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Energy Harvesting & Design Optimization Lab. |
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University
of Maryland Baltimore County, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering |
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Completed Topics – Energy Harvester / Topology Optimization / Shape Optimization / RBDO
1.
Segment-Type Energy Harvesting (EH) device:
This conceptual design was proposed to
generate electric power efficiently through the utilization of multiple
vibration modes by segmenting the piezoelectric material. In order to reflect
the random nature of ambient vibration energy, a stochastic design optimization
was solved to determine the optimal configuration in terms of energy
efficiency and durability. A prototype was manufactured and mounted on a heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) system to
successfully operate a temperature wireless sensor for real-time temperature
monitoring. By introducing this new conceptual design the efficiency of the
harvester was increased by 30% compared to the case where the single
vibration mode was utilized. One of my publications on this EH device was honored
as highlight of 2009 by Smart Materials and Structures.
My paper linked in Ambiosystems website (wireless sensor company)
Highlight
of 2009 list by Smart Materials and Structures.
2.
Energy Harvesting Skin (EH Skin):
EH skin design was
proposed to enable a self-power generating skin structure. In the past EH
devices have primarily designed as a cantilever type, which requires a bulky
device fixture, resulting in significant energy loss due to imperfect
clamping condition. The current version of EH skin is composed of two
fundamental layers: vibrating structure layer and EH (piezoelectric) layer.
Design of the EH skin on a outdoor unit was studied as shown in Figure 2. Topology and shape optimization
techniques were used to determine an optimal configuration of EH layer
(sizes, locations, etc.). The EH skin was carefully prototyped to demonstrate
that it can generate power up to 3.7mW, which is sustainable for operating
wireless sensor units for structural health monitoring.
This research was
acknowledged by an online science newspaper, Physorg.com (featured article), Donga
science (in Korean)
No. 1 Top-accessed
article April 2011, IEEE TUFFC: "A new
piezoelectric energy harvesting design concept: multimodal energy harvesting
skin"
3. Electromagnetic Energy Harvester for Tire Pressure
Monitoring Sensors
A new concept design
of electromagnetic energy harvester is proposed for powering a tire pressure
monitoring sensor (TPMS). The thin coil strap is attached on the
circumferential surface of a rim and a permanent magnet is placed on the
brake caliper system. When the wheel rotates, the relative motion between the
magnet and the coil generates electrical energy by electromagnetic induction.
The generated energy is stored in a storage unit (rechargeable battery,
capacitor) and used for the TPMS operation and wireless signal transmission.
Innovative layered design of the strap is provided for maximizing energy
generation. Finite Element Method (FEM) and experiment results on the
proposed design are compared to validate the proposed design and the method
for design improvement is discussed. The proposed design is excellent in
terms of durability and sustainability because it utilizes the everlasting
rotary motion throughout the vehicle life and does not require material
deformation.
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Energy Harvesting & Design Optimization
Lab. University of Maryland Baltimore County,
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD, 21250 © 2013 |
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