Bladeless Piezo-Triboelectric Hybrid Device for Wind Energy Harvesting
Disciplines
Electrical and Electronics | Energy Systems | Power and Energy
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Triboelectric and piezoelectric devices can generate renewable electricity by suitable for various types of energy harvesting applications. Triboelectric devices operate from contact between two oppositely tribopolar materials and electrostatic induction, while piezoelectric devices operate on mechanical stress. Only light mechanical motion is required for these devices to output electricity. In this project, we are designing a leaflet structure that incorporates both devices to harvest wind energy. We have fabricated triboelectric devices using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which can be made by mixing elastomer base and curing agent. The solution is then pasted onto a copper electrode. A spin coater is used to deposit a thin film. For our tribonegative material, we used Kapton tape, which performs well because of its abundance of polyimide molecules. When the tribomaterials contact with each other, electrical charge is exchanged, forming an electric field. When separated, the electrodes generate charge to counteract the electric field. We have also fabricated a test structure to perform measurements on the triboelectric devices. Following, a mechanical structure was designed and fabricated to simulate the deflection of the leaflet when hit by wind. We determined a typical wind speed produced by a passing car on the highway and then modeled the leaflet in SolidWorks and ran a flow simulation to determine the force we expect the wind to exert on the leaflet. Using this force data, we ran a second simulation to determine how the leaf would bend under this load. We designed the structure to bend the leaf 38cm for out experimental measurements. This allows us to test our devices under a standard wind speed condition without the inconsistencies faced in the real world. Device design, test structure fabrication, simulation and experimental results will be presented.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
SPCEET - Electrical and Computer Engineering
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Sandip Das
Additional Faculty
Dr. Valmiki Sooklal, Mechanical Engineering, vsooklal@kennesaw.edu
Bladeless Piezo-Triboelectric Hybrid Device for Wind Energy Harvesting
Triboelectric and piezoelectric devices can generate renewable electricity by suitable for various types of energy harvesting applications. Triboelectric devices operate from contact between two oppositely tribopolar materials and electrostatic induction, while piezoelectric devices operate on mechanical stress. Only light mechanical motion is required for these devices to output electricity. In this project, we are designing a leaflet structure that incorporates both devices to harvest wind energy. We have fabricated triboelectric devices using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which can be made by mixing elastomer base and curing agent. The solution is then pasted onto a copper electrode. A spin coater is used to deposit a thin film. For our tribonegative material, we used Kapton tape, which performs well because of its abundance of polyimide molecules. When the tribomaterials contact with each other, electrical charge is exchanged, forming an electric field. When separated, the electrodes generate charge to counteract the electric field. We have also fabricated a test structure to perform measurements on the triboelectric devices. Following, a mechanical structure was designed and fabricated to simulate the deflection of the leaflet when hit by wind. We determined a typical wind speed produced by a passing car on the highway and then modeled the leaflet in SolidWorks and ran a flow simulation to determine the force we expect the wind to exert on the leaflet. Using this force data, we ran a second simulation to determine how the leaf would bend under this load. We designed the structure to bend the leaf 38cm for out experimental measurements. This allows us to test our devices under a standard wind speed condition without the inconsistencies faced in the real world. Device design, test structure fabrication, simulation and experimental results will be presented.