A Self-Powered and Battery-Free Vibrational Energy to Time Converter for Wireless Vibration Monitoring

Wireless sensor nodes (WSNs) are the fundamental part of an Internet of Things (IoT) system for detecting and transmitting data to a master node for processing. Several research studies reveal that one of the disadvantages of conventional, battery-powered WSNs, however, is that they typically require periodic maintenance. This paper aims to contribute to existing research studies on this issue by exploring a new energy-autonomous and battery-free WSN concept for monitor vibrations. The node is self-powered from the conversion of ambient mechanical vibration energy into electrical energy through a piezoelectric transducer implemented with lead-free lithium niobate piezoelectric material to also explore solutions that go towards a greener and more sustainable IoT. Instead of implementing any particular sensors, the vibration measurement system exploits the proportionality between the mechanical power generated by a piezoelectric transducer and the time taken to store it as electrical energy in a capacitor. This helps reduce the component count with respect to conventional WSNs, as well as energy consumption and production costs, while optimizing the overall node size and weight. The readout is therefore a function of the time it takes for the energy storage capacitor to charge between two constant voltage levels. The result of this work is a system that includes a specially designed lead-free piezoelectric vibrational transducer and a battery-less sensor platform with Bluetooth low energy (BLE) connectivity. The system can harvest energy in the acceleration range [0.5 g–1.2 g] and measure vibrations with a limit of detection (LoD) of 0.6 g.

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Digital Energy Harvester for Random or Multimodal Structural Vibrations

Volume 2: Mechanics and Behavior of Active Materials; Structural Health Monitoring; Bioinspired Smart Materials and Systems; Energy Harvesting ◽

10.1115/smasis2013-3050 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Kanjuro Makihara ◽

Yuta Yamamoto

Keyword(s):

Piezoelectric Transducer ◽

Energy Harvester ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

The Novel ◽

Structural Vibrations ◽

External Power ◽

Self Powered ◽

Circuit Components

A digital energy harvester that captures electrical energy from complicated random or multimodal vibrations is proposed. The novel energy harvester is digital, autonomous, and controlled by a self-powered microprocessor. The digital self-powered microprocessor automatically and synchronously changes the circuit components with the vibration phase, and can therefore achieve autonomous harvesting. The multifunctional and self-controlled microprocessor is only driven by the voltage of the piezoelectric transducer, and no external power is required. The harvester exhibits great potential and versatility and is applicable to many machines and devices.

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Probabilistic analysis of electrical energy costs comparing: production costs for gas, coal and nuclear power plants

Energy Policy ◽

10.1016/s0301-4215(03)00184-8 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 5-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Danilo Feretic ◽

Zeljko Tomsic

Keyword(s):

Probabilistic Analysis ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Power Plants ◽

Nuclear Power Plants ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Production Costs ◽

Energy Costs ◽

Gas Coal

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Zero-dimensional hydrazine iodobismuthate as a lead-free perovskite-like light absorber in a self-powered photodetector

Journal of Alloys and Compounds ◽

10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.162347 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 162347

Author(s):

Liuyuan Han ◽

Peng Wang ◽

Zeyan Wang ◽

Yuanyuan Liu ◽

Zhaoke Zheng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lead Free ◽

Light Absorber ◽

Self Powered

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Pendulum-Type Hetero-Core Fiber Optic Accelerometer for Low-Frequency Vibration Monitoring

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s18082528 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 2528 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hiroshi Yamazaki ◽

Ichiro Kurose ◽

Michiko Nishiyama ◽

Kazuhiro Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Fiber Optics ◽

Electromagnetic Interference ◽

Large Scale ◽

Fiber Optic ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Fiber Optic Sensor ◽

Vibration Monitoring ◽

Vibration Measurement ◽

Displacement Sensor ◽

Core Fiber

In this paper, a novel pendulum-type accelerometer based on hetero-core fiber optics has been proposed for structural health monitoring targeting large-scale civil infrastructures. Vibration measurement is a non-destructive method for diagnosing the failure of structures by assessing natural frequencies and other vibration patterns. The hetero-core fiber optic sensor utilized in the proposed accelerometer can serve as a displacement sensor with robustness to temperature changes, in addition to immunity to electromagnetic interference and chemical corrosions. Thus, the hetero-core sensor inside the accelerometer measures applied acceleration by detecting the rotation of an internal pendulum. A series of experiments showed that the hetero-core fiber sensor linearly responded to the rotation angle of the pendulum ranging within (−6°, 4°), and furthermore the proposed accelerometer could reproduce the waveform of input vibration in a frequency band of several Hz order.

