Search results for "energy harvesting."
showing 10 items of 84 documents
Experimental investigation on different rainfall energy harvesting structures
2018
In this paper proposes an experimental comparison between different rainfall harvesting devices and the study of the corresponding electrical rectifying circuit. More in detail, three harvesting structures are considered: the cantilever, the bridge and the floating circle. For each of the proposed structure, different waveforms have been acquired and discussed. The processed data have been compared in order to suggest the best choice for the rectifying circuit, from the simplest one to the most endorsed in the technical literature.
Measuring rain energy with the employment of “Arduino”
2016
This paper presents the performances of rainfall energy harvesting through the use of a piezoelectric transducer and an Arduino-based measuring system. Diverse studies agree on the possibility of generating electricity from rainfall, but to date, a study that can measure the quantity of energy produced during rainfall is still missing. The present study begins with results obtained from laboratory researchers using piezoelectric transducers and oscilloscopes — to measure the energy produced from a single raindrop — and concludes with an ad hoc Arduino-based measuring system, aimed at measuring the actual amount of electrical energy produced by a piezoelectric transducer that is exposed to r…
Long term stability testing of oxide unicouple thermoelectric modules
2019
Thermoelectric devices based on oxides are good candidates for energy harvesting technologies for use in aggressive conditions where the materials should withstand high temperatures and corrosive environments over prolonged time. This leads to a natural concern for the stability of the electrical contacts, especially on the hot side of the module. In this work, we have assembled several prototype unicouple thermoelectric modules made by pyrolyzed and spark plasma sintered n-type CaMnO3 and p-type Ca3Co4O9 and then tested under different conditions mimicking end-user applications. For baseline experiments we have chosen to use nickel as the contact material in order to show the effect of its…
Viewpoint: Atomic-Scale Design Protocols toward Energy, Electronic, Catalysis, and Sensing Applications
2019
Nanostructured materials are essential building blocks for the fabrication of new devices for energy harvesting/storage, sensing, catalysis, magnetic, and optoelectronic applications. However, because of the increase of technological needs, it is essential to identify new functional materials and improve the properties of existing ones. The objective of this Viewpoint is to examine the state of the art of atomic-scale simulative and experimental protocols aimed to the design of novel functional nanostructured materials, and to present new perspectives in the relative fields. This is the result of the debates of Symposium I "Atomic-scale design protocols towards energy, electronic, catalysis…
Energy harvesting using piezoelectric transducers for suspension systems
2020
Abstract Energy harvesting by using functional materials in suspension systems bear potential to win-back certain (even if low) amounts of vibrational energy, otherwise dissipated via the conventional (passive) dampers. Piezoelectric (PE) ceramics are functional materials that can be used for transforming mechanical energy into electrical and vice versa. In this paper, we study the capabilities and efficiency of energy harvesting (EH) with PE transducers under two different kinds of external excitation: i) Periodic and ii) stochastic. An appropriate nonlinear lumped parameter electromechanical model (LPEM) is brought into the two-port network notation. Laboratory experiments were conducted …
Dissipation in suspension system augmented by piezoelectric stack: port-Hamiltonian approach
2020
Analysis of damping in semi-active and active suspension systems is prerequisite for an advanced control and, eventually, energy harvesting functions. This paper addresses the damping in suspension system augmented by the piezoelectric (PE) stack. The Hamiltonian system approach with port-power modeling of single subsystems is used for describing and studying the dissipative properties of piezoelectric stack element, integrated in series with a standard quarter-car suspension. The slightly improved, compared to the underlying passive suspension system, frequency response of the sprung mass acceleration is demonstrated. Moreover, the overall power flow in the system, caused by the disturbing…
Solar Inexhaustible Power Source for Wireless Sensor Node
2008
Currently the appearance of really low power wireless transceivers is motivating the use of renewable energies to power embedded wireless sensor nodes in many applications. Nevertheless, energy storage and its degradation still keep on being the main issues in the design of any battery powered device. We present an autonomous power source based on a new system architecture, which uses the energy scavenging to replenish two different rechargeable energy buffers instead of the conventional single one. Combining appropriately a degradable large backup battery (Lithium-Ion) and a shorter but non degradable storage element (Supercapacitor), the lifetime of the group can be widely extended to wha…
An over-the-distance wireless battery charger based on RF energy harvesting
2017
An RF powered receiver silicon IC (integrated circuit) for RF energy harvesting is presented as wireless battery charger. This includes an RF-to-DC energy converter specifically designed with a sensitivity of -18.8 dBm and an energy conversion efficiency of â¼45% at 900 MHz with a transmitting power of 0.5 W in free space. Experimental results concerned with remotely battery charging using a complete prototype working in realistic scenarios will be shown.
Comparison among different rainfall energy harvesting structures
2018
In this paper, an experimental comparison between different rainfall harvesting devices through the study of the electrical rectifying circuit is proposed. In more detail, three harvesting structures are considered: the cantilever, the bridge and the floating circle. Different waveforms were acquired and discussed. The processed data were compared in order to suggest the best choice for the rectifying circuit, from the simplest one to that most frequently endorsed in the technical literature.
A Battery-Free Smart Sensor Powered with RF Energy
2018
The development of Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure and applications is stimulating advanced and innovative ideas and solutions, some of which are pushing the limits of state-of-the-art technology. The increasing demand for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) that must be capable of collecting and sharing data wirelessly while often positioned in places hard to reach and service, motivates engineers to look for innovative energy harvesting and wireless power transfer solutions to implement battery-free sensor nodes. Due to the pervasiveness of RF (Radio Frequency) energy, RF harvesting that can reach out-of-sight places could be a key technology to wirelessly power IoT sensor devices, whic…