System level design of wireless sensor node powered by piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the study of vibration energy harvesting from a data center (DC) mainframe computer to power nodes of a wireless sensors network (WSN are used to improve the energy efficiency of a DC). Design/methodology/approach – The piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (VEH) has been designed using an electromechanical analytical model. The VEH is composed of a three-layer cantilever beam with a tip mass. A vibration map (amplitude and acceleration) is presented and the authors show that the optimum frequency is around 90 Hz with maximum amplitude of 1 μm and maximum acceleration of 0.6 m/s2. Modeling results and experimental measurements using an electromagnetic shaker to apply vibrations concord. Findings – The VEH delivers a maximum power of 31 μW on a DC mainframe computer and 2.3 mW at 1g on a test rack. It allows us to use a storage capacitance to successfully power a wireless sensor node for measuring temperature. This paper has been carried out in cooperation with IBM Montpellier and within the framework of the RIDER project financed by the French government and the European Union. Originality/value – A vibration map (amplitude and acceleration) is presented and the authors show that the optimal frequency is around 90 Hz with maximum amplitude of 1 μm and maximum acceleration of 0.6 m/s2. The VEH delivers a maximum power of 31 μW on DC mainframe computer and 2.3 mW at 1 g on test mounted the shaker. It allows us with a storage capacitance to successfully power a wireless sensor node for measuring temperature.

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A Novel Self-Powered Wireless Sensor Node Based on Energy Harvesting for Mechanical Vibration Monitoring

Mathematical Problems in Engineering ◽

10.1155/2014/642365 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Xihai Zhang ◽

Junlong Fang ◽

Fanfeng Meng ◽

Xiaoli Wei

Keyword(s):

Energy Harvesting ◽

Sensor Node ◽

Mechanical Vibration ◽

Main Idea ◽

Vibration Monitoring ◽

Ambient Vibration ◽

Wireless Sensor ◽

Wireless Sensor Node ◽

Vibration Energy Harvesting ◽

Self Powered

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been expected to improve the capability of capturing mechanical vibration dynamic behaviors and evaluating the current health status of equipment. While the expectation for mechanical vibration monitoring using WSNs has been high, one of the key limitations is the limited lifetime of batteries for sensor node. The energy harvesting technologies have been recently proposed. One of them shares the same main idea, that is, energy harvesting from ambient vibration can be converted into electric power. Employing the vibration energy harvesting, a novel self-powered wireless sensor node has been developed to measure mechanical vibration in this paper. The overall architecture of node is proposed. The wireless sensor node is described into four main components: the energy harvesting unit, the microprocessor unit, the radio transceiver unit, and accelerometer. Moreover, the software used to control the operation of wireless node is also suggested. At last, in order to achieve continuous self-powered for nodes, two operation modes including the charging mode and discharging mode are proposed. This design can effectively solve the problem of continuous supply power of sensor node for mechanical vibration monitoring.

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Piezoelectric Energy Harvester for Wireless Sensors

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.546.147 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 546 ◽

pp. 147-149 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kai Zhou ◽

Fang Xie ◽

Yi Tao

Keyword(s):

Energy Harvesting ◽

Wireless Sensors ◽

Electromechanical Coupling ◽

Energy Harvester ◽

Wireless Sensor ◽

Vibration Energy ◽

Vibration Energy Harvesting ◽

Piezoelectric Energy ◽

Stable Source ◽

Piezoelectric Vibration

For the advantage that working without the need for battery replacement and maintenance, the wireless sensor which harvests energy from ambient sources to power itself attracts numerous researches and becomes a focus in sensors. Piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting has the widespread and stable source, higher efficiency and convenient electromechanical coupling. Therefore it becomes prominent in powering wireless sensors. The piezoelectric energy harvester which is used to power wireless sensors is systematically studied in this thesis.

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