• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1341-1347
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• 2013

Energy harvesting is a clean technology to obtain energy from the surrounding environment such as wind, sun, vibration and so on. In particular, the current TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring Device) is very small and attached to the outside of a vehicle and power supply of the TPMS is limited. Therefore, energy harvesting using vibration energy of piezoelectric materials is important to the TPMS. In this paper, we analyzed several models using ANSYS which is one of the FEA (Finite Element Analysis) package and compared corresponding strain frequency response functions of the TPMS. In addition, we confirmed that dynamic characteristics variations according to geometry changes have effects on the performance of the TPMS.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.263-263
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• 2007

In the future, self-contained sensors and processing units will need on-board, renewable power supplies to be truly autonomous. One way of supplying such power is through energy harvesting, processes by which ambient forms of energy are converted into electricity. One energy harvesting technique involves converting kinetic energy, in the form of vibrations, into electrical energy through the use of piezoelectric materials. Researchers are currently investigating how piezoelectric materials can be used to harvest power. This study examines the use of auxiliary structures, consisting of a mechanical fixture and a lead zirconate/lead titanate (PZT) piezoelectric element, which can be attached to any boundary conditions vibrating beam of the any boundary conditions. Adjusting various boundary conditions of these structures can maximize the strain induced in the attached PZT element and improve power output.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.827-830
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• 2006

With recent advanced in portable electric devices, wireless sensor, MEMS and bio-Mechanics device, the new typed power supply, not conventional battery but self-powered energy source is needed. Particularly, the system that harvests from their environments are interests for use in self powered devices. For very low powered devices, environmental energy may be enough to use power source. In the generality of cases, these energy harvesting systems are used in the piezoelectric materials as mechanisms to convert mechanical vibration energy into electric energy. Through the piezoelectric materials, the ambient vibration energy could be used to prolong the power supply or in the ideal case provide endless energy f9r the devices. Therefore, the piezoelectric power harvesting cantilever beam is developed. Also, the output voltage and power are predicted in this study. We also discuss the developing system of the piezoelectric energy scavenger. An experimental verification of the model is also performed to ensure its accuracy.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.383-391
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• 2023

Energy harvesting in trams may become a prevalent source of passive energy generation due to the high density of vibrational energy, and this may help power structural health monitoring systems for the trams. This paper presents a broadband vibrational energy harvesting device design that utilizes a varied frequency from a tram vehicle using a 2 DOF vibrational system combined with electromagnetic energy conversion. This paper will demonstrate stepwise optimization processes to determine mechanical parameters for frequency tuning to adjust to the trams' operational conditions, and electromagnetic parameters for the whole system design to maximize power output. The initial optimization will determine 5 important design parameters in a 2 DOF vibrational system, namely the masses (m₁, m₂ (and spring constants (k₁, k₂, k₃). The second step will use these parameters as initial guesses for the second optimization which will maintain the ratios of these parameters and present electrical parameters to maximize the power output from this system. The obtained values indicated a successful demonstration of design optimization as the average power generated increased from 1.475 mW to 17.44 mW (around 12 times).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.81-89
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• 2008

This paper is concerned with the development of the piezoelectric energy harvesting(PEH) device for ubiquitous sensor node(USN). The USN needs auxiliary power to lengthen its operational life. In this study, the piezoelectric energy harvesting system consisting of a cantilever with a tip mass and piezoelectric wafer was investigated in detail both theoretically and experimentally. The dynamic model for the addressed system was derived using the assumed mode method. The resulting equations of motion were expressed in matrix form, which had never been developed before. The power output characteristics of the PEH was then calculated and discussed. Various experiments were carried out to investigate the charging characteristics of electrical components. Theoretical and experimental results showed that the PEH was able to charge a battery with ambient vibrations but still needed an effective mechanism which can convert mechanical energy to electrical energy and an optimal electric circuit which dissipates small energy.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.632-641
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• 2008

