Title:

Modeling and Applications of Vibration Energy Harvesting Using Piezoelectric Transduction

Speaker:

Mr. Alper Erturk

Affiliation:

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA

When:

Monday, November 30, 2009 at 11:00:00 AM   Add to Calendar

Where:

MRDC Building, Room 4211

Host:

Dr. Ken Cunefare
ken.cunefare@me.gatech.edu
404-894-4726

Abstract

Vibration-based energy harvesting has received growing attention over the last decade. The basic motivation in this research field is to power small electronic components (such as wireless sensor networks) using the vibration energy available in their environment. Piezoelectric materials constitute a primary alternative for vibration-to-electricity conversion due to their large power densities and ease of application. This presentation will cover modeling and certain applications of vibration energy harvesting using piezoelectric transduction. The analytical and approximate distributed-parameter electromechanical models introduced by the presenter will be discussed along with experimental validations for various cases. Applications of the electromechanical models for clarifying the modeling issues repeated in the literature and for comparing the power generation performances of various piezoelectric materials will be demonstrated. After pointing out the importance of improving the frequency bandwidth in vibration energy harvesting, the outstanding broadband performance results of a novel piezomagnetoelastic energy harvester will be presented. The concept of self-charging structures (i.e. combined use of flexible piezoceramics and thin-film batteries as load-bearing structures) introduced for unmanned aerial vehicles will also be discussed. Finally, the ongoing research related to piezoelectric energy harvesting from aeroelastic vibrations and multi-mode energy harvesting research for self-powered structural health prognosis in bridges will be summarized.

Biography

Mr. Alper Erturk joined the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics (ESM) at Virginia Tech as a PhD student in Fall 2006. He has worked as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures (CIMSS) under the guidance of his advisor Prof. Daniel J. Inman. His research background covers structural dynamics, mechanical vibrations, smart materials and electromechanical systems. Over the last three years, he has published 1 book chapter and more than 30 articles in refereed international journals and conference proceedings. News articles related to his research on piezoelectric energy harvesting have appeared in the Materials Research Society Bulletin and the Inside Science News Service of the American Institute of Physics. In Fall 2008, he became the first recipient of the Liviu Librescu Memorial Scholarship of the ESM Department at Virginia Tech. More recently, he coauthored the Best Student Paper of the 2009 ASME Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems. Alper received his BS and MS degrees from the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey, in 2004 and 2006, respectively. His MS thesis focused on the use of structural coupling and modification techniques for chatter prediction in spindle-tool systems and received the Thesis of the Year Award of the METU Parlar Foundation in 2006. He is a member of ASME, AIAA, SPIE and SEM.