• 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 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.620-626
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• 2023

Energy harvesting technology, which converts wasted energy sources in everyday life into usable electric energy, is gaining attention as a solution to the challenges of charging and managing batteries for the driving of IoT sensors, which are one of the key technologies in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. Hybrid energy harvesting technology involves integrating two or more energy harvesting technologies to generate electric energy from multiple energy conversion mechanisms. In this study, a hybrid energy harvesting device called TMPPEG (thermo-magneto-piezoelectric-pyroelectric energy generator), which utilizes low-grade waste heat, was developed by incorporating PVDF polymer piezoelectric components and optimizing the system. The variations in piezoelectric output and thermoelectric output were examined based on the spacing of the clamps, and it was found that the device exhibited the highest energy output when the clamp spacing was 2 mm. The voltage and energy output characteristics of the TMPPEG were evaluated, demonstrating its potential as an efficient hybrid energy harvesting component that effectively harnesses low-grade waste heat.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.768-775
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• 2017

Energy harvesting characteristics of trapezoidal piezoelectric cantilever generator, which has a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) laminate film, were compared by longitudinal (3-3) and transverse (3-1) modes. The PZT laminate film, fabricated by a conventional tape casting process, was cofired with Ag electrode at $850^{\circ}C$ for 2 h. A multi-layered Ag electrode by a planar pattern and an interdigitated pattern was applied to the PZT laminate to implement the 3-3 and 3-1 modes, respectively. The energy harvesting performance of the 3-3 mode trapezoidal piezoelectric cantilever generator was better than that of the 3-1 mode. An extremely high output power density of $26.7mW/cm^3$ for the 3-3 mode was obtained at a resonant frequency of 145 Hz under a load resistance of $50{\Omega}$ and acceleration of 1.3 G, which is ~3-times higher than that for the 3-1 mode. Therefore, the 3-3 mode is considered significantly efficient for application to high-performance piezoelectric cantilever generator.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.57 no.10
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• pp.1790-1795
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• 2008

Energy scavenging is a technique that converts ambient energy, for example, vibration and light, to electrical energy in order to supply power to low power electronic devices such as ubiquitous sensors. In this paper, we propose an optimal operation condition of power delivery circuit and design strategy for energy scavenging system in which the generated power is order of microwatt and, consequently, efficient handling of power is critical. We also propose that high data transmission rate is more realistic optimal design objective rather than high energy efficiency. It is shown that disconnection of load from the storage capacitor right after data transmission reduces energy wasting and that optimal value of storage capacitor can be determined at this condition. The feasibility of our propose is proved by experiments and we believe that the proposed design strategy will promote the application of piezoelectric micropower generator to the ubiquitous sensor networks.

• 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.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2007.07a
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• pp.1554-1555
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• 2007

본 논문에서는 기존의 Piezoelectric micropower generator 연구에서 주로 사용되던 Schottky 다이오드 대신 역방향 누설전류가 아주 작은 PAD1과 같은 다이오드를 사용함으로써 기계적 에너지로부터 전기적 에너지로의 에너지 변환효율을 획기적으로 증가시킬 수 있음을 확인하였다. 시뮬레이션을 위해 실험결과를 초기 값으로 한 최적화된 등가회로를 구성하였으며, 실험과 PSPICE 시뮬레이션을 통해 분석한 결과 에너지 변환효율은 최고 100% 이상 증가됨을 알 수 있었다. 특히 미세한 진동으로부터의 매우 작은 기계적 에너지를 이용하는 경우에는 PAD1과 같이 역방향 누설전류가 아주 작은 다이오드를 이용해야만 전기에너지로의 변환이 가능함을 증명하였다.

• 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 Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.313-319
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• 2010

Vibration energy harvesting is an attractive technique for potential powering of low power devices such as wireless sensors and portable electronic applications. Most energy generator developed to date are single vibration frequency based, and while some efforts have been made to broaden the frequency range of energy harvester. In this work, The effect of energy harvesting were investigated at various vibration frequencies, vibration beams, vibration point and test masses. The maximum output voltage of the bimorph piezoelectric cantilever was shifted according to vibration point. Vibration frequency with maximum output voltage decreased with the increasing length of vibration beam and increasing test mass. The sample with vibration beam length 0.5 L generated a peak output voltage of 32 $V_{rms}$ and shows a 45 % increase in voltage output in comparison to the corresponding original bimorph. It was found that a piezoelectric bimorph has a possibility to be as the energy harvesting cantilever, which is successfully tuned over a vibration frequency range to enable a maximum harvesting energy.

• 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.