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Experimental Study of Thermoelectric Generators

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.663.299 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 663 ◽

pp. 299-303 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ubaidillah ◽

Suyitno ◽

Imam Ali ◽

Eko Prasetya Budiana ◽

Wibawa Endra Juwana

Keyword(s):

Output Voltage ◽

Thermoelectric Generator ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Thermoelectric Generators ◽

Data Logger ◽

Computer Data ◽

Standard Module ◽

Self Powered ◽

Resistive Loads ◽

The Relationship

Thermoelectric generator is solid-state device which convert temperature difference, ∆T into electrical energy based on Seebeck effect phenomenon. The device has been widely used in self-powered system applications. This paper focuses on presentation of methodology for characterizing thermoelectric generators. The measurement of its behavior is performed by varying load resistances. A standard module of thermoelectric generator (TEC1-12710) is used in examination and an instrument setup consists of controllable heat source, controllable cooler, personal computer, data logger MCC DAQ USB-1208LS equipped with two sets of K-type thermocouples. The experiment is performed by measuring output voltage and output current in 4 values of temperature gradient by applying 10 values of resistive loads connected to the thermoelectric output wires. The common parameters studied in this research are output voltage, current and power. Generally, the relationship between parameters agrees with the basic theory and the procedure can be adopted for characterizing other type of thermoelectric generator.

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Freeze–thaw actuator and applications

Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures ◽

10.1177/1045389x18758207 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (10) ◽

pp. 2267-2276

Author(s):

Niell Elvin ◽

Alex Elvin

Keyword(s):

Piezoelectric Element ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Smart Material ◽

Stored Energy ◽

Water Ice ◽

Freeze Thaw ◽

Thaw Cycle ◽

Land Mass ◽

Freeze Thaw Cycle ◽

Self Powered

Significant portions of the earth’s land mass undergo annual freeze–thaw cycles, and although water is abundant and practically a free resource, the possibility of using the water–ice phase transition for smart material applications and actuators for machines has not been studied. This article details some of the characteristics of a freeze–thaw actuator, compares it to other smart material actuators, and presents three experimental demonstrations of its potential for engineering applications. The first application is the conversion of the freeze cycle into electrical energy by coupling the freeze–thaw actuator with a bistable piezoelectric element. The second application demonstrates the ability to store energy mechanically and keep a count of multiple freeze–thaw cycles. This stored energy can then be released after a preset number of freeze–thaw cycles. The third application demonstrates a self-powered mechanism that is capable of moving itself one body length per freeze–thaw cycle.

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Ultra High performance, lead free Bi2WO6: P(VDF-TrFE) based triboelectric nanogenerator for self-powered sensor and smart electronic applications

Materials Horizons ◽

10.1039/d1mh01606g ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Dhiraj Bharti ◽

Sushmitha Veeralingam ◽

Sushmee Badhulika

Keyword(s):

Output Power ◽

Power Supply ◽

High Performance ◽

Lead Free ◽

Triboelectric Nanogenerator ◽

High Output Power ◽

Self Powered ◽

Triboelectric Nanogenerators ◽

High Output

Obtaining sustainable, high output power supply from triboelectric nanogenerators still remains a major issue which restricts their widespread use in self-powered electronic applications. In this work, an ultra-high performance, non-toxic,...

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Design of a Wireless Sensor for Injection Molding Cavity Pressure Measurement

10.1115/imece2001/dsc-24500 ◽

2001 ◽

Author(s):

Li Zhang ◽

Charles B. Theurer ◽

Robert X. Gao ◽

David O. Kazmer

Keyword(s):

Injection Molding ◽

Pressure Measurement ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Threshold Value ◽

Pressure Change ◽

Ultrasonic Pulse ◽

Theoretical Background ◽

Wireless Sensor ◽

Cavity Pressure ◽

Self Powered

Abstract The concept of a wireless sensor for injection molding machine cavity pressure measurement is proposed. The pressure information inside the cavity can be sensed by means of a series of ultrasonic pulses. The current pressure is obtained simply multiplying the number of pulses with a preset threshold value. Instead of using any external power supply, the sensor is self-powered by a piezoelectric stack that extracts energy from the melt pressure changes and converts it into electrical energy. Theoretical background of ultrasonic pulses and micromechanical switches are introduced, in view of their applications in the proposed design. Preliminary experiments have shown that pressure change of 20 MPa within 1 μs could be detected wirelessly by a single ultrasonic pulse. Further work will be done to validate the proposed design.

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