TK708 : Energy Harvesting via Piezoelectric Materials; a Wideband Shoe
Thesis > Central Library of Shahrood University > Electrical Engineering > MSc > 2019
Authors:
Salman Nezafati [Author], Mohammadreza Ashraf[Supervisor]
Abstarct: Energy harvesting from the surrounding environment is one of the proposed solutions to deal with energy issue of the world which is a result of rising population, technological progress and the exhaustibility of fossil fuels. There are various sources for energy harvesting, including the mechanical vibrations in the environment. Piezoelectric materials have the potential to convert the mechanical energy of vibrations into electrical energy. One of the problems with piezoelectric materials is their limited frequency range due to their intrinsic characteristics. In this dissertation, energy scavenging shoes have been built with the focus on energy harvesting from human walking to see whether the production of a communication system between shoes and an electronic equipment without further need for batteries is feasible. With a two-stage power circuit, the system has achieved some unique features baxsed on its specific configuration of piezoelectric discs inside the shoe (series connection). The obtained results from the experiments are in agreement with theoretical relations and implemented simulations. By conducting several experiments, it is clear that this system, unlike its counterparts, has a very low dependence on the weight and the gait pattern of the wearer, and can, moreover, be used at different speeds. This energy scavenging shoe can provide 47 micro watts of power at a speed of 5 mph. The harvested energy per step using the aforementioned shoes can guarantee 50 to 55 micro Joules between 1 to 5 mph. By investigating piezoelectric materials and analyzing their electrical models, simulations have been done in ADS environment and the possibility of broadening their resonance frequency is also theoretically demonstrated. In addition, employing piezoelectric shoes for gait analysis has been done and verified practically.
Keywords:
#Energy Harvesting #Piezoelectric #Energy Scavenging Shoe #Wideband Link
Keeping place: Central Library of Shahrood University
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