EC 708

SEMINAR

ECU 072 02
ANOOP JOSHI VELIYATH

PIEZOELECTRICITY AS AN
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
SOURCE

SEMINAR CONTENTS: AN
OVERVIEW
I. Basic theory of piezoelectricity
II. Power harvesting: circuitry and
technical details
III.Case study: InnowattechTM

PIEZOELECTRICITY
Discovered in 1880 by the Jacques and
Pierre Curie, word derived from Greek word
piezein (to press)
Definition: property of certain crystalline
materials ,by which, when subjected to a
mechanical force, they become electrically
polarized (direct piezoelectric effect)
Tension and compression generates
voltages of opposite polarity
Inverse process also exists (inverse
piezoelectric effect)
Examples of piezomaterials: quartz, barium
titanate and tourmaline (naturally3

PIEZOELECTRIC
CERAMICS
Preferred to naturally occurring
piezomaterials like quartz
Advantage: the composition,
shape and dimensions can be
tailored to meet specific
requirements
Ceramics manufactured from
formulations based on lead
zirconate/lead titanate exhibit
good sensitivity and higher
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POLING AND HYSTERISIS

DIFFERENT MODES OF
OPERATION

BEHAVIOUR OF A
PIEZOELECTRIC CERAMIC
ELEMENT
Influence of input frequency: resonance
frequency
frequency at which element
vibrates most readily in response to electrical
input, or at which the impedance of the material
attains a minimum value
Electromechanical coupling factor k
measure of the effectiveness by which a
piezoelectric material converts mechanical
energy to electrical energy or vice versa
Electrical limitations: exposure to a strong
electric field, of polarity opposite to that of the
polarizing field can depolarize the material
Thermal limitations: on heating to temperatures
above the curie point, depolarization occurs.
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Recommended upper operating temperature =

PIEZOELECTRICITY FOR
ENERGY GENERATION
Already in use in low power
applications such as wireless sensors,
and for powering
microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS)
High power application limited until
now due to low power output of
piezomaterials, and lack of suitable
means to accumulate the generated
energy continually until usable
amounts of energy is stored
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Recent research has revealed novel

POWER HARVESTING
FROM MECHANICAL
VIBRATIONS
2 options for power storage:

Capacitors &
rechargeable
batteries
Capacitors not generally preferred,
reasons:
1. Not an efficient storage medium, due
to its inability to store large amounts
of power
2. Fast discharge rate, causing the
circuit output to switch on and off,
making a periodic power supply
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DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PIEZOELECTRIC DEVICES
FOR RECHARGING
BATTERIES or PZT
1. Lead-zirconate-titanate
(traditionally used)
2. Quick pack type or QP
3. Macro-fiber composite or MFC

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PROPERTIES OF EACH
MFC
Interdigita
ted
electrode
pattern
Extremely
flexible
Robust to
damage
and
environme
ntal
conditions

QP

PZT

Less
flexible
than MFC
but more
robust
than PZT

Extremel
y brittle
and
suspectib
le to
accident
al
breakage

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EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

Experimental setup with the MFC plate and PZT plate in a

cantilever configuration
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COMPARISON STUDY

A criterion: the time required to charge various

capacity batteries when subjected to a realistic
ambient vibration source
To measure the vibration signature of the
automobile, a PCB accelerometer, was randomly
placed on the air compressor of a car
The engine was run at various speeds and the
response was measured
The excitation was a signal of similar amplitude and
frequency content as identified from the compressor

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BATTERY CHARGING
CIRCUIT

Nickel metal hydride batteries were chosen

because they have a high charge density
and, unlike lithium ion batteries, they do
not require any type of charge controller or
voltage regulator to be incorporated into
the circuitry
The simplicity of this circuit allows it to be
constructed very compactly and without
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additional components that would result in

CURRENT OUTPUTS AT
FUNDAMENTAL
FREQUENCY

Poor performance of MFC

due to increased impedance
caused by interdigitated electrodes
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BATTERY CHARGING
RESULTS
(QP & PZT)

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DAMPING EFFECT OF
POWER HARVESTING
As a result of the removal of energy from the
system conservation of energy says that
increased damping must occur

Fig: The damping effect

caused by power harvesting
on the impulse response of
a beam for three different
load resistances

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RESULTS

Load resistance set at a low value of 100 : does not

dissipate a large amount of energy, causing only a
small amount of damping to be added to the system
Load resistance set at an ideal value of 15 k:
maximum flow of energy from the PZT device and, in
turn, causing higher damping that is apparent in the
decreased settling time of the response
Load resistance further increased to 100 k: gives
the system the ability to dissipate a large amount of
energy from the system. However, when the load
resistance becomes very high, the ability of energy
to flow from the PZT material is reduced causing the
damping induced in the system to decrease

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OPTIMIZED ENERGY
HARVESTING CIRCUIT
Using step-down converter in discontinuous
conduction mode
Use of the converter increased the power to the
energy storage element, an electrochemical
battery, by 400% as compared to when the battery
was directly charged with a piezoelectric elementrectifier circuit

