scholarly journals Performance Examination of Low-Power Thermoelectric Sensor Arrays for Energy Harvesting From Human Body Heat

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 541-547
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Low Power ◽  
Power Management ◽  
Energy Harvester ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Sensor Arrays ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Thermoelectric Energy ◽  
Thermoelectric Sensor

Thermoelectric energy harvester is known as a type of energy harvesting technologies which extracts waste heat from a target device or object to generate electrical power. The low power generation from thermoelectric energy harvester, though, is always a critical consideration in designing a self-sustaining system. The energy harvesting system is usually aided by a power management solution to further enhance the power generation for better performance. Therefore, maximizing the power generated from the thermoelectric sensor itself is essential in order to select the most suitable power management approach. This paper presumed the methodology to maximize power generation of thermoelectric and further discussion is reviewed in the report.

Spray-on thermoelectric energy harvester

MRS Advances ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (15) ◽  
pp. 851-855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Peale ◽  
Seth Calhoun ◽  
Nagendra Dhakal ◽  
Isaiah O. Oladeji ◽  
Francisco J. González
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Power Generation ◽  
Energy Harvester ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Spray Deposition ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Seebeck Coefficients ◽  
Thermoelectric Energy ◽  
P Type ◽  
Energy From Waste

AbstractThermoelectric (TE) thin films have promise for harvesting electrical energy from waste heat. We demonstrate TE materials and thermocouples deposited by aqueous spray deposition on glass. The n-type material was CdO doped with Mn and Sn. Two p-type materials were investigated, namely PbS with co-growth of CdS and doped with Na and Na2CoO4. Seebeck coefficients, resistivity, and power generation for thermocouples were characterized.

scholarly journals Performance Evaluation of Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting System on Operating Rolling Stock

Micromachines ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dahoon Ahn ◽  
Kyungwho Choi
Keyword(s):  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Low Power ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
Maximum Speed ◽  
Thermoelectric Energy ◽  
Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting ◽  
Energy Harvesting System ◽  
Power Sensor

During rolling stock operation, various kinds of energy such as vibration, heat, and train-induced wind are dissipated. The amount of energy dissipation cannot be overlooked when a heavy railroad vehicle operates at high speed. Therefore, if the wasted energy is effectively harvested, it can be used to power components like low power sensor nodes. This study aims to review a method of collecting waste heat, caused by the axle bearing of bogie in a rolling stock. A thermoelectric module (TEM) was used to convert the temperature gradient between the surface of the axle bearing housing and the outdoor air into electric energy. In this study, the output performance by temperature difference in the TEM was lab-tested and maximized by computational fluid analysis of the cooling fins. The optimized thermoelectric energy harvesting system (TEHS) was designed and applied on a rolling stock to analyze the power-generating performance under operation. When the rolling stock was operated for approximately 57 min including an interval of maximum speed of 300 km/h, the maximum open circuit voltage was measured at approximately 0.4 V. Based on this study, the system is expected to be utilized as a self-powered independent monitoring system if applied to a low-power sensor node in the future.

scholarly journals Human Body Heat Based Thermoelectric Harvester with Ultra-Low Input Power Management System for Wireless Sensors Powering

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengshuo Xia ◽  
Daxing Zhang ◽  
Witold Pedrycz ◽  
Kangqi Fan ◽  
Yongxian Guo
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Power Management ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Sensor Node ◽  
Energy Harvester ◽  
Input Voltage ◽  
Wireless Sensor ◽  
Thermoelectric Energy ◽  
Power Management System

Energy harvesting (EH) technique has been proposed as a favorable solution for addressing the power supply exhaustion in a wireless sensor node and prolong the operating time for a wireless sensor network. Thermoelectric energy generator (TEG) is a valuable device converting the waste heat into electricity which can be collected and stored for electronics. In this paper, the thermal energy from human body is captured and converted to the low electrical energy by means of thermoelectric energy harvester. The aim of presented work is utilizing the converted electricity to power the related electronic device and to extend the working life of a sensor node. Considering the related characteristics of TEG used for human, a type of a novel power management system is designed and presented to harvest generated electricity. The proposed circuit is developed based on off-the-shelf commercial chips, LTC3108 and BQ25504. It can accept the lowest input voltage of 20 mV, which is more suitable for human thermoelectric energy harvesting. Through experiments, developed energy harvesting system can effectively power the sensor to intermittently transmit the data as well as perform the converted energy storage. Compared to the independent commercial chips applications and other microcontroller-based energy harvesting systems, the designed thermoelectric energy harvester system presents the advantages not only in high energy storage utilization rate but also the ultra-low input voltage characteristic. Since the heat from human body is harvested, therefore, the system can possibly be used to power the sensor placed on human body and has practical applications such as physiological parameter monitoring.

scholarly journals Design, Construction and Evaluation of an Energy Harvesting Prototype built with Piezoelectric Materials

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandra Echeverry Velasquez ◽  
Mateo Velez Quintana ◽  
Jose Alejandro Posada-Montoya ◽  
José Alfredo Palacio-Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Electric Power ◽  
Energy Harvester ◽  
Mechanical Load ◽  
Piezoelectric Materials ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Energy Losses ◽  
Cantilever Beams ◽  
Design Construction

The piezoelectricity allows the generation of electric power taking advantage of the movement of vehicles and pedestrians. Many prototypes have been made with piezoelectric generators, but at present, their commercialization and use has not been popularized due to their low power generation and energy losses. A design of an experimental prototype of an energy harvester with piezoelectric materials that reduces these losses and generates more energy thanks to the resonance with the beams is proposed in this article. An equilateral triangular tilde is designed such it will not deform when a force act on it. The tilde has four-cantilever beams, and it is designed to resonate with the natural frequency of the piezoelectric material. This is coupled to the piezoelectric device. The vibration generated on the beam, by average of a mechanical load, is used to generate more energy when it resonates. The piezoelectric is a ceramic material and generates a nominal power of 75 mW before placing it on the beam, and 375 mW after being placed on the beam. However, the energy collection circuit has losses due to its own consumption, the transmission of energy to the storage system, and in the mechanical system.

A Novel Electromagnetic Energy Harvester Based on Double-Ring Core for Power Line Energy Harvesting

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (16) ◽  
pp. 2050265
Author(s):  
Jiajia Zhang ◽  
Xingliang Tian ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Dong Yan
Keyword(s):  
Energy Harvesting ◽  
Magnetic Flux ◽  
Power Management ◽  
Energy Harvester ◽  
Power Line ◽  
Magnetic Flux Leakage ◽  
Line Energy ◽  
Double Ring ◽  
Flux Leakage ◽  
Ring Core

A novel electromagnetic energy harvester (EMEH) based on double-ring core for power line energy harvesting is proposed in this paper. Due to large magnetic reluctance caused by the inherent air gap at the opening of core, the magnetic flux leakage in magnetic core severely limits the output power of EMEH. A double-ring core with lower magnetic flux leakage is developed. The internal magnetic reluctance of the double-ring core is reduced by changing the distribution of the air gap with a fixed volume. The simulation results show that the double-ring core can produce the highest average magnetic induction, which is 2.42 times, 1.82 times and 1.7 times that of the single-ring opening, stepped opening and V-shaped opening, respectively. In order to improve the output performance of the EMEH, the resonance matching is used for the power management. The power management unit through the resonant matching can increase the acquisition efficiency by 2.23 times and achieve a maximum output power of 32.78[Formula: see text]mW at a 10[Formula: see text]A current across the power line. The EMEH can drive a low-power wireless node operating for 29[Formula: see text]min. A valuable solution is provided for high-efficiency self-powered systems in smart applications.

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