200 Hz frequency region as adjusting weight of a proof mass. Moreover, the MEMS energy harvester had a high energy conversion efficiency using a shear mode ($d_{15}$) is much larger than a 33 mode ($d_{33}$) and the energy conversion efficiency is proportional to the piezoelectric constant (d). We expect the spiral type MEMS power generator would be a good candidate for a standalone power generator for USN.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.73-84
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• 2015

Electricity generation using fossil fuels has caused environmental pollution. To solve this problem, research on new renewable energy sources (solar, wind power, geothermal heat, etc.) to replace fossil fuels is ongoing. These devices are able to generate power consistently. However, they have many weaknesses, such as high installation costs and limits to possible setup environments. Therefore, an active study on piezoelectric harvesting technology that is able to surmount the limitations of existing energy technologies is underway. 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 costs. In this study, a piezoelectric harvesting device imitating seaweed, which has a consistent motion caused by fluid, is used. Thus, it can regenerate electricity at sea or on a bridge pillar, which has a constant turbulent flow. The components of the device include circuitry, springs, an electric generator, and balancing and buoyancy elements. Additionally, multiphysics analysis coupled with fluid, structure, and piezoelectric elements is conducted using COMSOL Multiphysics to evaluate performance. Through this program, displacement and electric power were analyzed, and the actual performance was confirmed by the experiment.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2015

Generating output characteristics of a ${\pi}$-type piezoelectric harvester depending on size of the ceramic and the elastic body were studied. The ${\pi}$-type piezoelectric harvester consists of a rectangular piezoelectric ceramic and a ${\pi}$ shaped elastic body. If the tensions is applied at both ends of an elastic body legs, the piezoelectric effect occurs at the ceramics through the form change of the elastic body. The structure of this ${\pi}$-type harvester can be used in a various area than an existing type generator, because it prevent from direct pressure to the ceramic. Generating characteristics of the harvester were analyzed by using finite element method program. The piezoelectric harvester was fabricated on the basis of analyzed results and attached on a frequency controllable vibrator to measure the output characteristics. And generating characteristics were defined by comparing analysis results and experimental results. The highest output voltage was obtained when the ceramic length, thickness were 20 mm, 0.5 mm in the analysis result. And experiment was performed by analysis results at low frequency region, output voltage was generated about 6 V.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11b
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• pp.3131-3135
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• 2008

This paper presents an energy harvester using piezoelectric elements that is a kind of generator which converts the mechanical power to the electric one using windmill system with many PZT actuators. In this study, low frequency characteristics of the cantilever-type piezoelectric actuator are experimentally investigated. Advantages of the cantilever use are to take a very large displacement and to improve the endurance of the PZT element. The material of cantilever is an aluminum and three kinds of cantilever of which size is $150[mm]{\times}20[mm]{\times}1.5[mm]$, $170[mm]{\times}20[mm]{\times}1.5[mm]$ and $190[mm]{\times}20[mm]{\times}1.5[mm]$ were experimented, respectively. The cantilever was fixed on the vibrator. The characteristics of frequency and mass variation of cantilever end part such as 0[g], 5[g], 10[g] are investigated. Maximum voltage was outputted at the condition of $150[mm]{\times}20[mm]{\times}1.5[mm]$ and 10[g] of mass. It was confirmed that the lower natural frequency at the larger length of cantilever and at the bigger of mass is gotten.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.5-11
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• 1987

In this paper, the measurement of SAW velocity on piezoelectric ceramic is studied. It can be done by using oscilloscope and pulse generator, and measure the velocity especially when feed-through is appeared. The propagating distance was exactly calculated considering that IDT responses are obtained by convolution theory, therefore the velocity was measured by the above simple method. As the results, the measurement velocity at room temperature was 3480 m/sec for $YZ-LiNbO_3$ single crystal and 2770 m/sec for a family of $PbTiO_3$ceramics with feed-through signal.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.335-340
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• 2016

The vibrational energy is prevalent in the natural environment, which is studied by energy researchers as a new energy resource in recent years. Vibration generation utilizes electromagnetic induction technology, piezoelectric technology and certain characteristics of smart materials to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. In this paper, a new method of using MSMA (magnetic shape memory alloy) to generate electricity is proposed and the principle of generating electricity is demonstrated. Martensitic variants and magnetic domain characteristics of MSMA are analyzed. Combining with Gibbs free energy function thermal theory, the mathematics model of MSMA vibration generator is established. The basic structure of MSMA vibration generator is designed and simulation is done to analyze that the effects of generator output voltage when the input amplitude and frequency of vibration stress change. The simulation experiments verify the feasibility of using MSMA to make the micro vibration generators and the correctness of the mathematical model, which lays a good foundation for the further research and application of MSMA vibration generator.