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CIRCUIT
IMPLEMENTATION
Dual method of energy harvesting is used
At higher excitation levels of the piezoelectric
device, when the optimal duty cycle is nearly
constant, the step-down converter will operate at
the fixed duty cycle specified by formula

Allows for a simple controller consisting of a fixedduty-cycle pulse-width-modulated signal to drive

the switching MOSFET
Advantages: 1.the optimal duty cycle is relatively
fixed, so operation at the optimal power point is
ensured; 2, the higher excitations provide
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sufficient energy to offset converter and
control

CONTD..
At lower excitations, the battery will be
charged by a pulse-charging circuit
connected to the piezoelectric elementrectifier circuit with the step-down
converter bypassed
The threshold level of mechanical
excitation dividing the two modes
depends on: the power produced by the
piezoelectric element, the losses of the
step-down converter, the power
consumption of the control circuitry,
and the optimal duty cycle stabilization
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THE OPTIMIZED ENERGY

HARVESTING CIRCUIT:
SCHEMATIC

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THE OPTIMAL DUTY

CYCLE
With a constant mechanical excitation
frequency of 338 rad/s, the optimal duty
cycle is theoretically determined to be
2.81%

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CIRCUIT EFFICIENCY

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CASE STUDY:
TM
INNOWATTECH GREEN
ENERGY
SOLUTIONS
An Israel based privately held
company specializing in the
development of custom piezoelectric
generators
Has developed a new breed of
piezoelectric generators ideally
suited to harvest the mechanical
energy imparted to roadways from
passing vehicles
Innowattech's vehicular system can
produce 400 kWh from a 1 km stretch
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of dual carriageway

ROADS SOLUTION
First an opening is drilled 20cm in depth and
50 cm in width under each wheel footprint
The bottom surface of the opening is levelled
A 3cm layer of quick drying concrete is placed
at the bottom of the opening
Concrete slabs with generators embedded
within are placed on top of this layer- thus
the generators are 5cm below road level
The generators are connected with each other
and to with the harvesting module
The road is asphalted over the generators to
reach the initial level
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THE ENTIRE PROCESS

27

TECHNICAL
INFORMATION

28

CONTD..

The IPEGs (Innowattech Piezoelectric Electric

Generators) harvest energy ordinarily wasted by
vehicles
The energy consumed by the vehicle (sourced in the
fuel combustion) utilized for a variety of
applications; one of them is to overcome rolling
resistance.
A typical asphalt road can be described as a viscoelasto-plastic material, with elasticity being its
dominant material characteristic.
When a vehicle passes over a road, the road deflects
vertically. This deflection is released as thermal
energy.
For a road with embedded piezoelectric generators,
part of the energy the vehicle expands on roads
deformation is transformed into electric29energy (via

ADVANTAGES OF THIS
TECHNOLOGY
Pure energy harvesting
(parasitic energy only)
Weather independent
Solution integrated with
infrastructure theft & damage
proof
Solution does not require
purchase of real estate
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CONTD..
Proximity to consumer
Data collection, e.g. Smart
Road, etc.
Providing electricity for areas
remote from main electricity
lines

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OTHER SOLUTIONS
RAILWAYS: can be used for both
underground and over ground rail systems.
Applicable to systems with concrete, steel
or wooden ties.
HEAVY PRESS MACHINERY: in factories that
use heavy press machinery.
The solution is placed under the heavy
press machinery and harvests the energy
wasted during the machinery's operation.
PEDESTRIAN TILES: can be used in locations
with a large number of pedestrians passing
through on a regular basis. The solution
harvests the energy wasted during
human
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movement

ESTIMATIONS

COST, USD K PER KM: $500 K(ROAD), $300 K(RAIL)

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TECHNOLOGY
COMPARISON

*Depending on the volume of traffic

**Assuming revenue from consumer of 10 per kWh
***Assuming revenue from consumer of $60 per barrel
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REFERENCES

Official website of Innowattech.

Catalog No.: 90-1015, Piezoelectric Theory and Applications,
abstracted from the book Piezoelectric Ceramics: Principles
and Applications.
Article: A Review of Power Harvesting from Vibration using
Piezoelectric Materials, by Henry A. Sodano, Daniel J. Inman
and Gyuhae Park
Article: Comparison of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
Devices for Recharging Batteries, Henry A. Sodano and Daniel
J. Inman, Centre for Intelligent Material Systems and
Structures Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Article: Optimized Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Circuit
Using Step-Down Converter in Discontinuous Conduction
Mode, Geffrey K. Ottman, Member, IEEE, Heath F. Hofmann,
Member, IEEE, and George A. Lesieutre, IEEE TRANSACTIONS
ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 18, NO. 2, MARCH 2003
Article: Estimation of Electric Charge Output for Piezoelectric
Energy Harvesting, H. A. Sodano*, G. Park and 35
D. J. Inman*,
*Centre for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures,

THANK YOU

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