This paper is concerned with the development of the piezoelectric energy harvesting(PEH) device for ubiquitous sensor node(USN). The USN needs auxiliary power to lengthen its operational life. In this study, the piezoelectric energy harvesting system consisting of a cantilever with a tip mass and piezoelectric wafer was investigated in detail both theoretically and experimentally. The dynamic model for the addressed system was derived using the assumed mode method. The resulting equations of motion were expressed in matrix form, which had never been developed before. The power output characteristics of the PEH was then calculated and discussed. Various experiments were carried out to investigate the charging characteristics of electrical components. Theoretical and experimental results showed that the PEH was able to charge a battery with ambient vibrations but still needed an effective mechanism which can convert mechanical energy to electrical energy and an optimal electric circuit which dissipates small energy.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.896-902
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• 2012

For most applications of the vibration energy harvesting technology as in wireless sensor networks for smart buildings and plants, the evaluation of DC output performance of vibration energy harvesters is typically required. However, there is no dedicated algorithm for the evaluation. The lack of a dedicated algorithm results from difficulties in the direct incorporation of nonlinear rectifying and regulating circuitry into finite element models of piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters. In this study, we develop a dedicated algorithm and present software based on it for the evaluation of not only AC but also DC electrical quantities. Here, an equivalent electrical circuit model is employed. The COMSOL multiphysics simulation tool is adopted for extracting equivalent electrical circuit parameters of a piezoelectric vibration energy harvester and MATLAB is used to make a graphical user interface. The AC voltage and power outputs calculated by the proposed algorithm under various conditions are compared with those by a traditional finite element analysis. The DC output voltage and power through a rectifier are obtained for varying values of smoothing capacitance and external resistance.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.449-470
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• 2016

Energy harvesting is an emerging technique that extracts energy from surrounding environments to power low-power devices. For example, it can potentially provide sustainable energy for wireless sensing networks (WSNs) or structural control systems in civil engineering applications. This paper presents a comprehensive study on harvesting energy from earthquake-induced structural vibrations, which is typically of low frequency, to power WSNs. A macroscale pendulum-type electromagnetic harvester (MPEH) is proposed, analyzed and experimentally validated. The presented predictive model describes output power dependence with mass, efficiency and the power spectral density of base acceleration, providing a simple tool to estimate harvested energy. A series of shaking table tests in which a single-storey steel frame model equipped with a MPEH has been carried out under earthquake excitations. Three types of energy harvesting circuits, namely, a resistor circuit, a standard energy harvesting circuit (SEHC) and a voltage-mode controlled buck-boost converter were used for comparative study. In ideal cases, i.e., resistor circuit cases, the maximum electric energy of 8.72 J was harvested with the efficiency of 35.3%. In practical cases, the maximum electric energy of 4.67 J was extracted via the buck-boost converter under the same conditions. The predictive model on output power and harvested energy has been validated by the test data.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.660-663
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• 2007

Piezoelectric energy harvesting from our surrounding vibration has been studied for driving the wireless sensor node. To change the vibration energy into the electric-energy efficiently, the natural frequency of cantilever needs to be adjusted to that of a vibration source. When adding 6.80g mass on the end of the fabricated cantilever, a natural frequency shifts from 136 Hz into 49.5 Hz. In addition, electro-mechanical coupling factor increased from 10.20% to 11.90% and resulted in the 1.18 times increase of maximum output power.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 2016

Micro-vibration induced by on-board appendages that have mechanical moving parts has always been treated as an useless objective that has to be isolated, in order to comply with a high-resolution mission requirement of the observation satellite. In this study, we proposed a tuned mass damper energy harvester combined with a conventional passive vibration isolator for exhibiting dual functions of both electrical energy harvesting and micro-vibration isolation. The feasibility of the proposed dual-function complex system has been demonstrated through the comparison with numerical simulations, based on the results of basic characteristic tests, and experiments of the harvested power and micro-vibration.